Reasons Right-Wingers Love Charter Schools

The final installment in a 3-year study of Delaware charters shows three of the reasons:

charters encourage increased segregation by income and race

Project director Gary Miron noted the differences among some charters that serve predominantly black students, and others mainly made up of white and Asian students.

Schools also are segregated by low-income and affluent students, and the schools of the more affluent also seem to be better at leveraging private funding. The poorer, predominantly minority schools' students also performed worse on state tests while the white, higher-income charter schools did well.

"There are differences. They are not equal," Miron said.

charter schools hire more compliant teachers who have not been corrupted by liberal teacher education programs that focus on equity and social justice

Teacher qualifications and salaries were other issues. Some charter school teachers have less education and experience, or are less likely to be certified than those in traditional schools.

charter schools offer less pay and fewer benefits

Teacher salaries averaged $42,281, lower than the state average of $52,486. But this too differed greatly among schools.