In his landmark speech on education last month, President Obama voiced his unequivocal support for charter schools and called for states to lift the cap on charter school growth. Check out this nifty video advocating for charter school growth in Illinois:

I definitely agree with our President on this hot button issue, and want to draw your attention to several recent newsworthy events in the charter school world:

1) “Super Tuesday” took place in NYC last week as thousands of families crossed their fingers during the first of several charter school lotteries in hopes that their child(ren) would win a coveted spot at their school of choice. According to the NY Post, the number of applicants to charter schools more than doubled since last year reaching a record 39,200 for only 8,500 open seats. Tuesday’s lotteries took place around the city with 29 schools announcing the names of 2,260 chosen children, while the remaining charter schools will hold lotteries throughout the month. The NY Daily News interviewed some of the parents attending the lottery at Brooklyn College whose reactions to the news were pretty dramatic. (One woman said:  “I don’t even think I was this excited on my wedding night!”)

I know there are many opponents of charter schools who would be dismayed by this story, but I’m not quite sure why. Can you blame parents for wanting to send their children to small academically rigorous schools with excellent reputations? Not to mention that some charters have a specific niche (like focusing on arts education, the sciences, law, or college prep) which make them more attractive to certain families than the “one size fits all” local public school, while others cater to specific populations of students often under-served by regular public schools. Granted, charter schools take students and per pupil funds away from regular public schools, but with good reason. Many of those schools are failing. Parents want the best possible opportunities for their children, and if our country is truly going to “race to the top,” then we should encourage the development of new innovative schools that will help us get there. And speaking of competing for resources…

2) In Cleveland, three successful charter schools (Citizens’ Academy, Intergenerational School and Entrepreneurship Preparatory School) want to create a network of 15 more charter schools that would serve 5,000 Pre-K through 12th grade students. But instead of competing with the district, the schools want to work with the district which would be their nonprofit sponsor. This would give the district access to some of the charters’ state funds, as well as to their students’ test scores which would be lumped in with its own. In turn, the charters would gain access to district buildings as well as to political clout that could help ensure their survival. According to the Plain Dealer article, talks are just beginning so no verdict yet. In the meantime, Cleveland could set an example for other states like MD and VA…

3) who, according to an article in the Washington Post, have laws that are unfavorable to the development of charter schools and seem to favor school boards and the status quo. While one third of public school students in neighboring Washington D.C. are enrolled in charter schools (there are 60 charters in the District), Northern Virginia has none, and Maryland suburbs have only seven (three of which were initially denied by local school boards). It seems like school boards deny a disproportionate number of charter applications in those states for fear of competition and losing resources, which makes me wonder why their local school boards have so much power to grant or deny charters in the first place. (As Don Soifer of the Lexington Institute says, it’s like “going to McDonald’s, asking them to approve a Burger King across the street.”)  Too bad these states couldn’t be more like D.C. where an independent impartial board has been evaluating applications and granting charters since 1996.

takepart in reading Carl Anderson‘s blog series on charter schools at Change.org. Also, check out previous posts on individual charter schools here,  here,  and here.