IF THE Globe were serious about doing a fair analysis of charter public school demographics, it would not “cherry-pick’’ only those measures in which district schools exercise discretion: special education and English language learners (“Charter schools lag in serving the neediest,’’ Page A1, Aug. 12).
If the reporter includes the two demographic categories in which district schools have little or no control over - race and income - he would find that charters enroll a far higher percentage of African-American students than urban district schools and an equivalent percentage of low-income students. These are the students that charters are serving with overwhelming success. The conclusions based on these statistics are perverse. School districts that label as many children as possible as special needs or English language learners are commended while those charters that are successful educating these students in regular classrooms without labels are criticized.
What the Globe analysis really uncovered is the overlabeling of students with special needs and language barriers in district schools, and the success of charters in educating these students in mainstream classrooms.
MARC KENEN, Haydenville
The writer is executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.
