This article is one of a series of articles produced by Word in Black through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Word In Black is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country.By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
WA Charter Schools, the governing body of 17 charter public schools in Washington state, is emerging as a national leader in providing an innovative and equitable education for all students. Particularly, the organization is earning recognition for its success with systemically underserved populations, including low-income students, multilingual learners, students receiving special education services, and Global Majority students—Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other students of color.
According to recent data, students in charter public schools are achieving significant academic gains, often outperforming their peers in traditional public schools. Chris Korsmo, Executive Director of WA Charters, highlighted the organization’s progress.
“We’re excited by the results in our schools, especially for students of color, students from low-income families, and students receiving special education services,” Korsmo said. “For the third year in a row, Black students, Latinx students, and students from low-income families in our public charter schools performed higher than their traditional public-school peers in science, math, and language. So, we’re obviously quite excited by what we’re learning, and what we would like to be able to do is both share what we’re learning and learn from others about how to expand that growth even more.”
Charter public schools in Washington have seen a notable shift in enrollment and popularity, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Families are increasingly drawn to the flexibility and accountability that charter schools offer. Baionne Coleman, CEO of Rainier Valley Leadership Academy, believes this shift is a reflection of the choices families have long desired.
“I think the significance is that it is a direct answer to what community and constituents voted for,” Coleman said. “A public charter sector so that families would have more choice outside of the traditional public spaces.”
She added that these schools play a critical role in rethinking how education can better serve all communities. “We need to start having conversations about how we improve public education and public choice for our families. We need to really be thinking about, especially with the current state of events, even before the current state of events, how we improve upon public education so that all families and communities get the services that they actually need and the education that they deserve.”
WA Charter Schools prioritize flexibility in decision-making, allowing educators to tailor curriculum, staffing, and teaching methods to the needs of their students. They also have the autonomy to adjust school schedules to maximize learning. This adaptability makes charter schools an appealing option for families.
“Charters allow for just a quicker level of innovation and flexibility,” said Marcus Harden, Executive Director of the Washington State Charter Schools Commission and an educator with 24 years of experience in both traditional public schools and charter schools. “Charters are able to be flexible and innovative, and they’re able to quickly adapt to the needs of their students.”
Charter schools are held accountable through written performance contracts with the public chartering agency, ensuring that they meet specific academic and operational goals. If these goals are not met, a school’s charter can be revoked. Despite these unique features, charter public schools face significant funding challenges.
Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are not eligible for additional funding through local property taxes or levies. This inequity makes it difficult for charter schools to provide adequate resources, especially for facilities and students requiring special education services. Coleman emphasized the need for more equitable funding to support the continued success of charter schools.
“I think that the part of the issue is that there’s still inequitable funding for charter districts,” Coleman said. “Unfortunately, I think that more equitable funding would provide more support, especially for scholars receiving special education services and by supporting better with levy funding that families are paying taxes into. I think that those things would be the actual rewards for the success that is happening in the public charter district sector.”
While there are more than 2,000 traditional public schools in Washington, only 17 charter public schools currently serve students across the state. Yet these schools are making an outsized impact, particularly for students of color and low-income families.
About 65% of students attending charter public schools identify as people of color, compared to 52% in traditional public schools statewide. Charter schools in Washington serve five times the rate of Black students compared to the statewide average, and they employ a higher percentage of Global Majority teachers. For the third consecutive year, Black, Latinx, and low-income students in charter public schools outperformed their peers in traditional public schools on statewide assessments in English Language Arts (ELA), math, and science.
Data shows that 38-44% of Black students in charter schools achieve proficiency in core subjects, compared to just 28% of their peers in district schools. In math and science, Black students’ performance in charter schools more than doubles that of their district counterparts. Similarly, 52.5% of Latinx charter students meet science proficiency, compared to just 20.2% of Latinx students in district schools. Low-income students and those receiving special education services also show significant academic gains, performing 37-50% higher than their peers in traditional public schools.
The 2022-2023 graduation rate for charter schools reached an impressive 90%, based on data from four schools with reportable graduation rates.
Korsmo believes these results highlight the critical role charter schools play in amplifying success for underserved communities.
“I think the one additional thing, we attract and serve six times the rate of Black students as traditional schools do statewide,” Korsmo said. “Black students in our charter schools have more than twice the proficiency rates on their student tests than their peers statewide in science and math. So, we’re attracting more Black kids, and we’re serving them better in a way that’s amplifying success for them. And that is, again, that’s a critical piece of what these schools were established to do.”
