Wisconsin Charter school growth faces uncertain future

Alan Borsuk, via a Senn Brown email:

At the start of this year, John Gee, executive director of the Wisconsin Charter Schools Association, was predicting that the state soon would have one of the best laws in the nation for improving the number and quality of charter schools.

It's August now. There's no new law and Gee is gone as head of the group. Clearly, things haven't gone as expected this year for these important, independently operated, publicly funded schools.

Charters haven't fared as badly since January as, say, teachers unions. There are going to be more charter schools in Wisconsin this fall than ever - around 225. In Milwaukee, some weak schools are gone, some strong ones are picking up momentum, and there will be more than 10,000 kids in more than 25 charters in September. Charters are here to stay.

But the bumpy ride for charter school advocates in recent months underscores questions about how big and strong the movement is going to be.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 8, 2011 2:08 AM
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