When district public schools failed to meet the pandemic’s challenges last year, America’s parents did the logical thing: They switched their kids to public charter schools. In droves.
That’s the finding of a stunning new report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, which documented a full 7.1 percent jump in charter enrollment (240,000 kids) and a whopping 3.3 percent plunge at regular public schools (1.45 million kids) in just the one year, across 42 states for which data were available. The flight from district schools was the largest in at least two decades, per US Department of Education stats.
Even in blue states like New York and California — where Democrats kowtow to unions and try to thwart charter growth — the trend was unmistakable: Empire State charters took in 11,719 (7.36 percent) more kids, while district schools lost 89,238 (3.6 percent). In the Golden State, charters grew by 15,283 (2.26 percent), with districts losing 175,761 (3.2 percent).
Some states logged even more dramatic shifts: Oklahoma saw 6.89 percent of its regular-school kids (45,288) head for the exits, with 77.74 percent more at charters (35,751). In Oregon, 7,963 students (20.79 percent) moved to charter rolls, while districts lost 29,707 (5.46 percent).
Only three of the 42 states saw charter enrollment fall, and their declines were small, especially compared with the drop at regular schools. All told, charter-enrollment growth last year was twice the previous year’s, marking the largest boost since 2014, when a spurt of new charters opened. The 2020-21 bump likely doubled the percentage of US kids in charters.
And the shifts, suggests the study, are permanent: The pandemic got parents far more involved in their children’s education. They saw that where much of the district-school remote instruction was a waste, charters came through.
“Many parents were dissatisfied with the quality of what was available. . . . And that dissatisfaction led them to learn more about the other educational options available,” says the report. “For many families, charter schools’ nimbleness and flexibility made them the right public school choice.”
Not all who fled regular schools went to charters: Some were homeschooled or enrolled at private schools. Some parents opted to delay kindergarten or preschool. But the enormous number of families that gave district schools pink slips is telling, as is the race to charters.
Unlike district schools, charters generally aren’t run by teachers unions, which put adults first. Not all charters turn out to work, but those that lag can easily be shut down. And some flourish: The city’s Success Academy charter network consistently ranks at or near the top compared with districts across the state.
Indeed, more kids would flee New York’s failing traditional schools if more charter seats existed. But to please unions, Democratic lawmakers have capped charters’ growth.
Still, parents are voting with their feet, here and nationwide. The next step is to boot out anti-charter politicians, via the voting booth.