By Charles Barone and Marianne Lombardo
From their origins in the 1980’s all the way up until the present day, public charter schools have enjoyed support from elected officials, thought leaders, and constituencies across the political spectrum. Recently, however, we’ve seen a split emerge on charter schools among individuals and organizations on the left.
This issue brief offers a reminder that throughout their history, public charter schools have had strong roots in progressivism and that the current public charter school sector, on the whole, reflects Democratic values of equalizing opportunity and empowering local communities.