The NYT turns in a very good article about the recent charter conversion of seven Catholic schools in Washington, DC.???? This topic combines two extremely interesting issues: the loss of faith-based urban schools (especially Catholic schools) and the proliferation of charters in America's big cities.
There's much to chew on here, but two matters are of particular interest to me.???? First, can you take the Catholic out of these Catholic schools without reducing their effectiveness? So, is faith a thread that runs through the entire fabric of the school, which, if removed, will cause the entire garment to unravel????? Or is faith just one of many pillars supporting the school's work????????one that can be removed or replaced without significantly threatening the school's structural (educational) stability?
Second, why can't we rewrite our charter laws to allow for faith-based charters????? These schools would get to keep their faith components while receiving public money in exchange for public accountability (state assessments, open enrollment, etc) like all other charters.
My opinions on this are driven by two pragmatic beliefs.???? Given the paucity of great urban schools, it doesn't make sense to allow any of them to be put in jeopardy; and we need to start developing policies that focus on school quality instead of school provider (traditional public, charter, private, or parochial).????