[ubermonkey]

Yeah, came here to say this. My BIL is an educator who started with TFA and then stood up a charter school with KIPP before going into independent schools.

Obviously and predictably, his startup charter succeeded -- wildly! -- but, to hear him tell it, a charter dropped into a struggling district absolutely will. It just does so at the expense of the district, because it pulls away the kids with motivated, supportive, engaged parents.

Turns out: motivated, supportive, engaged parenting is one of the absolutely best predictors of student educational achievement. Who knew?

So, sure, charters hurt districts, but the takeaway isn't just educational policy. It notes how intersectional these problems inevitably are. Poverty is going to make it super hard, for example, for a parent to be as involved and engaged as they might be with more of a safety net.