Busted Charter Myth #1: Baltimore Public Charter Schools are Less Diverse than the Rest of the District

Measures of Diversity for Baltimore City Schools. Data sources: http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/about/by_the_numbers, http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/, http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/24386

There are at least three versions of this myth, none of which hold up under close examination.

The first version is that public charter schools serve more white students than their traditional counterparts. Using the state and district data available, this myth doesn’t hold any water at all. There is no denying that race is still a significant issue in Baltimore in general. However, unequal access to charter schools is not a racial issue in Baltimore according to the numbers. Put simply, the public charter schools in Baltimore serve a very similar student population to the district overall in terms of racial diversity.

A second version of this myth is that the public charter schools who are currently parties to a lawsuit against the school district are less diverse than other charter schools. Again, the chart on this page shows that simply isn’t true — even when considered separately from the other public charter schools, litigant charter schools’ diversity numbers still reflect the diversity of the city’s school system.

A third version of this myth is that public charter schools, or the subgroup of charters engaged in the lawsuit, are bastions of the middle class, and do not serve poor children. This also is not supported by the numbers. The chart above does show a slight difference in the percentage of students enrolled in the FARMs (Free And Reduced Meals) program among the categories we examined. 83.7% of all students in Baltimore’s public schools were enrolled in FARMs in 2014-2015, compared to 78.6% of students in public charter schools, and 73.1% in the litigant public charter schools. This is a difference, but there are a few points to consider when examining these numbers:

• With 78% of students enrolled in the FARMs program, the public charter schools can hardly be described as bastions of the middle class. The same is true of the litigant charter schools — 73% of their students received free or reduced cost meals in 2014-2015. That’s nearly 3 out of 4 students.
• It is well recognized that students enrolled in FARMs are more likely to face transportation difficulties that can act as barriers in enrolling in distant charter schools.
• In 2015, the State of Maryland changed the laws governing charter schools to allow schools to apply for Geographic Attendance Area (GAA) waivers which would allow charter schools to draw up to 35% of their students from the surrounding neighborhoods.
  • This has been embraced by schools like the Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School, which is located in a community with a significant population of economically disadvantaged students. In February 2016, the school applied for a waiver that would allow it to fill 30% of its enrollments from the surrounding neighborhood.
  • Despite support for this application in the community, the school board opted to approve only a 10% GAA waiver, significantly reducing the number of disadvantaged students who would have otherwise been able to attend this charter school ahead of students from other more affluent parts of the city.
  • In short, some public charters have tried to expand opportunities for students who may face transportation issues by prioritizing students from their neighborhoods. However, the effectiveness of these efforts has been hampered by decisions outside of the schools’ control.

UPDATE (May 6, 2016): By popular demand, here’s the excel sheet for the demographic calculations. Myth 1 Diversity web

UPDATE (May 7, 2016): The original calculations inadvertently left Govans Elementary, a neighborhood charter school, out of the totals. The Excel sheet and graph have been updated with the updated data. This moved the overall percentage of African American students in charter schools in Baltimore from 82.7% to 83.1%. We thank the keen eye of the community for bringing this minor miscalculation to our attention.