AND THE MOVEMENT COULD GET A BOOST FROM THE UNICORN RIDER:

Charters lead state's traditional schools in achievement for poor children, survey finds: Four Southern California charters and one L.A. Unified campus are among the top 15 serving students living in poverty. (Mitchell Landsberg, 11/11/08, Los Angeles Times)

The burgeoning charter school movement in California has largely made its mark as an alternative to low-performing inner-city schools. An analysis being issued today suggests that, at their best, charters are doing that job well, outperforming most traditional public schools that serve children in poverty.

Using the Academic Performance Index as a measuring tool, the California Charter Schools Assn. found that 12 of the top 15 public schools in California that cater primarily to poor children are charters.

"These results show that charter schools are opening doors of opportunity for California's most underserved students, and effectively advancing them on the path to academic success," said Peter Thorp, interim head of the association. He urged traditional public schools to study the charters to replicate their success.

This is one area where the next President announced ahead of time that he'd disappoint Democrats, bacj=king good educations for kids instead of protecting the unions.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 20, 2008 6:44 PM