Unbundling Urban Education: Which School Type, Traditional Public School or Charter School Are Most Effectively Educating Urban Students

Abstract

Public education has been categorized as the perpetrator for everything from high crime rates to teen pregnancies. The American public has been tricked into believing the school system is a failure [1]. In fact, urban public-school systems have a dismal reputation in many cities across the United States because of lowered standardized test performance and increased school violence. Noted it was not schools that were the culprit for underachieving urban students, but poverty and segregation [2]. As explained by despite continually increasing graduation rates, over one million high school students dropped out of school each year. Stakeholders deliberate about how to improve education for urban students, and the introduction of charter schools came about as a solution to the many issues facing urban public education [3]. Implementation of charter schools could cause traditional public schools to become more effective. Junge concluded, “If a school is not working, let’s end it [4]. That’s how we’ll improve public education for all”. “End it”, is precisely what the city of Philadelphia did, in 2013, 30 schools in Philadelphia were closed, displacing over 15,000 students. The state and mayoral - appointed School Reform Commission engendered substantial political pushback. Philadelphia’s city council voted 14 to two passing a resolution calling for a halt of additional school closures [5]. Additionally, community groups filed civil rights complaints with the US Department of Education [6]. City wide planning meetings attracted upwards of 1000 students and parents [7]. Protests leading up to the decision drew thousands, leading to 19 arrests, including the head of the national teacher’s union.