A misleading article was published in the Feb. 1 edition of the Chicago Tribune, giving details about rallies by protesters who support the opening of charter schools in Chicago.
Most of the report was accurate, including these statements:
The rally was part of a cross-country tour organized by the coalition behind National School Choice Week. The local organizer, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, used the occasion to fire up parents who it says want access to higher-quality schools.
“There’s a demand for more charter schools, and parents are saying they’re tired of squabbling, they want better school choices.” said Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois network, earlier in the day.
Opponents of charter schools tie the increasing number of charters to the closings of district-run neighborhood schools. In recent years, most new charter schools in Chicago have opened in buildings that formerly housed neighborhood schools.
The statement that most charter schools open in buildings that were once neighborhood schools reflects a national trend and can be trusted. Other statements, however, mislead readers into propaganda about charter schools. For example:
Cynthia Lewis, whose son attends Urban Prep Academies’ West Campus, said she supports the closing of some CPS schools if it means more charter schools.
“I feel that all kids should have an equal opportunity when it comes to school as well as academics,” Lewis said.
For the moment, ignore the “when it comes to school as well as academics” part. It’s a case of one thing (school) entirely including another part (academics), and this type of misstatement is common and represents only a minor flaw in logic.
We focus instead on the first part of Ms Lewis’ statement: “all kids should have an equal opportunity” in school in terms of the education they receive.
Chicago Tribune reporters Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah and Ellen Jean Hirst introduced this quote in such a way that a reasonable reader would expect to hear support for either the closing of neighborhood schools or the opening of charter schools in Chicago. That’s not exactly what we got.
Not only do charters not have to accept “all” students, but the opportunities for students enrolled in charter schools are not “equal,” especially in terms of “academics.” That is, Ms Lewis’s quote contained one sentence, and that sentence contained one minor flaw in logic and two errors. The Tribune has let these errors stand as part of the published history of Chicago’s schools.
Don’t take errors lightly
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Tribune had the 11th-highest total average circulation among all US newspapers as of Sept. 30. The average total readership is around 412,000, down about 3 percent from 2011. The Sun-Times, on the other hand, now has the ninth-largest total average circulation nationally, having increased by more than 11 percent in the 12 months prior to September 2012.
Reports like this underscore the reason for the decline in Tribune circulation. Printing logical flaws and errors, without issuing corrections as soon as an editor spots the problem, will bring down a media giant every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Still, unsuspecting readers of the Tribune are being fed errors and logical flaws that lead them to feel a connection with charter schools, a sort of “we all want the same high-quality education for our kids” feeling. And that connection is based on misinformation and sloppy reporting.
The “all kids” lie
Charter schools are public schools and open to all students, according to the website for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “They never charge tuition, and they accept any student who wants to attend,” the authors of the site say. Any student? Not really.
Independent research and some good investigative reporting from Stephanie Simon at Reuters has revealed this representation of charter schools is a flat lie, told to a public who are unable to conduct the research on their own. The facts on the ground and in urban school districts suggest charter schools put up several barriers to entry. Among these are
- Entrance exams, requirements to see report cards, academic prerequisites
- Demands for the presentation of Social Security cards or birth certificates
- Application essays by students and parents, teacher recommendations
- The exclusive use of English in the application process and in instruction
And it doesn’t stop there. Many charter schools also require proof of disability or special needs. This practice also reveals a loophole in the charter school law: Requiring documentation of special needs is illegal on the college level, but Congress has not addressed this on the K-12 level.
The “equal opportunity” lie
Charter schools expel many more students than traditional neighborhood schools do (period). This is according to an investigation conducted by the Washington Post and concerned charter schools in Washington, D.C.
Some potentially biased results are also available for Chicago, as reported here on the website for the Liberation, a Socialist organization.
However, the strict rules enforced at many charter schools in Chicago may be the reason that 11 percent of students who enrolled in 2009 transferred out of the charters, according to a report on Chicago Catalyst in partnership with WBEZ-FM.
So, if schools expel more students and more students end up transferring out of charter schools in Chicago, it is clearly incorrect to suggest (or to print, Mr Tribune editor) that charter schools provide equality in terms of educational opportunities.
An apology
I apologize for not getting to this misrepresentation sooner. You see, I actually work in the education field, and with all the tests coming up in the next few months, I’ve been rather busy with my real job.
But even I as a part-time reporter can understand what it means to be under deadline at a major newspaper like the Tribune. I still think conspiracy theorists will construe this type of story as a veiled attempt to gain support for charter schools.
Charter schools are sometimes good for students and sometimes bad. As an educator, I support the idea of beefing up public schools that don’t make it difficult or part of a lottery for students to get in and that treat all students equally once they get in the door. If that’s a charter school and Chicago’s neighborhood schools can’t do it, then that’s the story that needs to be reported. Spreading lies, propaganda, and other uninformed opinion is irresponsible journalism.