IN MASSACHUSETTS, charter schools have mostly been missing in action when it comes to teaching children who don’t speak English well. As state education officials mull which of 23 potential charter schools to approve, the highest priority should go to those that will raise achievement levels among these students.
Charter schools in Massachusetts have a good record of boosting student performance, especially among African-Americans. That’s why the Legislature and Governor Patrick approved legislation opening the door to more charters. But there have been worrisome signs that some organizers of new charter schools aren’t heeding the part of the law that demands a stronger effort to tackle the problems of so-called English language learners.
Assisted by a team of Boston College law students, the Somerville-based activist group Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy determined late last year that few of the 23 charter groups seeking state approval had spelled out specific plans to recruit and retain children with limited English. While most charter applicants committed to having at least one English-as-a-second-language teacher, many said it would be just a part-time position.
This is lamentable, because such students have high dropout rates and lag behind other demographic groups on standardized tests. In weighing charter school proposals, state officials should require firm commitments to recruit students with limited English and to hire enough teachers who are trained in English as a second language. The success of the charter-school movement depends on its ability to refute the oft-stated complaint that it lures the best students, leaving kids with more challenges, such as English language learners and special-ed students, to the public schools.
The situation isn’t completely bleak. The MATCH Charter School in Boston, for instance, hopes to open a second school in the city in partnership with a Lawrence charter school, Community Day, that has experience in educating students with limited English. That is the kind of enterprise that more charter applicants should be showing.
