School Choice: Charter School Academic Results Outperform Traditional Public Schools
Did you know that three of the top charter schools in Maryland are right here in Frederick County? The Frederick Classical Charter School, the Monocacy Valley Montessori Charter School, and the Carroll Creek Montessori Charter School all ranked in the top five according to NICHE research. And according to Stanford University, charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools across the country.
This raises a few questions. What is it in their approach that produces better results? Why does the Teachers union continue to argue that school choice programs like Charter Schools fail to care for the students most in need when the most significant gains in charter school performance come from Black and Hispanic Students? How can public schools like FCPS continue to claim that systemic racism exists in the public school system when the Charter School results indicate that achievement results are benefitting all students?
Just last month, the FCPS BOE stated that the Frederick County Classical Charter School (FCCS) students “excel academically” and are outperforming “the FCPS average.” We have criticized FCPS for their most recent dismal results academically. We should also go on record that the FCCS results need improvement, but they are exceeding FCPS in Math and English by ten to twenty percent.
We have a meeting with the FCPS on their academic results on July 5, and we asked that they walk us through the detailed plan to raise the priority and performance academically, along with how they will hold themselves accountable. Still, one answer might be found in studying the methods and practices that led to higher results in Charter Schools.