clipped from: minnesota.publicradio.org Nearly 20 years after Minnesota passed the nation's first charter school law, charters in the Twin Cities continue to perform worse, are more segregated than traditional public schools and are forcing those traditional public schools to become more segregated.
Those are the findings of a new report called "Failed Promises" -- from the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota.
But the conclusions are not necessarily swaying those who run charters.
Minneapolis, Minn. — At Ramsey Fine Arts Center in south Minneapolis, sixth graders have been putting the finishing touches on a new mural this week. The artwork depicts students of different colors and backgrounds joining hands under the Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines.
"This was my idea, this flag right here," noted one student, pointing to a Jamaican flag. "My dad and his family are from Jamaica. So I am mixed with Jamaican."