"Public education is about the adults, not the children," said a retired state legislator to me a number of years ago. I never forgot this simple truth that is so often missed.

A perfect illustration of this mindset is the whole debate and discussion around charter school "saturation" in certain areas of the state; namely, Buffalo, Albany, Harlem and parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Charter schools have proliferated in these areas for good reason: they've had crummy public district schools for years; in some cases, generations. It's not complicated. Go back any number of years to review results on the state exams for 4th and 8th grade and view the "disaggregated" data for students who are minority or from low-income households in these areas. In many instances you have 80 to 90 percent of 8th grade students not meeting state English and mathematics standards, a considerable increase in failure rates from 4th grade results. The tragedy of this is many of these students go into high school, then drop-out -- accelerating a downward spiral.

Such areas cry out for something better, and that is what charter schools have brought to public education: improved student achievement which has been repeatedly documented to exceed that of district results.

Capping Charters to Protect the System
"Saturation" is a term used by school district officials, union chieftains, and their allies in public office who are determined to stop charter schools by capping the number of charters that can be approved in a given location. A local or regional cap would do nothing more than deny public educational opportunity and quality to more families, and is designed to protect and insulate the system over which district officials, union chieftains and their public office friends preside. It also would severely lessen the chances for the state to get Race to the Top funding, assuming any of them care at this point.

Sure, these folks want to help students and families, but only their way, in their system. A charter school here or there may be tolerable, but "too many" makes those connected to the district system way too uncomfortable. It's now to the point where many of them have lashed out at charter schools with one falsehood and distortion after another since New Year's Day, as the Race to the Top issue has heated up and charters are back on the legislature's negotiating table.

"Saturation" not in Parents' Vocabulary
In the context of charters, "saturation" is not in the vocabulary of parents with students in charter schools in these areas of the state, nor is it for those parents seeking to enroll their students in such schools. Until every student in a district or charter school in Harlem, Albany, Buffalo or central Brooklyn attends a high-quality, high-performing school, "saturation" should not be in any adults' vocabulary either.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard