Contesting the Public School: Reconsidering Charter Schools as Counterpublics

Although technically open to all, charter schools often emphasize distinctive missions that appeal to particular groups of students and families. These missions, especially ones focusing on ethnic, linguistic, and cultural differences, also contribute to segregation between schools. Such schools raise normative questions about the aims of education. Are they a troubling retreat from an integrated public school system? Or are they new public spaces relevant to the needs of certain communities? Through a case study of one potentially counterpublic school, I describe how this school embodied aspects of public-ness. I argue that a counterpublic frameworkin emphasizing shared decision making, expanded discursive space, and a publicist orientationoffers resources for considering under what circumstances distinctive schools might serve public goals.