Connecticut charter schools (cherry-picking students)

“Are charter schools cherry-picking their students?” The Connecticut Mirror (CT), 3/5/2012   

Hartford -- As students from the highly regarded Jumoke Academy Charter School filed into the gymnasium for a mid-afternoon assembly last week, onlooker Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pointed out that at first glance these students seem to mirror those attending the neighborhood public schools.

"Look around," he said, fielding questions about whether this school is teaching the same type of students who attend Hartford public schools.

But enrollment numbers tell a different story.

Just one of the 432 students who attended Jumoke last school year spoke limited English, while in other schools in Hartford, 18 percent spoke limited English.

Likewise, 4 percent of Jumoke students require special education compared with 15 percent in Hartford.

Jumoke's lack of diversity is not unique among the state's 17 charter schools. An analysis of their enrollment by The Connecticut Mirror shows that students who speak limited English or have special education needs have been largely left out of most of the state's charters...