Are Trenton students actually benefiting from charter school education?

Are Trenton students actually benefiting from charter school education? That is a question tax-paying residents, who are guardians of students, are uniquely positioned to answer. Over the past year, stories and data about the district’s education have been released, some alarming and some comforting. The interpretation of this information has left parents divided about what’s best. Regardless of the facts and figures reported, what matters most is Trentonians’ academic experience, forming their opinion. The community has a right to evaluate this critically; we’re committed to packaging the news and experience of parents, which sparks the charter versus public school debate.  

What’s a charter school, anyway? Charter schools are publicly funded and tuition-free academic institutions but are privately owned and operate autonomously of public-school districts and standards. Though taxpayer money funds public and charter schools, any student can attend a public school, but not all students can attend a charter school. Charter schools usually have an admission process and offer specialized curriculum, such as focusing on STEM. Their government is sometimes utterly separate from the public school system. Charter schools are generally known for accepting the “cream of the crop,” students in a district, which forces the “less desirable” students to attend public school since that is now their only option.

That culture can polarize a district, though the intention may be optimistic. Hypothetically, saying, ‘Let’s select the most gifted students, cultivate them in undistracted classrooms since ‘problem students’ most likely attend the public schools and challenge them with curriculum public schools aren’t offering since they have to abide by state standardization sounds like the ideal academic setting for any parent. But what characterizes a gifted student? Is a ‘problem child’ undeserving of resources? Is it fair to diverge funding from public schools to charter schools, even though public schools serve everyone? These are all valid questions that can sometimes divide the opinion regarding the necessity of charter schools in Trenton.

“Parents should be allowed to send their children anywhere they believe they will get a better education. So, when I look at the work done over time in Trenton, trying to transform public education, I ask the question, why charter school?” says Gene Bouie, a taxpayer who’s sent children and grandchildren through the Trenton public school system. Though Bouie serves on the Board of Education for the Trenton School District, we must disclaim that he’s speaking on behalf of being a guardian and not a Board of Education member. “We have to dispel the charter school, which is better than the public school myth, because it is a myth,” he continues, “that stigma is driven by performance on standardized assessment. But you should never measure anything by one metric.” Another central point he mentioned is that “charter schools don’t have the same accountability as public schools.” That has been exposed through the enormous pay gap between public and charter school leadership.  

Bouie makes justifiable points, starting with the stigma that charter schools are “’better”’ than public schools—if you look solely at some data points. Based on the state’s Department of Education rating system, both Trenton’s STEM-to-Civics charter school and public Trenton Central High School are in the red zone for performance. Less than 10% of students met or exceeded expectations in math testing at STEMCivics and across Trenton Public Schools. Still, with that being the case, Leigh Byron, founder of STEMCivics, was the highest-paid superintendent in the state. Despite overseeing two buildings and 589 students, Byron makes nearly three times more than Trenton Public Schools superintendent James Earle ($255,000 salary), whose district comprises 20 schools and 15,017 students. This is the accountability aspect that Bouie mentioned in his sentiments earlier. They can get away with a lot using taxpayer dollars since they essentially have their own government. Trenton public schools have also undergone substantial leadership changes in the past decade. Before Earle, the current superintendent who took office in 2021, the Trenton school district had nine superintendents in 10 years. That’s not an excuse for low academic standings but a fact that contributes to it. As with any institution, it’s challenging to accomplish goals with rotating leadership. But now that Earle is contracted for the next five years and has solid plans, academic transformation is expected.

But can the constituents rely on hope? And this doesn’t discredit the work already done in Trenton public school systems. For example, all Trenton’s schools have air conditioning, and every student has a laptop. The district also purchased school buses. They redistributed the funds from contracting with school bus companies back into the public schools. Even with the improvements made, the Trenton Public School District is still ranked within the bottom 50% of all 650 school districts in New Jersey. The school district’s graduation rate of 58% has decreased from 70% over five years.

It takes time to rebuild a failing school district. Leadership and plans have been implemented, and action items have been delivered. However, some parents still “don’t trust the public-school education,” says Michael Wimbush, parent of a seven-year-old in the Trenton public school system. They [charter schools] have really good reputations amongst the local community, myself included,” he states. Charter schools offer something not measurable—a change in scenery, which includes culture, prestige, selectiveness, etc., that public schools don’t provide. “I say with absolute certainty, my child is smarter than I was when I was his age,” Wimbush continued. This is a statement that the majority of parents would probably agree. Therefore, they want access to the finest education their district offers for their child. The disconnect is if there’s a distinguishable difference between charter and public schools’ academic results. Are charter schools actually better, or are they marketed better?

Regardless, every parent can agree on one thing—they want the best education for their children. This shared goal unites taxpayers despite the differing opinions on the best means to achieve it. Moving forward, all there is to do is remain informed about Trenton’s public and charter school updates and be active in programming. Improvement is fail-proof if that’s the case.