Charter Schools: Independent Study

Public education has had a negative effect on students; it’s often because of the bigger class sizes, poor test scores, and high crime in the surrounding areas. Public schools need to revise their system to determine what’s the best fit for their student’s educational needs. All children who live in a school district have a right to attend a district school. Many parents would like more options and opportunities for their child, and would like to be involved in their child’s education. Charter schools are part of the answer for a better educational choice for children’s academic achievement. Charter schools have many successful methods and continue to pave the way for children’s education needs .

According to Atila Abdulkadiroglu, many have adopted a “No Excuses” policy which is generally characterized by smaller sized classrooms, frequent testing, longer school days and more school days in the year, selective teacher hiring, strong student work ethic, and include an increased emphasis on discipline (Abdulkadiroglu 699-700). Charter Schools also expect a certain amount of parent participation: either in-classroom assistance, being an active component in the Parent-Teacher Organization, volunteering assistance with fund-raising activities, or wherever else the school may have need. Therefore, sending a child to a Charter School usually requires a significant investment of time and effort from the parents as well: for example, the school may not be able to provide transportation, hot lunches (meaning lunch must be packed every day), and whatever the school may expect in parent participation. Entrance into many of these acclaimed Charter Schools is not always that easy. There are frequently many, many students applying for just a few spots available. These schools typically employ a lottery system which gives each student an equal chance; however, there are just not enough spots available for all the students who wish to attend—someone always loses. In comparison, Public Schools are restricted by a massive hierarchy of educational bureaucracy: they must answer to

There are a number of ways that charter schools give parents greater individual control over their childrens’ education. No longer is a child bound to attend a particular school based on the geographical location of his or her home. Parents have the freedom to select a charter school that they feel would best suit the needs of their children1. Parents also have a greater say in the affairs of charter schools compared to public schools. In many instances, parents serve on the “board of education” governing the charter school, a board whose context is determined by a school’s charter and not state law. This contrasts with the traditional public school board that is limited to seven members elected from the community-at-large, regardless of whether board members have children in school. Moreover, a charter school board is entirely occupied with the operations of just one school instead of an entire district. Charter school supporters argue that this leads to less bureaucracy and greater efficiency in creating school policy that ultimately benefits students.

At the foundation of the American public school system is the belief that every child deserves a quality education. To this end, the public school system in America has undergone many reforms. One of which has been charter schools. Charter schools are independent public schools of choice working under the auspices of a charter and not governed by the board of education. The charter can be written by parents, teachers, school administrators, community leaders, educational businesses, etc. It determines the school’s guiding principles, management and accountability systems. The state approves the charter and provides funding for the school. Families choose these schools for their children. (“Resistance Hinders Success,” 2004)

Charter schools are all the buzz in the media lately; they are what seems to be the sensible response to the path traditional public schools are heading, down the drain. However, charter schools still face many obstacles and issues, stemming from the fact that they are far less regulated than their public school counterparts. This enacts issues including lack of quality control, increased segregation, and severe misuse of funds. Likewise, charter schools are only going to become increasingly more competitive and higher quality if their closest competitors follow that path, meaning the most successful charters are the ones compared directly to private schools. Since charters are also attempting to make a profit, they will go to all extents, including discrimination to bring up the scores, and therefore gain more leverage in negotiating for more funds. Simply enough, the most logical and simple way to prevent charter schools from degrading in quality or becoming out of control is to put more regulation on them, while still allowing them to maintain many characteristics of an independent charter.

The debate around charter schools is controversial because it’s about the future of American children, especially those children that have been disenfranchised by the public school system. It also touches on major issues like how much control the government should have over education and the benefits of organized labor in the classroom (Slade, 2016). The stakeholders on both sides of this issue are parents, students, teachers, teacher unions, local school committees, and finally state and national legislators.

America’s education is failing, and serious reform is needed. The topic of education has been in the forefront over the last few decades. Many, including politicians have attempted to tackle what seemed to be a hopeless situation. With all the corruption and bureaucracy within the system, it is unlikely that this problem will be resolved anytime soon. However, there is hope amidst all this, and that is charter schools. Charter schools impact education by having passionate teachers who truly care for their students’ well-being, use up-to-date school methodology, are able to function with less bureaucracy, and have accountability that results in less corruption, and increased cost efficiency.

Charter schools and voucher programs to private schools attempt to provide choice to individual students.

Shober, Manna, & Witte (2006), examines how state policy makers incorporated flexibility and accountability into state charter school laws supplementing a particular database with others measures to answer two specific questions. (1) What factors influence the degree of flexibility and accountability in state charter schools laws? And (2) how does the content of state charter schools laws, and the different values those laws embrace, affect the formation of charter schools in the United States? In state charter school laws, it is shown that state political and contextual factors help account for the degree of flexibility, but not accountability. Therefore, it was suggested that an increase in changes in charter laws show favor reducing accountability

Charter schools are unique public schools that are allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement (what is a charter school 2017). Because they are public schools, they are open to all children; do not charge tuition; and do not have special entrance requirements. The core of the charter school model is the belief that public schools should be held accountable for student learning (what is a charter school 2017). In exchange for this accountability, school leaders should be given freedom to do whatever it takes to help students achieve and should share what works with the broader public school system so that all students benefit (what is a charter school

Some parents claim there’s nothing better than them. Others argue that they place profit above education. Whatever the opinion, one thing is certain; charter schools are becoming the most controversial public education issue in the United States. Charter schools have combined features of both public and private schools. The reason these schools are better for students, parents and the community are vast. Since they are exempt from the rules and policies imposed on public schools, they have some notable advantages. First, the teachers have more freedom to prepare lessons, and schools themselves can emphasize certain courses according to the necessity of the students. Second, they can offer limited enrollment to keep class sizes small, which

An audit, administered as a result of the fiscal year 2013 Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA) annual risk assessment, highlighted several occurrences where the PCSB’s oversight of charter schools was incomplete. The PCSB requires “all DC public charter schools to conduct and submit a financial audit package on an annual basis” (Public Charter School Audited Financial Statements, 1). According to School

Charter schools have become a rival for public schools. Charters schools are public schools by option; therefore parents must initiate the interest in the school thus enrolling their children into the program. On the other hand, public schools are open to any student and do not require a waitlist or lottery system to be enrolled. It is difficult to define the “best education” because parents seek different things when researching school options for their child. The purpose of education is to develop skills in individuals that will give them a foundation for a lifelong curiosity to create a program that will benefit each person individually. Lyndon Johnson once said, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” Support from the State of Texas is essential for the growth of education and emphasize the importance of receiving a strong foundation on education but can be limited by the funding. Although charter and public schools in Texas strive to provide the best education for students with the funding given, charter schools have an advantage on innovation but pubic school offer open enrollment.

Many charter schools are known for their rigorous programs that challenge students to fulfill specific requirements that are different from traditional schools. Charter schools also value the idea of cultivating students with a talent for arts, technology or music (Chen). Institutions such as charter schools may be viewed as open or loosely constructed based on the unique guidelines displayed in each school’s charter, but in reality this is untrue because the individuality of each charter is what allows each student to excel based on the personalization and attention given to every single student who attends. A charter school has the potential to reach out into the community and help children who are not able to fit in at a traditional public school and it may allow the student to learn from a new perspective. Any child is allowed to apply to a charter school and they are admitted on a first-come, first served basis or through a lottery. The decision is not made on race or sex of the child and there is a fair chance for every student. A charter school is a great alternative to private school because there is no tuition fee at a charter school which is run by the state. Operators of the charter schools are able to provide children with a school that will create new and improved services which are lacking in the public school districts (“Charter School FAQ”). A charter school can also help

Charter schools give struggling minorities access to better education. Because charter schools often have more applicants than spaces, they must resort to “weighted lottery.” This means that the kids who are struggling to get a good education get picked first. This gives an equal opportunity to all families. Picking from a lottery also increases racial diversity in the classes. An advantage of this is that students critical thinking and collaborative skills all improve when put in a more racially diverse setting. The students in charter schools also benefit from extra days of schooling. Usually, charter schools get three to ten additional weeks of school versus public schools who do not. All students including the minorities get extra days