Update: Diverse Charters Form New National Alliance
Here's something I've been thinking might happen for a while now -- a new national network of diverse charter schools has been announced.
Included among the founding members are several of the schools I profiled in Education Next a couple of years ago (Brooklyn Prospect, Bricolage (NOLA), Community Roots, DSST (Denver), and yes, Success Academy.
See the full press release below, and tune into (attend) the panel on diverse charters at 4pm local time in Las Vegas.
Previous posts: Diverse Charters Spread Nationally (Education Next); Diverse NOLA Charter Opens; Diverse Charters Balance Learning & Accountability; and Change Could Help Promote Charter Diversity.
PRESS RELEASE
ANNOUNCING THE FORMATION OF THE NATIONAL COALITION OF DIVERSE CHARTER SCHOOLS
Contact: Daniel Kikuji Rubenstein, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Brooklyn Prospect Charter School
EMBARGOED: 9:00 AM EDT, JULY 1, 2014
The founding schools are pleased to announce the formation of a coalition of socioeconomically and racially diverse charter schools and supporters of such schools. By forming a network to share resources, providing technical assistance, and highlighting exemplars, the coalition supports the creation and success of socioeconomically and racially integrated charter schools. In addition, the coalition hopes to promote research on the benefits and best practices of integrated schools.
“We recently had the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, but the problem of segregation persists. Charter schools need to be part of the solution,” said Jeremy Chiappetta, executive director of Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy in Rhode Island.
“I believe that charter schools can be an important part of the solution to integrating our public school systems by making it a priority to enroll student bodies that reflect that full diversity of our communities,” said Sean Wilson, head of school at the International High School of New Orleans.
“Research shows that socioeconomically and racially diverse schools offer valuable academic, cognitive, and social benefits for students. Diverse schools can help boost the achievement of low-income students while preparing all students for success in a 21stcentury economy that requires critical thinking and cultural awareness,” said Halley Potter, a researcher with The Century Foundation.
The core beliefs of the Coalition are as follows:
We Believe:
- Diverse schools provide greater opportunities for students to learn from one another.
- Diversity is a cost-effective method of boosting student achievement.
- Diverse schools promote the celebration and understanding of other cultures and viewpoints.
- Diverse schools invigorate and strengthen urban neighborhoods by bringing community members together.
- Charter schools can and should contribute to solving the historic challenge of integrating our public school system.
- Achieving diversity often requires deliberate efforts through recruitment, admissions policies and school design.
- Diverse charter schools promote equality by ensuring that students from different backgrounds have the same educational opportunities.
Founding Member Schools:
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy (Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, & Pawtucket, RI)
Bricolage Academy of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School (Brooklyn, NY)
Capital City Public Charter School (Washington, DC)
City Neighbors Charter School (Baltimore, MD)
Community Roots Charter School (Brooklyn, NY)
DSST Public Schools (Denver, CO)
High Tech High (San Diego, CA)
Homer A. Plessy Community School (New Orleans, LA)
The International High School of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
International School of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA)
Larchmont Charter School (Los Angeles, CA)
Morris Jeff Community School (New Orleans, LA)
Success Academy Charter Schools (New York, NY)
Advisors:
Brian Beabout, The University of New Orleans
Eric Grannis, Tapestry Foundation
Halley Potter, The Century Foundation
Heather Schwartz, Rand Corporation
Please see our website www.diversecharters.org
At the National Charter School Conference in Las Vegas, NV, join us at Charter Schools Serving a Diverse Student Body: The Next Wave in Education Reform, July 1, 2014, 4 pm.
An idea whose time has come. Thank YOU founders. We're In.
Posted by: Ida | July 02, 2014 at 01:51 AM