I’m a proud charter school mom. Why is Washington short-changing critical schools? | Opinion

I am proudly, unflinchingly, a charter public school mom and advocate.

In Washington, charter public schools are still regularly mistaken as private or religious schools. But charter public schools are public schools that offer a different approach and are thus a better fit for some families — including my family.

Washington’s charter public schools offer mentorship and mental health support, which has been a lifeline for students and families like mine. They are community-rooted and led, meaning that the families who attend the school, educators who run the school, and community leaders who are authentically engaged with the school are shaping the futures of its students in real-time.

Yet, charter public school students receive 75 cents on the dollar as compared to their peers in other public schools. It’s time to right this wrong.

I’m not fighting for special treatment for my children’s school; I’m fighting to ensure my children’s education is recognized as no less important than students in other public schools and receives resources on the same basis as their peers’ educations across our state.

My family has been blessed with two children. Our daughter is a typical learner in first grade without any accommodations. Our son is a third grader with an individualized education plan for special education services. He has autism, has survived a stroke and was previously non-verbal. We needed an option for him within the public school system that fit and addressed his unique needs.

We found what we were seeking at Commencement Bay Elementary (Impact | CBE), one of the four schools in the Impact Public Schools network. At Impact | CBE, we found a supportive and tight-knit learning environment where children are taught where they are, meaning no one is left behind and each is just as important as the next.

Like all of our state’s charter public schools, Impact | CBE is held to higher accountability standards. In exchange, they have more freedom to customize their programs, coursework and teaching methods to best suit the needs of their school community.

Today, my son has exceeded his grade level standards for reading and math. I am grateful that he benefited from this flexibility and appreciate that state and federal requirements that ensure excellence and safety for all public school students apply to my kids also. It is no understatement to say that Impact | CBE has been life-changing for my kids and family.

From a community standpoint, I was eager for my children, who are mixed race, to learn in a place where they felt safe, known, and celebrated. Sixty-two percent of students in charter public schools and 34% of charter public school teachers are people of color — in both instances, these are higher percentages than traditional public schools. Coupled with student achievement, a charter public school gave us hope. In back-to-back results in the last two years, one common statewide assessment found that Black, Latinx and low-income students at Washington’s charter public schools topped their peers in traditional public schools in key subjects such as English and math.

These findings show optimism and evidence public schools can prepare students for life after graduation.

Right now, there is legislation before state legislators that corrects the inequitable funding problem. These proposals are not asking for something special; they are asserting that all of Washington’s public school students should receive equitable funding from the state. After all, I’m a taxpayer and a voter who supports school levies when they come before me.

Why shouldn’t my students benefit from my tax dollars like other public school parents’ tax dollars do?

We know the road ahead for all of Washington’s public school students should be promising, no matter where your family is from or where you live in the state. Charter public schools like the one my children attend are the options that illuminate their bright future.

It’s incredible to have access to a free, public and student-centered option that is open to all.

I urge lawmakers to act to support all public schools with equitable funding.

Taryn Major is a proud resident of Tacoma.

This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "I’m a proud charter school mom. Why is Washington short-changing critical schools? | Opinion."