Increasingly, Americans are looking toward educational freedom and parental choice as ways to boost the performance of public schools. President Obama certainly is, in pushing through $5 billion of taxpayer funding for education-reform initiatives, including charter schools. And Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, one of the Bay State’s most prominent politicians, has joined the movement.

Last month, Mayor Menino broke ranks with a powerful special interest, the local teachers union, and argued that charter schools are a key part of improving Boston’s public schools and providing greater opportunities to its poor children. He also called for merit pay to reward the city’s best teachers, another idea that seems anathema to the union. (The Boston Teachers Union promptly accused Mr. Menino of “betrayal” on its Web site.)

The mayor called for “transformative changes that boost achievement for students, improve quality choices for parents, and increase opportunities for teachers,” adding: “We need to empower our educators to quickly innovate and implement what works.”

The Rhode Island General Assembly is finding it hard to resist the strong tide of change, too. The House Finance Committee had stripped out $1.5 million for two charter schools, including the long-anticipated mayoral academy, but under great public pressure — and warnings from Education Secretary Arne Duncan that the state’s education-reform aid was at risk — the House hastily and wisely put the money back.

With 8,000 Boston families on a waiting list, and 5,000 families with students in charter schools, there is certainly strong demand in New England’s biggest city for alternatives to underperforming public schools. The mayor proposes converting 51 standard schools to “in-district” charters under control of the city, rather than truly free and independent charters. Still, the new schools would be free of union control, permitting administrators to pursue best educational practices.

When popular Democratic politicians are starting to rebel from the control of teachers-union executives, traditionally an important source of support and campaign contributions, there can be no doubt that change is in the air. Citizens are losing patience with seeing students, particularly urban minorities, suffer from the poor and yet very expensive educations they receive in underperforming public schools, where too much of the emphasis is on placating union bosses and not enough on rewarding great teachers and promoting excellence.

Mr. Menino’s “betrayal” of the bosses, and fidelity to Boston’s students, could shame Governor Patrick and the legislature to get back onto the side of school reform, and let charter-schools flourish, in the interests of promoting excellence and accountability, lifting the spirits of outstanding teaching professionals, students and parents.