From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Are charter schools the answer to education reform?

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most. Charter schools are being touted as the free market alternative for parents

whose kids are stuck in failing institutions, especially in inner cities. In the aftermath of Katrina,

New Orleans has embraced so many charter schools. It's become ground zero for the entire movement.

On to the point, we'll ask New Orleans

superintendent and others what works and what doesn't. Are entrenched bureaucracies being overcome?

Are teachers unions coming around? Most important, our charters upgrading student achievement.

On reporter's notebook later on, North Korea makes good on a promise. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D.

and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren, I'll need back with To the Point.

The charter school movement is growing fast all over the country, but in New Orleans.

Charters encompass no less than 53% of all public school students.

On To the Point, we'll talk to educators and others in New Orleans and elsewhere around the country as well.

Our charter's the answer to education reform. We'll hear about teachers' union, student achievement, and the country as well. Our charter is the answer to education reform.

We'll hear about teachers' unions, student achievement, and the impact on traditional public schools.

On reporter's notebook, the U.S. and North Korea are engaged in diplomatic steps which could lead to the blowing up of a nuclear cooling tower on an international TV.

We'll hear more about that process. First, this news. For the first time

in history, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right of an

individual American to own a gun. The court split five to four with Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for

the majority. Michael Doyle covers the court for the McClatchie newspapers, and Michael, good to have you

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