Virtual Charter Schools Case Study

Essex. (2008). School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders (4th ED.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

It was with wild fanfare that the state’s Republican legislature and Republican Governor enacted their reforms for the state’s public school system. Among the panaceas was charter schools, a ‘90s education fad that gives individual parents the right to send their children to state-approved public charter schools at public expense. Politicians reasoned that less-bureaucratic charter schools would teach students better than traditional public schools because charter schools wouldn’t be subject to the same mandates that the state had heaped upon public schools. Furthermore, traditional schools would be forced to compete with charter schools as they lured thousands

Under Alberta Government statute, “all teachers in a Charter school must be certified by the Alberta of Education; however a Charter school can inquire as to the religious beliefs of a prospective teacher at the time of his/her hiring.” This section of the Alberta governments legislation is both legally accessible and written with precision, as it does not deny a Charter right in its entirety, however the enforcement of this legislation by the Blessed Virgin Mary school, which resulted in the school dismissing King infringes upon his section 2(a) Charter right.

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)

Aurora Academy Charter School came to be in the fall of 2000, and was the first charter school within the Aurora Public School District. A group of parents who were unhappy with their neighborhood schools banded together to create Aurora Academy. Collectively, they purchased and renovated an old office building, completed the charter application, and researched and selected the Core Knowledge curriculum to create a K-8 school dedicated to excellence.

EDUC 512 Issue 1.5 Should Public Schooling be Redefined? Issue 2.6 Are Local School Boards Obsolete?

Sometimes, these schools are poorly managed, and not only do the children get a poor education, but we as taxpayers lose a lot of money. For example, as reported in the LA Times by Jeremiah Dobruck, a board member of an online charter school in California was recently accused of laundering a seven hundred and fifty thousand dollar investment from the state.

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.

Despite the charter school model created by education reformers, the verdict is still out on their effectiveness. Recent studies demonstrate that overall performance has failed to accomplish their intended results. Individual states determine the laws each charter organization shall follow, which might account for the differences in performance across states. Although slight differences exist in the way charter schools operate among states, their effectiveness in improving student academic performance has proven to be less than what education reformers lauded as the answer to the ills of the American educational system.

While a public school or a private institution might have to stick to teaching a lesson in two days, for example, a teacher working at a charter school may extend that deadline if they notice that some students are behind on said topic. On the other hand, the teacher may also observe that students grasp a topic quicker, so they don’t have to waste much time on it. Also, charter schools can choose to emphasize certain courses and subjects also depending on student needs. If a student, for instance, already has an idea on what they want to study in college, the school can enhance this student’s courses to better prepare them. They can give students advanced classes on what their focus is on, and work with their electives so that, instead of taking something that won’t benefit them, they can take a class that can actually contribute to better their knowledge in a certain area. For example, a student that wants to study medicine would have to meet the regular curriculum in a public school. In a charter school, though, he could take Advanced Placement classes in science courses like Biology and Chemistry, and could exchange having an Art class to taking an advanced Biochemistry course, for instance. Since nothing is set in stone, charter schools work around with each student’s specific needs for their advantage, not on what they are be forced to take like everyone

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

in Washington, and exploring the charter school issue through the lens of Race to the Top and

It reflects no single agenda." (Manno). The formation and history of charter schools can be traced to reform conceptions, from alternative schools, to site-predicated management, magnet schools,

In challenging the assessment practices in the virtual K-12 classroom for gifted students, I anticipate encountering certain obstacles. Firstly, the most obvious obstacle is the technical issues which may impact students’ final submissions and, therefore, cause difficulties in assessment procedures online. Secondly, it is funding and accreditation issues which are the essential things to be considered since all virtual schools need to be in compliance with states policies and held to the same measures as brick-and-mortar schools (Patrick & Sturgis. 2011). The special testing requirements for gifted students may be questioned by the public and the legislators; consequently, not many online schools will be willing

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.