Now, this is my kind of charter school.

Actually, I don’t know much about American Indian Public Charter — and I’m reluctant to make any judgments based on the slanted L.A. Times article — but it’s a great picture nonetheless. I say “slanted” because the article insinuates darkly that the school picks the students who will most likely succeed. The only evidence for this are comments from teachers’ union members, while another public school that, by its own admission, does cherry pick students is celebrated in the same edition of the paper. The difference? American Indian enforces strict discipline, improves test scores of poor students, and espouses a free-market philosophy; the school in New York directs students to think about community activism and group power struggles. This sentence sums it up:

Ann Kirschner, Macaulay’s dean, says that a decade from now, one way she’ll know the Honors College is a success is if she reads that a graduate is elected mayor of New York.

Maybe this is the public service academy we’ve been on the lookout for!