The topic of charter schools is hotly debated. On one hand, civil rights organization (like the NAACP) and teachers unions (like the National Education Association) argue that they undermine public schools. On the other hand, proponents of charter schools maintain that charter schools benefit students.

The NAACP and NEA oppose charter schools for a few key reasons. First, charter schools generally don’t employ unionized teachers — a main argument from the NEA. Second, the NAACP argues that charter schools pull students from traditional schools to which the NAACP is deeply committed. The NAACP recently released findings from a nationwide “listening tour” that came to one unsurprising conclusion — charter schools must be stopped.

These findings come at an awkward time, however. The 74, a non-partisan new site covering education in America, released data from the first cohort of charter students who are just now beginning to graduate from college. What did the data find, exactly? That charter school students from the top charter networks earn four year degrees at ranges up to five times as high as their traditional public school counterparts. The students in the cohort are low-income minority students from Los Angeles, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey. The NAACP and NEA were unaware of this data when they launched their anti-charter campaigns.

Previously, there was no solid data to back up charter school performance. Performance was measured by increases in test scores. Test scores are easily dismissed by suggesting that charter schools are merely teaching to the test. So how exactly do charter schools produce these successful students? They provide resources for success. The schools take responsibility for the success of students AFTER they graduate. They help students answer questions like, “Which class do I sign up for? How many credits do I take? How do I cope with being the only minority in a class?”

With data showing that charter school students actually do perform better post graduation, the NAACP and the NEA might want to figure out how to defend their position in the face of this new data.

Without a doubt, charter schools are here to stay and will be a risk you start to see more of in the future. If you have any questions or need help with any of these, feel free to reach out to us. We write Educators D&O/E&O/EPL for charter schools across the country, so we will be happy to assist you.

Contact us today:

Ned Daly 804.272.8060            Will Shumadine 804.272.9210

Grey Lester 804.272.5964         Peyton Judy 804.272.4317

Dana Fawver 804.272.7405