How 25 years of charter schools have helped Missouri students and families

By Noah Devine | This Op-ed appeared in the Kansas City Star and the Columbia Missourian

In 1999, Académie Lafayette opened its doors, becoming Missouri’s first public charter school. The school was founded by a group of Kansas City parents and families who believed in the transformative power of multilingual education. In the decades since its founding, Académie Lafayette has expanded into a K-12 network serving 1,300 kids, becoming the largest public French immersion program in the country. It offers Mandarin and Spanish for every student starting in sixth grade, International Baccalaureate courses, career and technical education, and global studies that include trips to Costa Rica, Senegal and China. Learning here transcends borders and cultures — just as its founders intended.

And it’s working. Académie Lafayette consistently ranks as one of the top-performing K-12 schools in Kansas City, with 64% of all students on grade level or above in English language arts and reading, including 48% of its low-income students — a full 20 points higher than the state average in both categories — proving what is possible for all students.

Schools like Académie Lafayette show the promise of the charter movement that began in Missouri 26 years ago. Charters are public schools — meaning they’re free, open to all and accountable to strict academic standards — and they also have the flexibility to bring unique approaches to their local communities. In Missouri and across the country, new and better options are sorely needed. Education in the Show-Me State is at a crossroads. Fewer than half of all Missouri students are reading on grade level. For Black and brown students, that number is fewer than 1 in 5. That’s simply not acceptable.

More than 95% of Missouri students attend traditional public schools, and many of them are doing great work. However, far too many students have fallen behind, and families have no choice but to send their children to struggling schools. All families deserve innovative, quality education options for their kids.

Missouri families agree. In a recent Saint Louis University/YouGov poll, 56% of Missouri voters said charter schools should be allowed to operate across the state, while only 19% of Missourians oppose charter schools in their own district. Over the past several years, community members from all corners of the state have expressed strong interest in bringing charter schools to their communities. Yet as of 2024, only Kansas City, St. Louis and Boone County realistically had that opportunity. In most cases under current state law, no matter how many parents want charters or how much a community advocates, opening a public charter school is left to the sole discretion of local school boards. In many cases, carefully designed proposals never get a public hearing, and the voices of community members are silenced. That needs to change.

As Missouri looks to the next 25 years of education progress, we need new legislation that opens pathways to expanding charter schools across the state. All Missouri students should have access to a quality public charter school in their neighborhood, whether sponsored by the local school board or another quality charter school sponsor. Missouri should embrace policy proposals that expand public charter schools and offer more options for students and families with different needs. We often talk about how Missouri is a local control state. Well, the highest form of local control is putting the family and student in the driver seat to determine the school that is the best fit for them. Ultimately, families should have the freedom to choose among a range of strong possibilities — whether that be a traditional neighborhood school, a private school or a charter school. But having only one option isn’t a true choice. Missouri families deserve better.

In places where charters have been allowed to grow, progress has been strong. A 2023 study showed that Missouri charter schools consistently outperform their traditional district counterparts in reading and math achievement. Missouri charter students gained the equivalent of 56 additional days of learning in math and 39 days in reading compared to students in traditional public schools. A 2024 report shows that not only do charter schools support academic gains in a community, the entire public school system — district and charter — benefits and makes gains.

That’s because charter schools can tailor their approach to the specific needs of students and families. Missouri has STEM-focused charters, college prep charters, bilingual-immersion charters and charters that partner with local industries on workforce development. No two charter schools are alike, and — importantly — every kid who attends one is there by choice. Growing Missouri’s charter sector is about addition, not subtraction.

Looking to the horizon, I imagine a Missouri where families across the state can choose from multiple high-quality schools designed to fit their needs. I see a state where the best ideas coming out of charter schools are shared across districts and vice versa, so all kids can benefit. I envision Missouri as a national leader in student achievement, growth and proficiency, where charter schools aren’t seen as “other,” but simply as community-based schools created to meet the needs of local students and families.

That future is within our reach — but only if we give Missouri families more freedom and opportunity to choose.