Charter Schools, the Cliffhanger Issue of the 2012 Election

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/11/charter-schools-the-cliffhanger-issue-of-the-2012-election/264908/


The Obamas visit a charter school in Washington, D.C. The debate over charter schools doesn't break down along traditional partisan lines, maybe because the schools and their methodologies are so diverse. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

There's one in Arizona that offers horsemanship and equine science classes. There's a bilingual one in California, seven miles from the border with Tijuana, that flies flags from the alma maters of teachers and alumni to encourage current students. There's a whole network of them in Detroit designed especially to help homeless and at-risk kids.

Some of these schools use progressive teaching methods, like Waldorf or Montessori, that emphasize imagination or autonomy. Others have very strict rules about obedience, attendance, and parent involvement. Some struggle because they're poorly managed, or because they serve difficult-to-help communities. Others stand among the best and most innovative schools in the country, or send kids from troubled neighborhoods to top colleges. They couldn't be more different -- except that all are public schools, privately managed but funded by taxpayers.

Here's an unexpected result of Tuesday's election: Charter schools may have ended up being the most controversial issue of the 2012 vote.

Americans spent a lot of time preparing themselves for weeks or months of conflict over the results of the presidential election or over ballot initiatives on marijuana, gay marriage, and the death penalty. It turns out that preparation was unnecessary: All of those results were definitive. One of the only election day outcomes that's still disputed is the result of a Washington state referendum on whether to allow charter schools. Right now, it looks like the "for" side has an edge, but it's close enough that every ballot will be counted before the vote is called. (Georgia passed a similar measure with a decisive 59 percent "yes" vote that some attributed to President Obama's support for the measure.)