In Denver, a charter school network called STRIVE is working closely with Denver Public Schools to improve its ability to serve students with special needs and to enroll more of the students.
As Eric Gorski of Chalkbeat writes in the Atlantic, until a few years ago, STRIVE was not focused on students with special needs.
That changed in part because of an unusual effort by Denver Public Schools to get its charter schools to serve their fair share of high-needs students. It also changed because STRIVE embraced the new challenge, part of a broader “equity agenda” that includes other changes in enrollment and school practices.
“This is about creating the best system for public schools on behalf of communities,” said the network’s CEO, Chris Gibbons. “We believe that requires that charter schools be a part of a system of durable public institutions that are truly creating that value for a community. That is the right thing to do morally.”
Marcus Winters wrote for EdNext about special ed enrollment rates in charter schools in “The Myth about the Special Education Gap.”
— Education Next
Last updated July 11, 2017
