So Barack Obama goes to Ohio — a state that’s had more than its fair share of problems with charter schools because of a lousy law and where a lot of Democrats think the only good charter school is a closed one* and where the teachers’ union has been at war with charter schools for some time — and gives a speech saying that charter schools are an important part of education reform and that he’s going to double federal support for charters to help the good ones. And yet, I’m hearing grumbling from Republicans and Democrats that the speech wasn’t reformist enough? Are you kidding me? Ohio is a state that matters a lot to both candidates in terms of getting to 270 votes, it’s pretty close, and this speech was hardly the stock pandering you’d ordinarily see in this situation.
*Conversely, a lot of Republicans think that any choice is a good choice and pay scant attention to quality. It’s one reason for the dysfunction of this debate.
You make good points (Rs for choice v D’s for choice and quality). How do you explain the fact that the D dominated DC government doesn’t have the will to close poor performing charters right here in DC? At least 25% of the existing charters here ought to be shuttered for performing below DCPS averages!
We in Obama’s home state think its great that he went to Ohio to talk about charter public schools. We know he’s for choice and quality–Illinois’ charters are amongst the top performers as a sector. Sen. Obama was a big leader for the movement when he was in the state senate. We could use some similar voices inside the Illinois capitol these days. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdHBiBy96I8 to understand why.