In the South Chicago suburbs, Governors State University Charter School has been a very successful charter school – very high test scores, applicants on a waiting list, state funding for a new school building. But a charter school needs one thing to stay alive that traditional public schools don’t need – a valid charter. And this successful charter school’s charter has been rebuked, which means that the school will shut down at the end of the year. Why? Local officials felt that Governors State University, which conceived, created, and supported the school, had too much control. This article in the Chicago Tribune is an interesting example of the politics of charter schools – in this case, a power struggle.
