Letters: DN letters: Attack on Mastery Charter Schools is inaccurate

LISA HAVER'S recent attack (Opinion, Oct. 3) on Mastery Charter Schools and the school district's Renaissance program to turn around persistently low-performing schools is inaccurate and wildly misleading.

Contrary to Haver's assertions, Renaissance Charter Schools give parents more choice, not less.

Here are the facts: Wister Elementary School served 370 students as a district neighborhood school. This fall, after Wister became a Mastery school, enrollment increased to 520 students - that's 150 neighborhood families choosing to return their local school.

Mastery is proud that similar enrollment increases have occurred at all our Renaissance charter schools. Simply put, Renaissance charters are bringing families back to their neighborhood school. That record is even more noteworthy, considering Renaissance charter schools remain neighborhood schools, and, as a charter school, parents can actually choose to not enroll and instead go to a different district school - a right they do not have with traditional neighborhood district schools.

Regarding Mastery's discipline policies, Haver is way off the mark. Mastery is actually a leader in restorative practices and trauma-informed support. That may explain why student turnover rates decline by nearly 50 percent after Mastery partners with a school. Renaissance charters serve the same buildings, same neighborhoods and same children - but produce better results.

If Haver is truly concerned about parent choice, she would support the 987 neighborhood families currently on waiting lists at the three Mastery schools she mentions and advocate for lifting enrollment caps that prevent those families from sending their children to their school of choice.

Scott Gordon, CEO

Mastery Charter Schools Network

Matthew's most vulnerable victims

Hurricane Matthew brought devastation to much of southeastern United States, as so much of your recent coverage showed in words and photos.

But did your readers know that studies show that extreme weather events such as Matthew put families under tremendous stress and can be linked to increases in mental health issues, as well as child abuse?

A 2010 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that an increase in child abuse was found in children younger than age 2 specifically related to head injuries seen in the emergency room.

As a parent, I cannot ignore the connection between our changing climate and the increase of extreme weather events. The same harmful pollution that makes our children sick is causing rising temperatures and extreme weather events.

This year, we've experienced record-shattering heat temperatures, causing unusually warm ocean temperatures and fueling more high-intensity storms. Our changing climate is driven by fossil-fuel air pollution, and those who deny it are putting our children's lives in real danger.

This election, vote as if our children's health depends on it. Because it does.

Christy Santoro

Philadelphia