Charter school growth is slowing, despite a noticeable need for educational options in high poverty areas, according to a new report published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
An analysis of school locations reveals “charter school deserts,” or areas of three or more contiguous census tracts with moderate to high poverty and no charter schools. Families living in these areas have limited choices when it comes to their child’s education, and may find themselves forced to attend the failing public school to which their zip code assigns them.
There are more than 500 charter school deserts in the country, according to the report. Out of 42 charter-accessible states, 39 have at least one charter school desert each, and the average number of deserts per state is nearly 11.
Andrew Saultz, an assistant professor at Miami University of Ohio, leads researchers for the report and hopes that it will help charter school stakeholders widen their gaze to open schools in educationally under-served communities.
“While studies have analyzed the location of charter schools in particular metro areas, we know much less about statewide and national trends in where charter schools are located. We wanted to understand where charters locate, and don’t locate, across the country to better understand which students have access to school choice,” Saultz wrote in an email to Red Alert Politics.
Moreover, the 2016-17 school year was the slowest growth year for charter schools in the last decade. One possible explanation is that charter schools have become saturated in certain areas, having achieved a market share of more than 20 percent in more than three dozen cities. They are not expanding to the “deserts” however.
These findings suggest that charter schools, though a proven beneficial intervention in closing the achievement gap for low-income and minority students, are not located in the communities that need them most.
Saultz encourages policymakers, charter stakeholders, and all interested to investigate the interactive map produced, which details charter school presence.
