Are the charter schools in the Motor City bringing about a renaissance of sorts? You can scroll through pictures of the urban decay creeping through the buildings of Detroit. The schools were just as dismal. In January, the teachers’ union for the city, the Detroit Federation of Teachers, sued to remove the emergency manager because it was dissatisfied with how he was doing his job. Detroit schoolchildren went to school and dodged leaky roofs and cockroaches. You can imagine the kind of education provided in places like that.

Recently, Washington Examiner commentator Jason Russell wrote about two charter schools that renovated old buildings and started providing a different public education, one with science labs, guest speakers and health centers. “Not all charter schools are created equal. … Nor would I say charter schools are the answer for everything,” said Kimberly Solomon, principal of University Prep Science & Math Elementary School. “I believe in choice, and I believe that charter schools offer that choice for parents who may not be pleased with the school that’s immediately in their district.”

Just think, for all the good charter schools are doing for students, teachers’ unions want to regulate them away, like what they’re doing in New York. But as the results show: Freedom and competition are good for students, whether they are in New York, Detroit, or anywhere in between.