Charter Schools Offer Choices for KC Parents

The parental choice that charter schools offer is becoming an increasingly enticing option for Kansas City families—as 15 percent more students enrolled in charter schools this year.

Charter schools are run by independent boards. This often allows them freedom from ineffective bureaucratic administrations—leading to more efficient fund management and specialized policies. In fact, charter schools are held accountable for maintaining this effectiveness through basic market forces. Parents would not bother to enroll their children in a charter school if at any point they believed the regular public schools would better serve their child. Charter schools also force parents to become more actively involved in their child’s life—significantly improving discipline, by comparison.

Because of the many benefits of school choice--specifically through charter schools--it is extremely promising to see these statistics in Kansas City. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, around 23 percent of schoolchildren in Kansas City public schools are getting their education at one of the city’s 18 public charter schools—which totals about 7,000 students. That puts the city sixth among U.S. communities in the percentage of public school students enrolled in charter schools.

“Charter Schools on the Rise in KC”—the story from the Kansas City Star