Mike's Minute: Charter schools starting to get their day in the sun

My uplifting story of the week involves charter schools. 

Charter schools are the little idea that could. Or maybe they are the big game-changing idea that could. 

We heard this week of the first public school wanting to explore the charter route. 

It's in Northland and it's being driven by the realisation that what they currently do doesn’t work for their kids. 

And that is the genesis of the charter school thinking. 

Remember, charter schools go back to a previous Government, before Labour took to them in 2017. 

So this isn't new. But the basic premise was one size does not fit all and a lot of kids may well benefit from different styles and approaches to learning. 

I have been a fan from day one. Not because charter schools are magic bullets, but rather the simple premise that what we have demonstrably doesn’t work for everyone. 

You can't hide from the facts and the truth and our pass rates, our success rates, are shocking. 

The unions simply bleat for more resource. Even if it is a partial answer, it isn't close to being the whole answer and their myopic view that there can only be one way is a very large part of the overall handbrake that has prevented real change and advancement. 

The Northland school, I thought, gave excellent insight. They have good people, they work hard, but they are simply not getting the cut through, so they need to try something different. They didn’t used to be “for” charter schools, but just their ability to accept change needs to be admired and encouraged. 

Chris Hipkins as Education Minister in 2017 killed them. Not because they weren't working, but because he is beholden to the unions and there was no way they were ever going to get a chance to prove them wrong. 

So what we have seen this time round is no shortage of demand for schools. In fact, more schools are demanding it than there is money allocated. 

We see the first public school, or at least the first public school prepared to admit they want to look at change, which leads surely to a growing sense charter schools might at last have their time. 

Some may well turn out to be brilliant, lives may well get changed and the recognition of a decent idea may well be widely accepted. 

It seems the momentum is on. 

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