“Partners in Closing the Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support High-Quality Universal Pre-K”
The charter school movement and the push for universal preschool hold the potential to be “important partners” in improving education, but they generally operate on separate tracks with little cooperation or exchange of ideas, says a new report issued by a pro-charter group.
“[B]oth sectors face similar challenges, such as building capacity and ensuring high quality across diverse providers, and could help one another develop solutions,” writes Sara Mead, an education analyst and a board member for Democrats for Education Reform, a New York City-based advocacy group that contributes money to Democratic candidates.
In the March 21 “policy briefing memo,” Ms. Mead argues that charter schools offer a potential source of new prekindergarten capacity, and that policies to incorporate the independent public schools into state pre-K programs could support growth and quality in the charter movement.
