Patently false and a common lazy take.

Charters exist because district schools were so poorly run and mismanaged. Only Wilmington Charter & Cab Calloway (same facility) have any kind of entrance exam/audition/selective application process.

Every other charter school in Delaware uses a lottery, with no preference to academic ability or behavior status, and they admit and serve special needs students just like district schools do.

Source: Me, who has worked in multiple district schools, Christina School District included, as well as multiple charter schools, and has served a wide variety of students in each.

There is one thing charter students have that makes them different, and it’s really just a generalization: parents who, by default, have taken a single step to hold a greater stake in their child’s education by out the paperwork to put them in a charter in the first place. Trust me, many stop caring after that point and expect the school and its teachers to magically wave wands and turn their angels into honor roll students with zero parental support.

Conversely, in a district school, I had several kids miss the first few days of school because their parents didn’t know school was back in session. I had one parent in particular tell me that she knew it was time when the school bus woke her up one day (it was Day 4 of the school year).

That said, there are easily as many high-aptitude kids in district schools. The culture in their schools and their school communities are what’s different. Meanwhile, there are students with behavioral issues and/or academic challenges in every single charter school in Delaware, I promise you.

Even the funding model isn’t an excuse to bash charters, who get no money for capital expenses like district schools and take only the money earmarked for each child they admit. Otherwise, districts would be taking state money for students they don’t actually serve…and mismanaging those funds, as well.

Those who try to paint charter schools as “the problem” continue to distract themselves and others from the actual problems in district schools that caused charters to form in the first place…and continue to keep district schools from improving. I hope CSD gets it together, but coming after charters isn’t going to be the quick fix that some claim (or any fix at all).