What is the real deal with Charter Schools?

1. 79

   roxanne459posted 11 years ago

   What is the real deal with Charter Schools?
   
   I live in one of the few states that do not yet have Charter Schools. I am really interested in learning about the real benefits or drawbacks from people who have experienced them first hand. Do you or anyone you know have kids who attend a Charter School?

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2. 91

   Learn Things Webposted 11 years ago

   I homeschool through a charter school. They provide classes to the homeschool kids as well as monitoring the schoolwork we do. I think they're a great alternative when the public schools aren't doing a good job. They can actually be a huge benefit to public schools in my view.
   
   A lot of parents pull struggling kids out of public schools and enroll them in charters that have a lot more freedom in how they educate. Typically parents only pull out struggling students, not successful ones. The public schools benefit by having less poor students. But the charters often struggle because they have to take on too many public school failures. Of course, there are good charters and bad charters. Some of the top public schools in the country are charters.

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3. 86

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years ago

   The REAL deal on charter schools is that they are privately run institutions that are sanctioned by the states to take the best students out of the public schools and utilize the money that comes with them any way they like.  Some are good, most are horrible and many do a great deal of damage to the education of our young.

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   1. 91

      Learn Things Webposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's only true in bad school districts. My niece attends a charter in a terrible district. She's getting an excellent education. It isn't fair to force good students to attend bad schools because their parents can't afford a private school.

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4. 56

   tussinposted 11 years ago

   Charter schools often absorb the "bad" kids that are not fit to attend the normal public and private schools in the area.  If your area has decent public schools, then the charter schools are probably where they send the bad kids; you shouldn't send your kids there if they are good students without behavioral problems. 
   
   If you have terrible public schools, charter schools may or may not be better. They are public but subject to fewer regulations and they vary from district to district so it's hard to generalize.

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5. 92

   SmartAndFunposted 11 years ago

   My kids have never attended a charter school, so I can't give you the first-hand account you're lookng for. However, according to state-released statistics, most charter schools in my area are terrible. There is a constant stream of news stories about various charter schools getting their permits revoked for poor student performance, in-school violence, drugs, or administrators who falsify attendance or test records, or skim funds and line their pockets. What others are saying about charter schools enrolling mainly underperforming or troubled students is true here, also. If a charter school is excellent and can turn those kids around, great, but I don't see that happening in my area.
   
   On a positive note, there is one excellent charter school here. It is for kids who are highly involved in the performing arts. It was started by a group of parents and teachers and a well repected, old guard choral organization. They started slowly and very carefully and appear to have done everything "right." It is now a fully accredited school for grades k-12. Children must audition and be accepted in order to attend, and getting accepted is not a piece of cake. They receive additional funding and support from many arts organizations in the area. Because of the competitive audition process and the fact that the performing arts are very well established and popular here, this school and its students are thriving and exceeding state requirements.
   
   My kids are not involved in the performing arts, however, if they were I would be happy for them to attend that school, as the kids I know who go there seem to be getting an excellent education in addition to theater, dance, music and voice training.

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6. 68

   mvillecatposted 11 years ago

   Our state is currently voting on this issue and I voted NO!!!!! I have many friends who are educators and they are totally against them. They take public money from taxpayers then want the freedom to teach whatever the heck they want to. Well, I think if people do not want the government in their schools they shouldn't take one penny from taxpayers. There are plenty of private schools already existing that those people can send their children to. There is no need for any additional burdens on the public school system.

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7. 89

   adjkp25posted 11 years ago

   Both of our kids were partially home schooled through a charter school.  I say partially because they still had to go to school a couple of days a week for a few hours.
   
   We like the way they do things, most of the time, because we have the flexibility to adjust what they are learning based on what they are ready for.  An example is algebra.  Our son took algebra as a 7th grader because he was ready for it, I doubt we could have done this at a public school.
   
   My bosses son is a junior and is very smart but is bored at school because the AP classes aren't challenging enough for him.  The school isn't sure what to do with him because they are limited in what they can provide.
   
   With our son starting high school last year they have the curriculum set in a way to prepare the students for college.  They require them to use a planner and the classes are heavy on the notes so the students can then address the assignments on their own which forces them to learn time management.
   
   Both of the kids rank very high in state and national tests that the school administers.
   
   We also like the flexibility of the schedule.  We went on vacation for 2 weeks and the school was fine with it.

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