Commentary: Why so many charter schools? Parents want them

Wayman Academy of the Arts, founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1999, was approved as one of Duval County’s first charter schools. The academy’s vision is to provide a learning environment that is innovative, challenging and nurturing through exposure to the fine arts.

Editor’s note: This opinion piece from the Rev. Mark L. Griffin, chairman of the Wayman Academy of the Arts Board of Directors, appeared Sunday on jacksonville.com.

 A recent op-ed column lamented that charter schools in Duval County “are proliferating all over town.” The author should ask herself why that is.

It’s because charters are responding to public demand: Families want them for their children.

Charter schools have become Florida’s most popular school choice option, with nearly 700 charter schools serving 341,000 students – enrollment that has increased 3.6% during the pandemic. Fifty percent of their students are from low-income families (they qualify for free or reduced-price lunches); 63% are Hispanic or Black.

They include the charter school I helped found 20 years ago, Wayman Academy of the Arts, one of the first charters in Duval County. The vast majority of our 250 students are Black and from low-income families; about a third live in the former Eureka Garden development nearby. We also attract students from around the Jacksonville area who are drawn to our rigorous academic curriculum and arts programs.

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BY Special to NextSteps