In 2013, Denver Public Schools adopted a common enrollment system, called SchoolChoice, and developed a series of informational tools to make charter schools more accessible for disadvantaged students. This strategy — as I found in a recent study — has substantially increased the proportion of such students entering the city's charter schools.
Historically, as in other cities, Denver's charter schools enrolled significantly smaller proportions of students with classifications that suggest they are particularly difficult to educate — those with disabilities, those learning English, and those eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch — than did surrounding schools. Critics of charters often alleged that such differences were due to their "pushing out" these types of students.
“The data show that the reason urban charters have historically enrolled fewer seemingly disadvantaged students is that families are less likely to apply.”
However, an analysis of student enrollment data shows that low-performing students are just as likely to exit district schools as charters, and students with disabilities are substantially less likely to exit charters than district schools.
The data show that the reason urban charters have historically enrolled fewer seemingly disadvantaged students is that families are less likely to apply.
Prior to SchoolChoice, families interested in DPS charter schools were expected to research and understand complicated application processes. Today, parents annually submit a single form on which they list preferred schooling placements from among both charter and district options. Surveys conducted by the Center for Reinventing Public Education found DPS parents feel the common enrollment system more accessible and less confusing than the old, lottery-based system.
So, have the adoption of SchoolChoice and the improved informational resources led to real increased access to charters for disadvantaged students?
To answer that question, I compared changes in enrollment for entering kindergartners in Denver's charter and district elementary schools before and after adoption of SchoolChoice.
After the program began, there was a clear jump in the proportion of students entering charter schools who were eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch or who spoke English as a second language that did not appear within district schools. (Students with disabilities did not fully participate in the process during the years studied.) The effect was large enough to almost entirely eliminate the once-sizable enrollment gap between charter and district schools for English language learners, and it cut the gap of those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch by more than half.
“Denver's experience shows that moving to a common enrollment process has promise to address the consistent charter school enrollment gaps that consistently occur in urban districts. ”
Denver's experience shows that moving to a common enrollment process has promise to address the consistent charter school enrollment gaps that consistently occur in urban districts. SchoolChoice's success should act as a model for districts looking to increase educational opportunity for students most in need.
This piece originally appeared in The Denver Post
This piece originally appeared in The Denver Post