By Tom Moran/ The Star-Ledger
Cami Anderson, the superintendent of Newark schools, has taken enormous heat for nurturing the growth of charter schools, which now educate roughly 1 in 4 kids in the city.
She’s helped them raise money. She’s made space for them in district schools. She’s been heckled at public meetings for defending them.
But now she is worried, because some of the charter schools are not taking their fair share of students facing special hurdles, including extreme poverty or learning disabilities.
That rigs the game against the district. It means the toughest cases are concentrated in district schools, a segregation that makes it even tougher to get good results. And because the charters are growing so fast, the problem can no longer be ignored.
“The doomsday scenario is that the students in greatest need are stuck in the most struggling schools,” she says. “If you only have students who are struggling, it makes it harder. Diversity is critical.”
“The doomsday scenario is that the students in greatest need are stuck in the most struggling schools”
Her answer? The district itself is taking over the assignment of students to charter schools and will put its thumb on the scale to make sure they take on more tough cases.
For the first time, Newark families will get a menu of school options, with charter and district schools in the mix. They will rank their choices, and the district will make assignments. The days when parents had to run around town chasing rumors and joining lotteries are coming to an end.
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