More Choice and Competition is the Answer

Janese Heavin at Classnotes posted recently about school board members in Columbia, MO acknowledging something many of us who follow education have known for a long time - Missouri's public schools are failing minorities.  This is not just a Kansas City or St. Louis problem as the link in the previous sentence shows.  

It is refreshing to see members of the Columbia Public School Board acknowledge the district's shortcomings.  Hopefully they will take appropriate actions.  One action they should take to to press state officials for more choices in their community.  The addition of charter schools to Columbia would be a great first step in that direction.  Currently, charter schools are only allowed in St. Louis and Kansas City.  While the charter schools would not be under the Board's control, the new competition will press the traditional public schools to improve. The innovations being used in charters can also be good examples for teachers in the public school system.