Celebrations are being held at public charter schools all across Washington state following the legislature's bi-partisan action this session to save the popular option supported by families.

In Spokane this week under the blazing sun and gorgeous blue skies, I had the opportunity to emcee the celebration for PRIDE Prep and Spokane International Academy - currently the only two public charter schools in Eastern Washington.

Parents, students, teachers and lawmakers showed up for the celebration Monday, which included recognition and thanks to the men and women who put in countless hours, traveled to and from Olympia numerous times and made dozens of phone calls during the legislative session to urge lawmakers to save public charter schools. Sen. Michael Baumgartner and Rep. Bob McCaslin also spoke at the celebration.

Throughout the session, students at PRIDE Prep watched legislative action unfold live in their classroom.

"Our students were watching the Senate TV coverage, and when the final vote was taken and the bill was declared passed, a huge cheer erupted in our building," PRIDE Prep CEO Brenda McDonald told the crowd.

Through the ups and the downs, McDonald says "this entire experience has given our students an amazing civics lesson."

Celebrations have also been held at other public charter schools throughout the state.

In 2012 voters passed one of the best charter school laws in the country. Since last fall, eight charter schools serving over 1,000 school children have been operating in the communities of Seattle, Tacoma, Highline, Kent and Spokane. The bill passed by the legislature allows 32 additional charter schools, including three charter schools already approved by the state, Summit Atlas in West Seattle, Willow Charter in Walla Walla, and Green Dot Charter in Seattle.  

In fact, plans for the Walla Walla charter school are reportedly already back on track.

Charter schools are popular because they provide access to a quality education to children living in communities that are underserved by traditional public schools.

The sad news is the governor couldn’t bring himself to sign a bill supported by families across the state. This is a bad sign, because the governor didn’t endorse the work of legislators of both parties in passing the bill. It’s a worrying signal that charter schools may again need help against future attacks by the union.

The WEA union tried to close charter schools and failed. Governor Inslee’s concern about the power of the union is understandable, but it would have been better if our state’s top elected leader could have stood up for children and signed the bill. 

Still, as we saw this week, the sun is again shining on Washington's public charter schools.

As WPC’s Education Director Liv Finne says: “What matters is making access to a quality public education a reality for every child.”