Was SRC vote on charters good for students, city?

By Marc Mannella

Last Wednesday's School Reform Commission meeting, where the fate of the 39 charter applications was decided, resulted in a sleepless night for me. The SRC denied 34 applications and granted five, including one of KIPP Philadelphia's, where I have served since 2003 as founder and CEO. The SRC granted a total of 2,684 "new" seats for families in Philadelphia. So I'm left wondering: Is this a "good" result?

There's certainly a strong case to be made that this is very good news. The SRC stood up to Gov. Wolf and the majority of Philadelphia mayoral candidates who publicly stated that every application should be rejected regardless of merit. The SRC also acknowledged KIPP's status as one of the best charter school operators in the city by granting us one of only five new charters. Critically, we will be using 300 of the 500 "new" seats granted us to correct a mistake made in 2012, when the School District approved our expansion to a K-12 charter, but only enough seats to serve grades K-2, and 5-11. This correction secures our long-term stability, and we are grateful for that.

However, there's also a case to be made that last Wednesday night was a sad one for our city. This action does not allow us to open any new schools. The 2,684 seats from the five approved charters includes the 300 "new" seats they granted us, which are not new seats at all; these are current charter students attending our existing school. So make that 2,384 new seats - enough to serve just 7 percent of the estimated 30,000 families on charter wait lists. When taken together with the recent closures of two charter schools, which sent students back into traditional district schools, this is only a few hundred additional seats in charter schools between now and 2018. And lastly, excellent charter operators who already run excellent schools were denied the ability to open more excellent schools. That is just not good news no matter how you look at it.

What does all this mean?

For KIPP, the approval was validation of our teachers' skill and hard work. Our academic results consistently show KIPP to be a top performer among all schools serving a population where more than 80 percent qualify for free or reduced meals. The work our staff does every day - with the same students that are served in failing schools all across this city - was recognized and was the reason we received one of the five charters granted. So the days after the vote look just like the ones before: We will do what we do best to ensure that our students make it to and through college. Our students have won the lottery - literally - and that means they get to go to a school where they are loved, cared for, and taught exceedingly well.

For our city, sadly, these days after the vote also look just like the ones before. Those who believe charters hurt the district continue to clamor for charters to be closed and expansions to be denied. They will blame politicians and a lack of funds for the failure of the School District to effectively serve black and Hispanic students in high-need communities. And those of us who don't care whether a school is a charter or a district school, but instead believe that schools that serve children well should be expanded and schools that serve them poorly should be reformed or closed, will continue to fight against the status quo.

We will continue to fight for our families. And KIPP will continue to fight to expand.