New Infographic: Welcome to CharterLand! | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

New Infographic: Welcome to CharterLand! | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

New Infographic: Welcome to CharterLand!

Posted on: Friday September 6th, 2013

There is growing outrage over the story of Tiana Parker, a seven-year-old student in Tulsa, Oklahoma who was pushed out of her charter school because of her hairstyle. The school said her dreadlocks, which the school's policy lumps with "mohawks" and "other faddish styles" the school prohibits, "didn't look presentable" and was distracting. Sadly, Tiana isn't the only child to be unfairly pushed out of a charter.

Many policymakers like to herald charter schools as the cure-all solution to a struggling public education system. But as Tiana found out, even if you wanted to attend one, a charter might not want you. Based on research from Dr. Kevin Welner at the National Education Policy Center, this new infographic from the OTL Campaign illustrates the obstacles and pitfalls some charters set up to weed out or push out struggling students and those who need additional supports. While some charters do well by their students, even in the best possible scenario charter schools aren't a systemic solution to providing an opportunity to learn for all students.

Ensuring every student has access to a quality education shouldn't be a game, so is "CharterLand" really the best way forward for America?

Bienvenido a CharterLand! Click here for a version in Spanish / Clic aquí para una versión en español

For greater elaboration on the obstacles presented in CharterLand, along with citations, read “The Dirty Dozen: How Charter Schools Influence Student Enrollment,” and this recent Reuters Special Report: “Class Struggle - How charter schools get students they want.”

And check out NEPC's new book, Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance. Closing the Opportunity Gap brings together top experts who offer evidence-based essays that paint a powerful picture of denied opportunities. They also describe sensible, research-based policy approaches to enhance opportunities.

New Infographic: Welcome to CharterLand!

Many policymakers like to herald charter schools as the cure-all solution to a struggling public education system. But even if you wanted to attend one, a charter might not want you. Check out our latest infographic to find out why.

Read more >

Are Girls Invisible in the Movement for Boys and Men of Color?

In our national discussion around educational inequities, the narrative often focuses on the plight of boys and young men of color who face the worse injustices and lack of opportunity. Monique Morris, a Soros Justice Fellow and co-founder of the National Black Women's Justice Institute, thinks this focus on young men of color, while important, is rendering young women of color and the unique struggles they face invisible.

Read more >

What Does the Drop in NYC Test Scores Really Show Us?

By Michael Holzman, Schott Foundation

No student learns well in places where resources are systematically diverted from where they are needed to places where wealthier families live. The results of the Common Core-aligned 2013 New York State tests of students paint a stark picture of systemic inequality in access to education resources and opportunities.

Read more >

What's the Best Way to Build Your State's Economy?

The best way to build a strong state economy isn't to cut taxes and hope businesses invest in your state and create jobs. Instead, the best way to ensure both economic prosperity and job creation is to invest in education. A policy brief by Peter Fisher of the Economic Policy Institute and Noah Berger of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (an OTL ally) has a simple message for state-level policymakers concerned about their state's workers: "If you educate them, jobs will come."

Read more >

US DOE Should Collect Information About Distribution of Teachers Still in Training

The following is a letter to U.S. Department of Education officials from the the Coalition for Teaching Quality, a broad-based coalition of over 90 local, state and national organizations (full list here), including the OTL Campaign, requesting the DOE collect data on the distribution of highly qualified teachers and those still in training.

Read more >

Will You Join the Supports-Based Education Movement?

Joe Bishop, National Opportunity to Learn Campaign

District, state and federal policies have focused primarily on efforts to raise standards, improve assessments, and evaluate teachers. While each of these issues warrants attention in the landscape of education policy, they are not effective drivers for significantly changing the learning conditions for students across the country.

Read more >