A Choice for D.C. Students

What's the alternative to conversion of Catholic schools?

NO ONE CHEERED the announcement that eight Catholic schools in the District might be converted to secular charter schools. Not archdiocesan officials saddened by the prospective loss of schools offering a Catholic education; not principals and teachers who are worried that their jobs could be fundamentally changed; and not parents upset by new uncertainty over their children's schooling. Nonetheless, the proposal by Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl is a bold and creative alternative to closing the schools. It has the best interests of students in mind.

The plan, still in its infancy, was prompted by the enormous financial losses the church is suffering in operating the schools. It would convert eight of the District's 28 Catholic schools to publicly funded charter schools. The schools would be stripped of their core Catholic identity -- no morning prayers, no religious icons, no instruction in the faith. But the strong educational instruction would remain -- which is the best argument for pursuing the archbishop's idea. At a time when many are bemoaning the quality of public schools, students in these parochial schools are succeeding academically. In reading, mathematics and language, they post scores higher than the national average on the standardized tests used by private schools. These children -- and they are mostly poor, mostly African American and mostly from single-parent homes -- are entitled to continue their educations uninterrupted.

Already, opponents of the plan are denouncing it as a drain on city finances or a stalking horse for an eventual privatization of public education. There is no question that there are legitimate questions surrounding any conversion. Who would operate these schools? Would they truly be devoid of any religious identification? Would this change in character affect the quality of instruction? The D.C. Public Charter School Board, which will have to approve any conversion, should carefully examine the plans and qualifications of any potential operator, paying particular attention to church-state issues.

We strongly support the efforts of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to improve the public schools, but no child should have to wait to learn. That's why choice is so important in American education. It's no coincidence that as enrollment in traditional D.C. public schools continues to decline (preliminary figures show 49,199 students, down from 53,365 last year), the number of charter school students grows each year. Every effort should be made to preserve the schools that do work.