Are charter schools the new segregation academies?

Are charter schools the answer to improving education or do they lead to another problem, creating racially segregated public schools? Research shows 60 percent of students enrolled in charter schools attend racially unbalanced schools, with the majority in the South. Supporters say charter schools increase the quality of education.  But critics argue the money spent on charter schools should be used to improve existing public schools and foster diversity. Right now Mississippi is looking to join DC and 41 other states in establishing charter schools. With its deep history of segregation how can the Magnolia State move forward without further segregating its students? We discuss at 7:30pm ET.  

In this episode, we speak to:

Richard Kahlenberg @RickKahlenberg
Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation
www.tcf.org

Carol Haddad
Vice-Chair of School Board, Jefferson County Public Schools

Andre Perry @andreperryedu
Dean of Urban Education, Davenport University
www.drandreperry.com

Sanford Johnson @Mississippi1st
Deputy Director, Mississippi First
www.mississippifirst.org   

Robert Reece @PhuzzieSlippers
PhD Student, Duke University
http://www.furiousandbrave.com

What do you think? Record a video comment or leave your thoughts in the comments below. 

Will charter schools lead to better education for marginalized students? Or are they the new segregation academies? In states like Mississippi, white flight academies were created in the 1960s and 1970s in order to bypass Brown v. Board of Education. With Mississippi's education system consistently ranked at the bottom of the barrel, the state is looking for solutions that help all of its children. 

Earlier this year, Mississippi enacted a new charter school bill. Lawmakers are hoping charters are the fix for Mississippi's broken education system.