Citizens for Public Schools

Help us spread the #keepthecap message next week!

CPS is proud to participate with the Save Our Public Schools campaign in a Week of Action from June 6 to 10.  Each day of the week, we’ll support public schools for all and oppose efforts to lift the cap on charter schools. Here are some ways to get involved:

Monday, June 6: Keep It Local 

Highlight the importance of local control. More than 50 communities are on record in opposition to a charter cap lift. Is your school committee one of them? If yes, say thank you. If not, ask them to get on board. Click here for a list of communities that have passed resolutions. Here’s a sample resolution.

Tuesday, June 7: Stick to Public Schools (Sticker Day) 

Wear a “Save Our Public Schools” sticker, hold a sign, take a selfie and post. 

Get your creative juices flowing! Use whatever you have on hand to spread the #keepthecap message during the Week of Action and beyond.    → Read More

CPS has a new, detailed and downloadable fact sheet (with references) about charter schools in Massachusetts. It includes solid information about charters’ impact on local school budgets, who is included and who is excluded, waitlist numbers, and discipline practices. Click HERE or visit this page to read and download and then share the information with your friends, neighbors and elected representatives!   → Read More

Charter school promoters are making vastly exaggerated claims about students “trapped on waiting lists” in their campaign to lift the cap on charter schools, a Citizens for Public Schools analysis shows.

Charter school promoters say the waitlists show high demand for charter seats that cannot be met without lifting the caps on how much public funding can be diverted from district schools to charter schools.

But a CPS analysis of state data suggests the number affected by the cap is less than 15,000, probably thousands less. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) confusing and opaque reporting system makes it impossible to be precise, but CPS found:

• The waitlist count includes schools that are not Commonwealth charter schools and would not be affected if the cap were lifted.

• Of the students on waitlists for Commonwealth charter schools, many were taken from old lists, rolled over from past years with permission from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), even after state Auditor Suzanne Bump warned DESE against this practice.

As Marlena Rose, of the Boston Education Justice Alliance, said, “Welcome to the movement!” Thanks to Marlena and all the beautiful, brilliant students, parents, teachers and others who filled the streets of Boston yesterday. We walked in to City Hall and the State House to stand up for public education and against brutal cuts. Just one example of the excellent coverage was this, from WBUR Learning Lab reporter Erica Morrison. (Photo by Jesse Costa)   → Read More