My research topic is on the Charter Schools within the Greater Cleveland, OH area. This topic interests me because I am a mother of three school-aged children. If any of my kids attended a failing school I would like to have an alternative to choose from. I have seen some of my friends choose to send their kids to a Charter school. Most of them had great experiences. Some of my friends loved the smaller class sizes and the individualized educational plans. Two of my friends felt that the schools were too strict and they were opposed to the required uniforms. By doing research, we can find out what schooling option is most beneficial for a student attending school in the Cleveland area.
There are two specific research questions that I will
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In my opinion, the thriving charter schools, like the Breakthrough Charter School system, (Magaw, 2015) needs to have more reports published and distributed within the local communities. If parents saw the positive reports, and attended informational nights, they may see the need to switch their child to a charter school. I think there is still a communication gap in place that could easily be eradicated with proper planning.
To begin the research, we have to take a look at the available comparisons between the Charter schools and the Public schools. This will show us which school choice is most efficient academically overall. This will reveal if sending a child to a Charter school is the better way to go. Additionally, we have to examine what charter schools are doing right and what they are failing to implement. This will reveal what things they still need to put in place to be effective.
Originally, charter schools were designed as an alternative to Public Schools. Parents desired a place they could send their kids to learn that wasn’t failing academically. For instance, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District has been failing for many years. The “CMSD has a graduation rate of just 54 percent, and last year, two-thirds of its schools received a D or F on the state report card” (Chilcote,
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Charter schools have faced some local opposition from the public school system. “School districts and teachers unions have opposed charter schools, arguing that they hurt district schools by siphoning off motivated, high-achieving students” (Chilcote, 2011). While some view the new school option as a tool in educational reform, others see it as divisive.
According to Timothy Magaw, the acceptance of charter schools has been mixed. He notes that the effort to bring in charter schools was headed by Mayor Frank Jackson as an attempt to correct a failing school system. By uniting charter schools with public schools, there are also extra levy dollars to be gained. The collaboration was put in place “to hopefully, massage those mid-performing facilities into high-performing schools. Opportunities for collaboration might include, for instance, shared enrollment systems or joint professional development for faculty” (Magaw,
Charter schools are aimed at giving parents and educators greater freedom to design an educational program aimed at increasing student achievement, accounting for greater freedom of contract between not only parent and school but also school and state.
He begins the article by offering background information on the schools, guidelines for creation and upkeep, and statistics on student demographics. Manno continues to cite various sources in support of charter schools, which he follows with the ten most prevalent allegations against them. First, he comments on the use of taxpayer’s dollars for charter schools. Additionally, he calls out critics for bashing teachers and provides three elements to reduce risk in charters. Manno also offers his opinions on charter school’s education
Open to all children, free of tuition, and does not have special entrance requirements, charter schools believe that children should have the opportunity to achieve at a high level. When creating charter schools, they focused on a desire to create greater flexibility for innovation within public education. It was hoped that successful innovations could be adapted to benefit public education more broadly. (NEA, 2017). Charter schools also, foster partnership between parents, teachers, and students in hopes of creating an environment in which parents can be more involved, teachers are allowed to innovate, and students are provided with structure they need to learn.
When schools are converted to charters or “turned around” they are following the educational reform of Arne Duncan to give better education to underserved areas in Chicago. The myth of this is that these schools are highly beneficial to the underprivileged areas when in fact they are doing a great amount of harm. In “Arne Duncan and the Chicago Success Story: Myth or Reality?” the myth is recognized by stating the impact on children and teachers; a statement from the article says, “Renaissance 2010 was (and is) marketed as an opportunity to bring in new partners with creative approaches to education. That's the myth” (Brown, Gutstein, Lipman, 2009). As stated, the myth here is schools should be operated as markets and the charter school system does this by getting rid of the difficult working ways and replacing them with creative partners. Brown, Gutstein and Lipman further explain why the charter school is harming the community saying how students are facing attendance and violence problems, “…there is no guarantee that a student who had their school closed will attend a charter school and those who had their school closed down have faced destabilization of spikes in violence…” (Brown, Gutstein, Lipman, 2009). This demonstrates the fault of charter schools because it shows how community warnings were ignored on what school closings will do to the neighborhood. A further statement on the problem with teachers and charters schools found in the
Because they are given the option of enrollment, both students and parents are on average more likely to be involved with the school and its program. Arguably, charter schools act as a stimulant for improving all public education. While doing a better job at reaching out to students than public schools because of their styles of teaching, it allows educators to be more personal and creative with their work and methods.
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.
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 .
Charter schools are unique public schools that is allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. These charter schools are not private schools, they do not charge for tuition and they are open to all children within specific boundaries. Research has demonstrated that charter schools make picks up in the urban community with students who have veritably been undeserved by traditional state funded schools. Charter schools outscored their traditional school peers in 25 of the 41 cities in math, and 23 of the 42 cities in reading. On average, charter schools had no significant impacts on student’s achievement. Charter schools help enhance student learning, empower the utilization of new and imaginative educating strategies, and give schools an approach to move from a lead based to an execution based arrangement of responsibility. Public schools are like charter schools except for the freedom that a charter school has. And private school is based on tuition and that is funded by charities and tax holders in that community.
Chicago charter high school has a higher standard of education and curriculum for students and to a pathway to early collage. The Three main points that I will be explaining in this essay are: Charter schools benefits students and help students achieve by improving academic performance and results through specific charters. As schools operating outside of the traditional public school system, charter schools could provide more flexibility and improved leaning environment as well individualized choices or pathways for students. The Charter schools provide choices for families that are educational. It improves specific curriculum ideas and makes teachers have more balance in their work. The thesis statement states the essay’s main argument
To understand the state of charter schools today, it is important to know how a charter school was envisioned to be. Tell explains that charter schools, by nature, should be more accurately described as “contract” schools. These schools are contractually obligated to serve the interest of the general public by providing education opportunities using the funds provided from taxes. Traditionally, charter schools are defined as “tuition-free, publicly funded, performance-based, non-sectarian, public schools of choice open to all.”[1] These schools are considered autonomous because they are exempt from most, if not all, local and state rules and regulations regarding education. The reduction of applicable laws pertaining to these schools are supposed to liberate them from the supposedly strict regulations that bog down the education system that prevent teachers from what they were actually hired to do: to teach. Although novel in concept, this idea has been difficult to implement in reality.
The American education system and its public institutions are slowly changing. What used to be a public institution is pushed to be a “publicly funded, but privately managed” system, also known as charter schools. The problem with charter schools development is due to the lack of enforcement is the results of insufficient measure of transparency and accountability. Due to the lack of oversight the public have over charter schools, this leads to many cases of fraud and abuse and no guarantee of academic advancement. Examples could be found in the lack of coherent data on the improvement of students performance, and case of fraud, both financially and academically, in many charter schools all over the nations. This overdue dispute raises concerning questions of what is the right and satisfying solution for the issue and how to guide state legislators and communities toward public accountability and transparency for charter schools.
Education is a very important part of a person’s life. Every parent want the best thing for their children. They want their children to be happy and to be able to achieve their dreams and be what they want to be, which is why they want the best education for their children. Because, almost everyone would agree that being well – educated is the closest way to success life and good future. But, their desire to send their kids to the best school have to face many obstacles. One of these obstacles would be choosing school for their kids. In the U.S., there are three types of school: public school, charter school and private school. Private schools are usually very selective, has better performance than government-funded school and has expensive tuition fee. Rich families would send their kids to private schools because they could afford the expense. However, for a normal family, paying the expense for private schools would be overwhelming. So, there options are narrowed between charter schools and public schools. There have been many debates on whether charter schools or public schools provide students with better education. But, there are obvious evidences that charter schools are generally better than public schools:
Charter schools are an alternative to public schools. Whether this alternative is a better solution to the public schools is the argument. Public schools can be just as creative as charter schools. Public schools are funded by our tax dollars, which ultimately the United States Government decides where those funds go. Education should be the last thing to be cut in the budget, but unfortunately, we the people do not have a choice other than the public offices whom we hope will do what they have said in their election speeches. Charter schools have come about to fill the gap that public schools cannot fill. They can gear their curriculum to student needs, where some public schools cannot because of funding cuts.
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
A benefit of placing charter schools in a school district is school choice. Parents appear to support the option of deciding where their children attend school. According to Andy Smarick, “In New York, 12,000 students are on charter wait lists; in Massachusetts 19, 000; in Pennsylvania 27,000” (2008). Additionally, an Annual Survey of America’s Charter Schools 2010 notes that an average of 239 children is on a waiting list to enter each charter school in America, which is a 21% surge since last year (Center for Education Reform, 2010). These studies indicate the importance of school choice to parents and their desire to enroll their children in charter schools. Another example that shows parental demand for charter schools comes from The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts a study published in June 2009 by the United States Department of Education. The study showed parents of charter school students were more satisfied with their children’s academic achievement and social development compared to parents of students in traditional school setting.