Traditional civil rights advocates and many of their longtime allies are struggling to justify and explain why they oppose charter schools and other education reform initiatives that largely target and improve the academic prospects for schoolchildren residing in the urban communities that many of these groups profess to care about. It’s no secret that the most effective charter schools across the country serve predominantly non-white students who reside in urban environments. When you examine the performances of the good charter schools, it’s abundantly clear that the academic gains of charter students equal or exceed those of their peers in traditional public schools. These realities beg the question of why anyone who claims to care about access to high quality public education for all children would oppose the development of more charter models.

One reason for the schizophrenia on behalf of civil rights advocates is that many of them ultimately care more about their political and social allegiances than they do about the actual academic success of every child. They are proving that they’re willing to sacrifice the academic achievements of young people in order to maintain their shrinking relevance in a shifting social and political landscape. The fear of change is causing some civil rights groups to take positions that make no sense in the context of student academic progress, e.g. challenging the existence of a charter school based on space sharing agreements that would lead to students eating lunch earlier in the day. This fear is also preventing them from stepping outside of their comfort zones, beyond the grip of the status quo and teachers unions, to embrace innovation and creativity in the delivery of public education.

As fraud, mismanagement, and cheating scandals stifle the progress of a number of urban school systems, parents are gaining a clearer picture of what’s more important to some classroom teachers and school administrators. Educators’ pursuit of job security and personal and professional relevance and stature have led to all kinds of compromise and unethical behavior and practices within their ranks; actions that have hurt the academic prospects for students who are already being poorly served by their schools. As families have gained greater access to school choices and grown impatient with the education establishment, they are not necessarily relying on the judgments and opinions of advocates whose agendas are no longer in sync with the hopes and desires that parents have for their children’s schooling. Families that care about their children’s education have more choices in today’s environment and can choose to relocate their child to a school that is uniquely suitable for that student’s academic needs.

Today’s schools are dramatically different from a half century ago where there was separate and unequal elementary and secondary schools. America’s schools are filled, for the most part, with education professionals who care deeply about the academic success of all students. You can walk in any one of them and marvel at the culture of the schools and classrooms, in comparison to what was the norm fifty years ago. However, there are still low performing and ineffective schools in far too many communities, as evidenced by the low expectations of students, heartbreaking literacy rates, worn out textbooks, and rundown school buildings. Parents, civil rights groups, teachers unions, education entrepreneurs, and educators of all stripes must decide whether they are truly committed to equitable access to high quality education for every child or are they more committed to maintaining allegiances that sacrifice what’s best for students.