Nothing is more challenging than opening a charter school except for closing it, which can be a public relations disaster. Of course, not closing a failing school can also be a disaster when it implodes: Recall the scandal that accompanied the shuttering of the California Charter Academy this past summer, leaving thousands of students in the lurch. But, as Education Week notes, "most authorizers who take their responsibilities seriously agree that weeding out bad schools is a vital component of the autonomy-for-accountability bargain at the heart of the charter school concept" and are now "getting serious about sharing their experiences and finding better ways to pull the plug." According to Mark Cannon, executive director of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, authorizers are working on ways "to develop a triage team that swoops in quickly before an unscrupulous operator is able to do damage" so that they can protect both "the kids and the money." Of course, one major obstacle to closing weak charter schools is parents. Notes Jim Goenner, head of the charter schools office at Central Michigan University and one of America's foremost authorizers, "When you preach the accountability message - if they don't perform, we'll shut them down - it's a complete red flag to parents. Parents of the kids say, 'If the school's not performing, change the leadership, don't put my child on the street.'" So the challenge becomes convincing the public that sometimes closing a school is the right thing to do.
"Charter authorizers eye rules on closings," Caroline Hendrie, Education Week, February 2, 2005