Dan Schaller, director of advocacy for the Colorado League of Charter Schools, spoke Thursday at the Franklin Center’s Amplify Choice conference about the climate for school choice in his state. The forecast? Sunny in Denver at the very least.
When asked by an audience member if charter school funding for facilities and other purposes ends up shared between traditional public schools and public charter schools, Schaller said “yes” — when it comes to Denver.
CHARTER ADVOCATE: Dan Schaller says Denver is friendlier to the charter school movement than other places in Colorado.
“Denver, because of their embrace of charter schools, is sharing their funding,” said Schaller. “That’s definitely not the case in other districts across the state.”
He jokingly pointed out that school choice is viewed by many as a GOP-backed idea while it is really a universal issue garnering bipartisan support.
Schaller called Denver a “Democratic bastion” and then quipped, “A lot of people ask ‘how is this happening?’”
The charter school movement is growing in Colorado. Currently 108,793 students attend charter schools statewide. For the 2015-16 school year, 12 percent of Colorado students attend charter schools, up by 30 percent since the 2011-12 school year.
Repeatedly mentioned by Schaller is the need for both “increased autonomy and increased accountability” when it comes to schools of choice.
Schaller stressed no single school choice concept can be the entire answer to improving educational outcomes.
“It can’t just be about choice for the sake of choice,” said Schaller. “It has to be about high quality options.”