Charter Schooling in the Wolverine State

This is the picture that I wanted to have on the cover of Education Sector's new report on charter schooling in Michigan (see, I don't hate boys). Sadly, I was vetoed by people who claim to have taste and didn't want to pay big licensing fees for the image.

So, without Hugh Jackman's mug on the cover, why should you read this report on charter schooling in Michigan? Let me tell you:

For starters, Michigan is a leading charter state. It was one of the earliest states to pass a law and has more students in charter schools than any state except for California and Florida.

Second, Michigan's charter school movement has some unique features that make it particularly interesting. Nearly three-quarters of Michigan's charter schools are run by private, for-profit Educational Management Organizations (EMOs), more than any other state in the country. There are both good and bad sides to this. In addition, most of Michigan's charter schools have been authorized not by the local school districts and state agencies that oversee charters in most states, but by the state's public universities, many of which have been eager to authorize charter schools. Although the public universities had quality problems in their charter oversight early on, they have improved and these independent authorizers are, on average, higher-quality authorizers than many of the authorizers that operate elsewhere in the country.

Third, the political history of charter schooling in Michigan is very interesting, and involves a compelling cast of characters, including former Governor John Engler, a Republican; current Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat; Detroit's Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick; asphalt magnate-turned-philanthropist Bob Thompson; former Piston Hall of Famer Dave Bing; former Dem gubernatorial candidate-turned charter school founder Doug Ross, and 3,200 protesting Detroit teachers. Who needs the Wire when you've got this bunch?

Finally, and I think this is the most important point, Michigan's experience is a clear example of why the charter school movement must focus on quality. In the mid-1990s Michigan's charter schools grew rapidly and somewhat wildly. While some excellent schools emerged, there were also lots of quality problems, demonstrating that the "if you build it they will come" approach to chartering isn't enough itself to produce a strong supply of quality schools. Since then, the state's charter community and university authorizers have improved quality, but Michigan's charter schools still underperform statewide averages (they are doing better than the urban districts in which most are located, however) and the fallout from early quality problems undermines political support for them.

There's lots more, so read the report!

Via Mike Antonucci, another reason the Michigan report is relevant today.