Democratic representation and charter school governance: The case of KIPP

The face of public education has changed dramatically in the last three decades. As the country has seen greater diversity in its school-age population, new models of schooling to meet students’ diverse needs have emerged and changed how “public education” is defined. In particular, the rise of public charter schools exemplifies the effort to move away from a standardized model of public education, where schools are governed by democratically elected school boards (or school boards appointed by democratically elected leaders). The charter school model, where schools are typically run by reform-minded individuals and organizations, has become the majority mode of education in urban districts such as New Orleans and Detroit. Reformers have argued that charter schools offer the opportunity to undercut the monopoly school districts have enjoyed over public education funding, while better serving families and communities that have been marginalized by public education’s model of governance. Indeed, some charter advocates have argued that removing electoral politics from public education can lead to a more democratic system (Chubb & Moe, 1990).

But does the shift in governance from the political model of school districts to the charter school model actually lead to greater participation by different communities? There are various ways of determining this, such as by looking at enrollment figures or measuring the gap in educational outcomes. But what about the question of who actually runs the schools? This issue is of particular importance because many charter schools were designed specifically to give voice to groups that had been silenced (Nathan, 1996). By opening up opportunities not only for students to attend a different school, but for individuals and organizations outside the traditional system to start and run new schools, reformers hoped to broaden democratic input into publicly funded education to reflect the needs and preferences of marginalized communities.

Some charter advocates have argued that removing electoral politics from public education can lead to a more democratic system