The co-founder of 125 charter schools in the United States says they raise overall achievement levels, but a parents' group says they treat children as toxic assets when they fail.
Mike Feinberg of the Knowledge Is Power Program says the experiences of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina shows the improvements that can be made to students' achievements with charter schools.
He says governments need to empower parents to make choices about their children's education.
But Karran Harper Royal of the Parents Across America group says charter schools hurt children and treat them as toxic assets when they fail in the classroom.
She says decisions are made further away from children, by private charter operators instead of parents and the local community.
