BUFFALO, N.Y. – If getting urban kids through high school is a goal in New York state, traditional public schools may not be the ticket.

News reports earlier this week revealed that Buffalo Public Schools officials were thrilled to see their four-year graduation rate rise to 56 percent, up from 47.8 percent a year ago. While that’s an impressive gain, it means the district’s diploma rate has gone from putrid to simply horrible.

The percentages were similar in several other urban districts in the state: Rochester reported a graduation rate of 48.1 percent, Syracuse was at 51.9, New York City was at 66 and Yonkers was at 72.3.

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All four districts fell below the statewide average of 77.8 percent.

School officials in all five of those districts would undoubtedly argue that many of their students come from disadvantaged backgrounds which make learning and completing school far more challenging.

But consider this – the Wall Street Journal reports that “charter schools, which are mostly in poor, urban areas, saw gains  … 70 percent earned diplomas on time, up from 47 percent five years ago.”

So parents in these troubled communities clearly have a choice. They can remain loyal to the traditional public schools for loyalty’s sake alone, and roll the dice on whether their children will graduate on time, or at all. Or they can send them to a charter school (if openings exist) and stand a better chance of getting them through school.

Until the traditional public schools can boast graduation rates that at least match the charter rates, there really is no debate at all.