The Pros And Cons Of Charter Schools

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 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.

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.

It is for those reasons that public charter schools are part of the solution to a better education system; they offer an alternative to the monopoly that is leaving so many students behind. Charter schools are independent public schools with rigorous curriculum programs and unique educational approaches. In exchange for operational freedom and flexibility, charter schools are subject to higher levels of accountability than traditional public schools. Charter schools, which are tuition-free and open to all students, offer quality and choice in the public education

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:

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

Within the educational system, a conflict that arises is about funding between charter schools and public schools. The funding between the two institutions is not equal. Charter schools receive 18.5 percent less in revenue per student than district schools which equal $1765 less per student (Overview of K-12 Per Pupil Funding for School Districts and Charter Schools, 2015). Some of the reasons why there is a disparity between the two institutions when it comes to funding are that district schools have more overhead expenses such as special education services, transportation, support services, etc. If charter schools receive less funding per student, why is enrollment on the rise? Does funding create successful learning outcomes? Charter schools seek other means to receive funding for students. Some of those include tax dollar credits and parent

over the years charter schools have garnered mixed results regarding student achievement (Karp & Heitner, 2013). Given current trends of charter school expansion, and the public school funding of these privately-managed schools (CREDO, 2013). It is increasingly important to identify and understand the implications, and trade-offs for autonomy by evaluating the effectiveness

Naomi Calvo and Karen Hawley Miles explain in ‘Turning Crisis into Opportunity’, an article for Educational Leadership in 2011, take City High, a charter school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as an example of how charter schools are not having a negative impact on students and are, in fact, having a positive impact on student performance. “The student population is about half black and half white, 60 percent are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and 11 percent receive special education services” (Calvo and Miles). These statistics suggest that students are receiving excellent grades and are having no problems going to school with a variety of cultures, as stated by the student population being about half white and half black. The dramatic percentage of students receiving incentives for their grades is an extremely strong piece of evidence in support of charter schools and evidence that states should strongly consider when making laws for or in opposition to charter schools. Not only does this evidence support the fact that people think that charter schools have a positive impact on student performance, there is also evidence that charter schools are not taking funds away from surrounding

"The Charter School Vs. Public School Debate Continues." NPR. Claudio Sanchez, 16 June 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

This is leading to many charter schools closing and leading too many students’ academic progress decreasing. And putting them into a public schools. Which is totally different public and charter. Charter is one on one helping the student and public school is on your own having a little bit help from the teacher. Which is the issue for the students. Los Angeles Times has stated “The CHIME Institute’s Schwarzenegger Community School proposes to spend about $12 million to redevelop Collins, pooling money from a state charter school facilities grant, a proposed grant from the district, its reserves and fund-raising.” Many states are revising the charter school education system and many are reopening . But the issue is the government doesn’t necessarily fund the charter school education system. So many that are ahead of charter school board are funding and opening many charter schools to help the beneficial needs of students and parents who are likely to send their children to charter schools. But many disagree they say charter schools are too hard on the children. Charter schools are just preparing students for their future. Times News Address has stated ““The district is committed to working with the charter operators and their neighbors so that we can replace these vacant campuses with high-quality projects just as soon as possible,” she said. Many vacant areas are opening

When certain schools, usually charter and private, are presented as better options than public schools, it hurts the public schools’ chances of growing and improving (Foster 19).

In California there is frequent debate over the performance of public schools throughout the state. It is known that many of the state’s public schools are poorly funded and lay in disrepair. It is also accompanied by bad test scores and underperforming students which is not necessarily the schools fault. Article one discusses a possible solution with an ambitious $490-million plan to place half of Los Angeles students into charter schools within the next eight years. Charter schools are publicly financed, independently run and are exempt from some of the rules that govern other traditional campuses. Details of the plan have yet to be released but the major contributors include the locally based Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation along with the Keck and Walton Family Foundations and other charter advocates. The proposed plan would create 260 new charter schools and enroll at least 130,000 students (Blume 2015). The foundations have publicly declined to release important information on the policy but apparently have a strategy in place for moving forward, including the recruitment and training of teachers and how to raise money. The plan has already encountered a lot of resistance from the powerful L.A. Unified unions. Critics of the plan claim

An analysis of charter schools – government-funded independent schools that offer either a special theme or are required to meet a particular performance indicator (Davies & Guppy, 2006) – as an alternative to mainstream public education reveals that charter schools should be notnot be supported for several reasons. First, in terms of academic performance, there is little evidence that charter school students fare better than public school students (Murphy, 2003). Second, as new providers of education, advocates claim charter schools bring innovative and fresh new thinking to schooling practices (Davies & Guppy, 2006), but research has found there is weak evidence to support such a claim. Finally, proponents of charter schools and

Charter schools enhance the education opportunities that are obtainable in a particular community. In “The impact of Milwaukee Charter Schools on Students achievement” Stephane Lavertu and John Witte “put together analyze panel data” to see how students would do in math and reading achievement tests. From 2000 to 2007 they notice that the students had done positively well in the math and good in reading exams. Having the Milwaukee Public Schools, Lavertu and Witte do this research helps them to see if a charter school would help to improve education or not. After a numerous