In Massachusetts, Charters Part of Solution

During my seven years as U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama, I was guided by the conviction that public schools must be gateways of opportunity for all our children. To make that happen, I knew we had to get beyond the political rhetoric and find what worked for kids. We launched a competitive grant initiative called Race to the Top to help states to change what was broken and expand what was working. In Massachusetts, that meant more flexibilities for district schools and more charter schools.

I visited Massachusetts many times during my tenure, and saw first-hand why charter schools in Boston and cities throughout the Commonwealth are some of the best in the nation. Their commitment to excellence is unparalleled.

Massachusetts has long been recognized as a national leader in public education. Whether traditional district school or public charter school, there is a commitment to public education here that you don’t see everywhere else.

This success is worth celebrating, but Massachusetts still has much work to do. The Bay State’s racial achievement gap remains among the country’s largest, and it has been persistent despite the state’s general success. Too many children are still attending schools that don’t measure up, and this disparity follows all-too-familiar demographic patterns.

To remain the nation’s education leader, Massachusetts must ensure that its lauded education system works for all students. That means expanding schools and policies that work for students usually left behind, no matter the political consequences.

In Massachusetts, public charter schools work to close achievement gaps. Since they were first opened here in the 1990s, charter schools have proven to be innovative game-changers, helping to improve student success and open new doors of opportunity—particularly for children of color and those living in poverty.

No matter their background, all children have potential. It’s the responsibility of schools to teach every child and to have high expectations for every student to meet and exceed. I learned that lesson firsthand in my mother’s after-school tutoring program—and I saw it in action in my visits to many charter schools that are helping to narrow the achievement gap. Naysayers often claim that school quality can never combat poverty’s effects, and I of course agree that anti-poverty programs and wraparound community services are extremely important, but Massachusetts charter schools show that poverty is not destiny in education. High-performing public charters are one more proof positive that, as President Obama says, “the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education.”

Massachusetts charter schools show the nation what is possible when education leaders put children first. Moving forward, advancing educational opportunity for all kids will require keeping what works for children at the center of the conversation. While adults argue about adult issues and interests, more than 30,000 children remain on waiting lists for high-quality public charter seats in Massachusetts—and a shot at a brighter future.

Far too often, the chief beneficiaries of high-performing charter schools—low-income families and children—are forgotten amid divisive political controversies over funding and the hiring of nonunion teachers in charter schools. The parents and children who are desperately seeking better schools are an afterthought, and their needs take a backseat to special interest politics.

It doesn’t matter to me whether the sign on the door of a school has the word “Charter” in it, and it doesn’t matter to children or parents, either. The only thing that matters is if a school is giving every student who walks in the door the quality public education he or she needs and deserves to succeed.

In Massachusetts, it’s clear public charter schools are part of the solution, and must be expanded again.

Arne Duncan ’87 served as U.S. Secretary of Education to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015.