Kentucky Tonight – Lots of Charter School Myths #2

– What Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman said

– To Massachusetts

"What we're saying is it's possible to have public schools and charter schools stand side by side and learn from each other."

Quote from Sheldon Berman, current superintendent of the Jefferson County Public Schools, published in a March 31, 2005, Boston Globe article titled, “Report boosts charter schools, Superintendents say gap narrower.” Dr. Berman was a co-author of that report.

– What he just said to Kentucky

On the January 18, 2009 Kentucky Tonight show on KET Television, Dr. Berman made some introductory comments starting about three minutes into the show.

Said Berman, “The data on charter schools is that it’s, it’s truly a failed reform, particularly for African-American students, particularly for low income students.”

The question is: does the research since Berman’s 2005 comment justify a finding of outright failure?

Is Berman’s strong assertion that charter schools have failed African-Americans and low income students correct?

We’ll be exploring these questions in greater detail later, but you can get a leg up on the truth right now. Just enter the term “charter school” into the Bluegrass Policy Blog’s search feature and click on the magnifying glass icon to start the search. You will find a host of articles with evidence that Dr. Berman is very out of touch with the latest research on charter schools.