Education reform supporters look to expand charter schools

Chris Howard is 18-years-old and homeless. His stepfather has shot and stabbed him, in addition to other abuses in the past. Howard lives at Youth In Need, a homeless shelter in St. Charles. He became a student at Shearwater High School in March, and said he now realizes how important his new charter school is for better education. Charter schools are schools that receive public money, are sponsored by an outside organization and are attended by choice. They're operated by outside organizations rather than the state, so the schools can set some of their own rules and regulations. Shearwater High School is a charter school that helps homeless children get back into school. Its president, Stephanie Krauss, said homeless children that move from shelter to shelter have a hard time joining a school because of their ever-changing addresses.

Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis, sponsored a bill that would allow charter schools to be started anywhere in the state and expand who is eligible to sponsor a charter school. "Parents need options," Jones said. "When we go to a restaurant and we don't like the food, we use the choice of our dollar to go somewhere else. Why should we have to accept the education system as it is?" Rep. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, also sponsored a bill that would allow charter schools to adjust graduation requirements for their specific schools. Western Michigan University education professor Gary Miron has been studying school choice programs in Europe and the United States for more than two decades. He said he's an opponent to charter schools with negative results. Through his research, he's found that most cases throughout the country have led to some schools not integrating students, which can lead to charter schools with only low-income or only high-income students. Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall, said he's also opposed to expanding charter schools outside the state's major cities because many of the charter schools in Kansas City and St. Louis are not performing at an acceptable level. "I just can't see expanding them in a statewide movement until there's strong evidence that charter schools are out-performing," Aull said. The charter school bills are expected to be debated throughout the legislative session.