Charter Schools on the Rise in Kansas City, But Not in Wichita

by Bob Weeks on November 4, 2008

Parents in Kansas City, Missouri are making widespread use of an educational option that’s not available in Wichita.

As reported in today’s Kansas City Star (Charter schools on the rise in KC), about 23 percent of Kansas City schoolchildren attend charter schools.

As I’ve written before in posts like Charter Schools Are Mostly Okay Despite Misconceptions, parents love the choice and options that charter schools provide. If they are not satisfied, parents have other options. For the charter schools that continually perform poorly, they usually close. That doesn’t happen with public schools.

So how many charter schools do parents of children in the Wichita school system have to choose from? The answer is none. The Kansas charter school law makes it clear that competition for the existing public establishment is not desired. The Wichita school board and administration endorse this attitude.

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Tagged as: Education, Kansas state government, School choice, Wichita and Kansas schools

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