The
Walton Family Foundation just announced it will stop funding charter schools in Chicago likely for the same reason I’m tempted to sell my house in the city and say like they do on the show “Shark Tank”:
I’m out.
No, This Is Not a Victory for Anti-Charter Critics
Diane Ravitch, a staunch critic of education reform and charter schools, recently suggested that the public backlash against charters in Chicago finally ran the Walton Foundation out of the city. I disagree. Between 2009 and 2014—when the anti-charter movement was at its height—the foundation gave nearly $7 million in direct grants to charter schools in Chicago. The foundation is clearly not afraid of a fight. As a Chicago resident, I find that the average citizen is agnostic about the charter versus district debate. They just want access to great schools. Like most philanthropic foundations, it’s reasonable for the Walton Foundation to want to maximize its return on investment—without unnecessary drama. The foundation, which claims to have funded 1 in 4 charter schools in America, is now refusing to plant its profits into Chicago’s toxic educational soil. In fact, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) ranks Illinois a measly 32 out of 43 states on alignment with the organization’s model charter school law guidelines to promote expansion. The National Association for Charter School Authorizers was a bit more generous, placing Illinois 25th out of 44 for having charter policies that promote quality schools and accountability. Walton’s own webpage makes it clear: “We are investing in cities where conditions support system-wide educational improvement and where we can have the greatest impact.” And just like 105,200 Illinois residents and a dozen large corporations that last year fled to other states for better economic opportunities, the Walton Family Foundation is taking its checkbook to more charter-friendly school districts in Indianapolis, New Orleans and Atlanta—cities in states that NAPCS ranked first, fourth and 18th, respectively. It’s not that elected officials and school districts in these states fully embrace charter schools, but the rigorous checks and balances in which charters are both authorized and held accountable creates a culture of mutual respect, and in some cases even collaboration, from their counterparts. Maybe the Walton Family Foundation realized that after Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 49 schools for their lack of enrollment in 2013 that opening more charter schools made little sense. (The exception is the Southwest Side of Chicago, where Latino communities still face under-performing and overcrowded schools. Since the massive school closures, only two new charters have been approved and both were on the Southwest Side.) Whatever the reason, the Walton Family Foundation said, “I’m out.” But before anti-charter advocates throw a party over this perceived victory, a word of caution: This could be a sign of darker days to come for Chicago Public Schools. Look at Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit. All five of those school districts are underwater financially, politically and academically—and they have to practically donate body parts to lure philanthropic bucks. Every major city needs a robust public-private partnership to thrive. With mounting debt, feuding politicians, and a shrinking tax base, pretending that Chicago’s public education sector can afford to go it alone is just plain folly.
