Charter schools: Are they always a salvation?
Opinion by Timm Herdt/Ventura County Star
It’s popular in political circles these days to speak of charter schools as the most important educational development since the advent of compulsory education. Everybody loves charter schools. The Obama administration insists that if states want a piece of its Race to the Top education grants, they can place no limits on the number of charters they allow. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has become a national cheerleader for the movement. In California, every candidate for governor advocates expansion of charter schools; as mayor of Oakland, Jerry Brown was instrumental in creating a couple, of which he is fiercely proud. (more...)