WATCH: WA charter school graduates see much higher incomes, homeownership rates

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(The Center Square) - A new report from charter school advocates in Washington indicates charter graduates are making more money and owning more homes than their counterparts who graduated from traditional public schools.

A report titled “Turning the Tassel in Washington State” was designed to look at what life looks like for young adults after high school graduation.

“We wanted to look beyond some of those traditional education metrics, like graduation rate, and standardized test scores, and look at some more comprehensive early adult outcomes, like continued education, employment, financial stability….income, home ownership,” said Rebecca Purser, lead researcher at the Harris Poll which conducted the study on behalf of Agency.

Agency describes its' organization as “a mission-driven nonprofit approach to strategic communications, facilities support, community organizing and advocacy power…We are the voice for choice in public education.”

It was not until 2014 that Washington opened the first charter schools. For years, opponents, including the Washington Education Association, mounted successful efforts against the alternative to public schools. It took a citizen initiative and surviving several court challenges for supporters to get the green light to open the first charter schools in the state.

Each school is opened only after an extensive and rigorous application process through the WA Charter Schools Commission. As public schools, charter public schools are tuition-free, publicly funded and staffed by certified teachers.

“While the Washington charter sector is still young, it is hard to argue with trends pointing in this direction. The numbers are astounding,” said Debbie Veney, Founder and CEO of Agency and author of the report. “It’s hard to imagine that any parent wouldn’t want their child to attend a school that is likely to produce results like this, and it should be equally hard for policymakers to explain why these exceptional public schools are not more broadly supported and scaled.”

Although the number of recent charter school graduates from Washington state who participated in the survey is small (less than 100), the results are still compelling.

“While the Washington charter sector is still young, it is hard to argue with trends pointing in this direction," Veney said. The numbers are astounding. It’s hard to imagine that any parent wouldn’t want their child to attend a school that is likely to produce results like this.”

Among the key findings:

• 83%** of Washington charter school alumni are working part-time or full-time, compared to 62% of district alumni.
• Employed Washington charter school alumni earn an average of $120,109** per year compared to $76,178 for district alumni.
• 47%** of Washington charter school alumni report owning their home compared to 18% of district alumni.
• 97%** of Washington charter school alumni pursued postsecondary education or training compared to 86% of district alumni.
• 93%** of Washington parents agree they should have a choice in where their child goes to school.

Among the charter schools finding success is Spokane’s Lumen High School. The school is designed to support pregnant and parenting teens. It offers on-site childcare through a specialized early learning center, and wrap-around services to help students earn a high school diploma while building life skills for their future.

Among Washington state survey respondents who self-identified as Black, Latino, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Native American, differences were even more pronounced. Employed charter school graduates from these communities reported earning $132,611 annually on average compared to $69,714 for district peers—a difference of nearly $63,000.

Washington charter alumni who reported salary for the findings attended the very first charter public schools in the state, which primarily served Latino students. Today’s charter students are more racially diverse, including more White, Black and Asian students.  

Washington Policy Center Education Center Director Vicki Murray told The Center Square she can’t understand the ongoing resistance to charter schools in Washington.

“One of the complaints I hear the most is look at what’s happening to career and technical education," she said. "We’re seeing a complete disappearance of the trades, whereas with public charter schools, you can focus on that and kids that would otherwise be bored or drop out of school are thriving in these specialized types of schools. So, I think we need a whole lot more of them.”

Murray recently published an article about the academic success of charter school students compared to their peers in a 2026 assessment.

“Researchers matched charter students to demographically similar peers at other public schools (OPS) and compared their scores on Washington’s Smarter Balanced Assessment," Murray wrote. "Fourth through eighth graders at charter schools scored approximately 12 points higher in math and 8 points higher in ELA (English language arts) — equivalent to roughly half a year of additional math progress. Fifth graders outperformed their OPS peers by the widest margin: about 32 points in math and 25 points in ELA, close to a full year of expected learning growth."

Despite the success of charter school graduates, majority Democrats in the legislature recently slashed a major source of funding for charters.

“After months of advocacy, testimony, and tireless work by our school leaders, families, students, lobby team, and the WA Charters staff, the 2026 Supplemental State Operating Budget has been finalized without the critical $7.5 million enrichment funding that Washington’s charter public school students rely on,” according to a Mar 11 post from the Washington State Charter Schools Association.

“Charter public school students are public school students," said Chris Korsmo executive director of the Washington State Charter Schools Association. "They are not asking for a special carve-out, they just want to be invested in. It is disheartening that our Legislature has reversed its approach from the past two school years and made this inequity in our public school system worse. These students are asking for the same support as every other public school student in Washington – they deserve to be believed in.” 

Korsmo noted that without the funding, their schools face the likelihood of cutting teachers and staff and eliminating academic interventions that are a lifeline for students who have struggled in traditional settings.

“They are doing all sorts of incredible things," Murray said. "Children who would otherwise be left behind they’re thriving, but we want to punish that success."

The Center Square reached out to the Washington Education Association for comment on this story but the teachers union did not respond.