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I sent my child to Conservatory Lab Charter School because I thought it was a good fit for him and wanted him to receive a quality education. It sounds like a simple enough concept, but too often it is not. We simply got lucky. My son was originally No. 78 on the waiting list and only received a seat when the school was able to open up an additional fifth-grade classroom.
My child is a creative, right-brain thinker who doesn’t learn by reading material once and remembering it. He also has learning challenges and needs to take his time and process what he’s learned. He attended the public elementary school, but as middle school approached, his learning needs grew more complex.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to send my son to Conservatory Lab, which is not far from my neighborhood. When I was growing up in Dorchester, my parents decided to send me to Newton Public Schools through the Metco program for a more challenging, higher-quality curriculum. As an adult, I recall the long bus rides I endured every day to have a quality education. Some 40 years later and not much has changed. Back then, aside from pricey private schools, we didn’t have any other options. Public education in communities of color was inadequate and there were no public charter schools.
I appreciate that the Conservatory Lab focuses on the “whole child” and its curriculum is not stringently academic. The teachers encourage my child and his schoolmates to process and demonstrate their understanding in many different ways including good citizenship and cooperation. While my son is not on an Individualized Education Program, his teachers have made accommodations for him as needed based upon their understanding of who he is as a person and a learner.
In the space of one year, he has become more focused, accountable and confident in his abilities as a student. Much of this comes from the fact that I was able to choose a school that was right for him.
Too many families lack quality options when it comes to education, especially in urban communities. Each year, hundreds of youth across Massachusetts are on waiting lists for limited spaces in public charter schools, crossing their fingers for a seat. Parents who want to send their children to public charter schools continue to be shut out and frustrated by an arbitrary state cap on public charter school growth.
It is important to me that more families are provided opportunity to quality choices for the education of their children. This is why I am working alongside parents, educators and community leaders in Massachusetts to lift the cap.
Our movement is based on a simple idea: that every child deserves the opportunity to get a great public education — and all of us have a role to play in making it possible. Every child’s contribution to the greater society as they grow, will be a direct result of their education. Although he is just one instrument, my son understands that he’s contributing to an orchestra.
Now it’s time for parents to stand up and join the chorus. We must insist that public charter schools are made available to all families who want them. It’s time we get together and demand quality education for allchildren.
Karla Walker is a Mattapan resident and a former Metco and parochial school student whose son attends Conservatory Lab Charter School in Dorchester. “As You Were Saying” is a regular Herald feature. We invite readers to submit guest columns of no more than 600 words. Email to [email protected]. Columns are subject to editing and become Herald property.
