Does One Charter School Approval Establish a Trend?

There are details to iron out. A formal contract needs signing. Nevertheless, it looks like Montgomery County Public Schools will open its first public charter school in the fall of 2012. Congratulations to the folks at the Community Montessori Public Charter School in Kensington.

A quick personal observation: I don’t see as an omen that public charter schools will multiple across the county.

Since 1998, when the county Board of Education first adopted a charter school policy—essentially announcing that the county was open for charter school applications—only four official applications have been submitted for review and approval. That’s four in 14 years—hardly a groundswell or trend.

I have heard that others have pondered submitting application, but merely thinking about it is not the same as committing to a real application—a process that literally consumes your life.

I know first-hand how the process consumes your life. I was the co-president of the first county public charter school group to submit an application to the Board of Education. And after two application rejections and four-and-a-half years, my Jaime Escalante Public Charter School group threw in the towel. Getting the Board of Education to approve any charter school is a tall order and a long ordeal.

But the approval of the Community Montessori Public Charter School proves applicants can meet a high standard (and it never hurts to come to the table with a facility). However, again, I don’t see this one approval radically altering the landscape in the short- or long-term. The county will continue to be viewed as unfriendly to charters.