All media outlets, including the Charter School Monthly, get regular barrages of email and print press releases, news items, and announcements. Reading through them all can sometimes become mind numbing. But I was jolted out of my stupor recently by one that popped up on my screen. Dated September 26th, this Associated Press release carried the banner “Daughtry, McGraw Headline Show for Agassi School.”

That was enough to wake me up! I read on: “Comedian Dane Cook, rock band Daughtry, and musicians Tim McGraw and Brian McKnight were headlining a benefit concert Saturday night at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel-casino to provide funding for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy.”

For the record, the K-12 charter school is located in Las Vegas and was founded in 2001 by former tennis great Andre Agassi. Also, for the record, I have no idea how much money was ultimately raised.

Wow, if I was a charter operator, I’d be salivating at the thought of having Andre Agassi, let alone these other mega stars, show up on behalf of my school period, let alone show up to fund raise. It once again proves that it really does help to have friends in high places.

Now I don’t begrudge this school’s access to star power. After all, it’s for a good cause, right? Promoting the charter school movement, or as the federal Charter Schools Program loves to say, “increas[ing] national understanding of the charter school model and [expanding] the number of
high-quality charter schools available to students across the Nation.” But I can’t help but ponder the inequity of some charters being able to promote themselves in such a high-powered fashion while other schools, not necessarily due to any shortcomings on their part, struggle to pay salaries and keep the lights on.

I would never advocate the redistribution of resources available to certain schools through hard work, innovation, or just sheer luck. But I do worry that the charter schools that are grinding it out every day out of the Las Vegas…or Washington…or Hollywood celebrity limelight are being left in the dust as it’s suddenly politically correct and even cool to be a charter school advocate.

Props to Agassi College Prep for lassoing its star connections for a good cause. But let’s keep it in perspective even as we fantasize about other charter school fund raising possibilities…Brad and Angelina? Paris Hilton? Mario Lopez? Hey, it doesn’t cost anything to dream!