Charter Schools as Investments – 2016

Charter schools are being presented as solid investments for hedge fund managers and other investors:

·       Charter School Gravy Train Runs Express To Fat City - Forbes, 9/10/13

·       Why hedge funds love charter schools - The Washington Post, 6/4/14

·       Walmart is helping hedge funds make money off of charter - Business Insider, 3/17/15

·       Agassi Serves Merrill Clients a Charter-School Investment - WSJ, 9/9/15

But the shine from such investments has been fading at the same time:

Who Is Profiting From Charters? The Big Bucks Behind ... - Alternet.org, 5/8/13

In recent months more and more truths about charter schools and such investments are being made public.  A good representation of this is a Tampa Bay Times editorial just before Christmas last month:

Taxpayers assume risk, little gain for charter schools 12/24/15

This may be the beginning of the end for charter schools as an investment tool for millionaires, or the public for several reasons:

·       Charter Schools Remain a Bad Investment …Opinion, St. Agustine Record, Florida 9/15/15, a history in Florida

·       LA charter school study: who benefits? Berkley News 12-21-15, segregating better students into charters. (High charter attrition in Dallas is suspected to be caused by poor students leaving charters.)

·       High Charter School Market Share: A Big City School District Phenomenon 12-4-15, Newoak.com, See where Dallas stands nationally, but within Dallas there are feeder patterns where 53% of children attend charters.

·       These Charter Schools Tried to Turn Public Education Into Big Business. They Failed. Slate 12-17-15, “The decline of for-profit charters underscores another fundamental, and probably immutable, fact about American education: It’s a local, not national enterprise; states pride themselves on the distinctness of their laws and educational approach.”

This history of charter schools is actively being written.  The above articles are frightening because we are experimenting on children too often with little public visibility or accountability.  The above articles were found by googling “Charter School Investment” first, and then limiting that search to only the past month.  Do you your own exploration.  Then look at what is happening in your own city.