NAACP Report Draws Condemnation and Criticism
In July 2017, the NAACP released a report from its Education Task Force that questioned the value of charter schools to minority communities. The association also endorsed “model legislation” that would impose a decade-long moratorium on the creation of new charter schools in states. The report and the legislative initiative drew immediate condemnation and criticism from African American leaders and other advocates for educational opportunity across the nation.
African-American Education Leaders Speak Out Against NAACP Actions
The following statement was issued today by CER directors David Hardy, founder and Chair of Boys’ Latin Philadelphia Charter School, and Donald Hense, founder and chairman of Washington, D.C.’s Friendship Public Charter Schools, in response to the NAACP Task Force on Education Quality July 2017 Hearing Report.
The NAACP’s campaign against charter schools is detrimental and disrespectful to all parents who struggle to ensure a quality education for their children.
Rather than embrace, and work to expand, the opportunities that charter schools represent to America’s disadvantaged, and to families of color across the nation, the NAACP has chosen to stand as an obstacle, and work to stifle, a movement that, for thousands of children, is the greatest — and only — hope for achieving a quality education.
The association’s recently released report is intentionally skewed to further a union-driven, anti-charter school agenda, and its “model legislation” effort is an outrageous political scheme to further support the union’s agenda by undermining the voice and will of parents who are fighting for options for their children’s education and for the right and freedom to choose.
The NAACP has a long history of fighting for justice and for individual rights that further opportunities, hopes and human dignity. These efforts are the antithesis of that long fight, putting the association sadly, and uncharacteristically, on the wrong side of history.
Here are more articles on the subject:
Charters Didn’t Cause Segregation. They’re a Solution for Its Victims
New York Magazine
December 8, 2017“Segregation has, amazingly, become the primary talking point for charter critics. It is an argument for leaving urban children in poor-performing segregated neighborhood public schools instead of high-performing segregated public charter schools. No longer able to make the case that charters don’t work, their critics have fallen back to the charge that they can’t solve every problem in American society.”
Civil Rights Leaders Speak Out on NAACP’s Charter School Stance
The Center for Education Reform
November 2, 2017“This stance keeps the Association at odds with thousands of parents and community leaders of color who know, firsthand, the critical role charters play in providing quality education to those in desperate need.”
Supporting Black Colleges Helps Charter Schools
The Times Record News
September 29, 2017We cannot afford this kind of issue-myopia in our society. The stakes are simply too high as fragile communities continue a downward spiral. The only solution is to improve educational outcomes, and that begins with increasing school choices for parents. We have seen the dangerous domino effect if kids in these communities are forced to stay in failing schools.
School Choice Is Crucial for African-American Students’ Success
USA Today
September 21, 2017Too many of our African-American leaders simply defer their beliefs to organizations like the NAACP which once represented our people well. What they must do, however, is recognize times have changed and we have to have the honest discussions about what we were going to do about our children who continue to be failed by traditional institutions and bureaucracy.
African Americans Speak for Themselves: Most Want School Choice
The Cato Institute
July 25, 2017“Quick herself concedes that ‘it makes sense that black and brown families, too often lacking options beyond segregated, under resourced, and underperforming schools, would want alternative options for their children.’”
For Black Families Focused on Education, the NAACP Just Committed the Worst Kind of Betrayal
The 74
July 27, 2017“Charters are about opportunity. And the NAACP, as an organization historically committed to advancing opportunity, is the one place where no one should stand in the way.”
African-American Education Leaders Speak out Against NAACP Actions
The Center for Education Reform
July 31, 2017“The NAACP has a long history of fighting for justice and for individual rights that further opportunities, hopes and human dignity. These efforts are the antithesis of that long fight, putting the association sadly, and uncharacteristically, on the wrong side of history.”
The NAACP’s Duplicitous Engagement of Black Families on Charter Schools Is a Betrayal
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
July 31, 2017“The NAACP just declared that its agenda — one for the adults and the union leaders that also puts charters on blast — is the one that, to them, matters most.”
Contra NAACP, Charter Schools Are Giving Hope to African-Americans Who Had None
The Washington Examiner
August 1, 2017“By providing choice for those who previously had none, D.C.’s charter schools and similarly high-performing counterparts elsewhere are delivering on the hope and promise of the civil rights movement.”
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The California Policy Center
August 1, 2017At the end of the day, it should be a parent’s choice as to where to send their kids, and many are choosing charters.
Martin Luther King Jr. Would Have Been Offended by the NAACP’s Position on Charter Schools
The Center for Education Reform
August 2, 2017“When asked whether Dr. King would have also supported charter schools, Walker replied: ‘Oh, yes, without a doubt. Because [Dr. King] knew how important a good education was.’”
Advancement — the Second ‘A’ in NAACP — Should Apply to Our Children Too
The 74
August 2, 2017“The fact is, the NAACP is out of step with the desires of so many parents across the country who are demanding more options and quality education for their children. The NAACP has chosen to ignore these parents and continue its unfortunate and misguided crusade against charter schools.”
The NAACP’s Inept Vendetta Against Charter Schools
National Review
August 3, 2017“Attending the group’s convention in Baltimore last week, education journalist Chris Stewart reported that the NAACP ‘doesn’t even try to hide the fact that they are a teachers’ union ancillary.’”
NAACP Misses Mark on Charters
The Boston Herald
August 5, 2017“While correctly pinpointing how children of color have been under-served in public education for generations, the report … contrasts uneasily with data showing that charter schools have improved public education, especially for the most vulnerable.”