The Charter School Allure: Can Traditional Schools Measure Up?

The school choice debate evokes compelling arguments by advocates and opponents alike. As the controversy continues, urban school districts are losing significant resources to charter schools. Districts seeking to compete in the race to reclaim dollars lost to the school choice battle should emulate the factors that have propelled parents to seek alternative schools for their children. This study queried 260 urban parents who have withdrawn their children from the public school to attend charter schools in the past 2 years. Results show that despite the lack of statistically significant evidence of academic gains, parents perceive an enhanced educational experience. The author surmises that the chasm between perceived charter school success and traditional school failure is a “perception gap” with definable constructs that can be addressed through all levels of the traditional school organization. Traditional schools can successfully compete with charter schools by aggressively emulating the variables that define that chasm.