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Crosscurrents

Seeking the truth about charter schools

Oakland has become a sort of test kitchen for charter schools. One of the first in the state opened in Oakland in 1993 – and in the past decade or so, the district has gone from having three charters to 33 today. But there are challenges in welcoming charter schools to the city, and it has been a contentious issue in Oakland.

Ingrid Seyer-Ochi, director of the Center for Urban Schools and Partnerships at Mills College, says the controversy is often fueled by misconceptions, like that charter schools are private. Seyer-Ochi spoke with KALW’s Holly Kernan.

Click the audio player above to listen to their conversation.

What are your views on the public versus charter debate? Let us know on our tip line. Just call (415) 264-7106.

Crosscurrents
Holly Kernan is the architect of the award-winning Public Interest Reporting Project. She is currently news director at KALW 91.7FM in San Francisco. In 2009 she was named Journalist of the Year by the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Kernan teaches journalism at Mills College and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and has taught at Santa Rosa Junior College, Youth Radio and San Francisco State University's Lifelong Learning Institute. She lives in Oakland with her husband, Mike, daughter, Julia, and retired greyhound Benjamin Franklin.