January 19, 2009
April 4, 1968, cast a long shadow in our nation's history. As we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King on his birthday today, we are reminded of his legacy in so many ways.
Foremost among these, of course, is the historic election of the nation's first African-American president tomorrow. But perhaps the most enduring lesson he still teaches us is to believe in the power of education to change our society for the better.
Dr. King never saw violence as a way to end the terrible injustices of segregation, despite the segregationists numerous violent threats and deeds. In the face of danger, he fearlessly educated African-Americans about their constitutional rights. He also educated poor whites that they had nothing to fear from their black brothers and sisters.
Eloquently stating his case in his book, Called to Serve, King wrote: "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and ... critically. ... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." He understood the critical importance of education in achieving justice.
When Southern schools were segregated, poor black children were ill served by the public education systems they encountered. They lacked access to the job and career opportunities that come with access to higher education. The solution of many African-Americans at the time was the only one available: to move north, including to the District.
Sadly, D.C.'s public education system, like that in many parts of urban America, fell into decline, leaving many families with no alternative to the city's failing public schools. Fortunately, enough people in the District's various communities believed in education sufficiently to change the law, allowing public charter schools to set up and provide alternative public education options.
The charter school movement educated the city government about the need for choice as ever-increasing numbers of parents switched to charters. Today, more than one in three D.C. students are educated in public charter schools.
D.C.'s public charter schools are widely admired for raising the test scores of the African-American students who comprise 89 percent of charters' students. In federal, if not yet local, government, charters' success has built a strong pro-charter consensus that transcends party affiliation. President-elect Barack Obama for example, campaigning for his party's nomination, said: "I think we should foster competition within the public school system with charters."
D.C.'s charter schools are doing precisely that. Charters have raised the share of African-American secondary school students scoring advanced or proficient in math and reading tests 35 percent above the level attained in D.C.'s traditional public schools.
Economically disadvantaged African-American students in public charter secondary schools are twice as likely to score advanced or proficient in math and reading as their peers in the city-run schools.
Math and reading proficiency are essential prerequisites for a professional job in today's economy, and the career prospects and healthcare benefits such jobs can provide. These critical skills matter to anyone in today's challenging economy but are all the more important for African-Americans from D.C.'s most underserved neighborhoods. They need these skills to join the mainstream economy that has left so many vulnerable District communities.
We can build on the success of D.C.'s thriving charter schools by expanding them to accommodate those on waiting lists trying to get in, and by applying the lessons charters have learned in District-run schools.
There are signs that the city may try to do this by providing charter-like autonomy to some traditional public schools. By building on charters' success to ensure that every student has access to a good public education, we can use education to transform our city.
Donald Hense is chairman and founder of Friendship Public Charter Schools in the nation's capitol.