CHARTER SCHOOLS

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CHARTER SCHOOLS

• WAVE OF THE FUTURE?

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Charter Schools are

• Independent public schools
• Eligible for state and federal funds

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The Charter

• A formal, legal document
• Usually granted for 3 to 5 years
• May be renewed
• Establishes the schools mission, program and
  goals

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Charter schools are different

• They co-exist with schools that accept vouchers
  and magnet schools, but they are not the same

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Under the voucher system

• Funds are allowed to go towards a private or
  parochial education
• Schools may pick and choose their students
• Schools may charge tuition

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Magnet Schools

• Specialized public schools with curricula
  designed to attract particular students.
• Often have admission requirements.
• Typically spend more per pupil.

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Most common reasons to create a charter school

• Realize an educational vision
• Gain autonomy
• Service a special population

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Reasons why parents and teachers select a charter
school

• High academic standards
• Small class sizes (average 250 students)
• Innovative approaches
• Educational philosophies in line with their own

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History

• Term charter originated 1970s in New England.
  Ray Budde suggested small group of teachers be
  given contracts by local school boards.
• Philadelphia - 1980s number of schools within a
  school - called them charters
• Idea refined in Minnesota - 3 basic values
  opportunity, choice, responsibility for results
  

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History becomes present

• 1991 Minnesota passed 1st charter school law
• 1992 California followed suit
• 1995 19 states
• 2002 38 states, Puerto Rico, District of
  Columbia

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Charter schools are

• free to exercise autonomy in areas of curriculum,
  instruction, budget and personal
• able to chose unique curricula and to set
  schedules and calendars as they see fit
• fewer teachers need to be certified

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Today

• Total number of schools in operation nearly
  2,700
• Percent increase from last year 14
• Total number of students enrolled over 684,000
• Nationwide similar demographic characteristics to
  those in traditional-more than half report
  serving significant populations of minorities
  atrisk and low-income students

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Charter Schools in the United States Map Links
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Battle Lines

• The Charter School Debate

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Supporters

• Charter Schools are public schools free and
  open to all. They are started by interested
  parents, educators, and business and community
  leaders. Each school is created with its own
  unique curricula and is licensed by a school
  district, community college, or most often, a
  state university.
• -Michigan Association of Public Schools

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Free Market Economy

• Charter schools break up the educational monopoly
  of the traditional public school systems.
• According to free market theory, all public
  schools will improve as a result of competition.

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The Right to Equal Education for All

• Charter schools offer a much more fair approach
  to school choice.
• Current system inherently inequitable
• Wealthy families are able to pay private school
  tuition
• Middle and upper income level families can move
  to exclusive suburbs with good schools.

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Right to Equal Education continued.

• Those who defend the current public education
  system are in fact defending a massive, informal
  school choice system based on wealth and
  residence which is arguably the most inequitable
  system imaginable.
• -Nathan, Joe (1998). Charter Schools and
  Choice. American Prospect. Issue 41

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Innovation

• Charter schools can act as a laboratory for
  reform initiatives.
• Innovations in methods and curriculum that could
  be replicated in other public schools.

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Empowerment of Parents

• Traditional public school system pressures
  assimilation of mainstream cultural values and
  norms.
• Parents of different values and cultures must
  contend with this pressure.
• Private education only an option to the wealthy
  few.
• Minorities generally support charter schools.

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Criticisms of Charter Schools

• These schools are deregulated, autonomous, and
  independent of the rules and regulations that
  govern traditional schools
• -National Education Association

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Division of Public Funds

• In a free market economy there are always losers.
• Many of the problems with public schools to begin
  with are from lack of funding.
• Charter schools pull vitally needed resources
  away from low performing public schools.
• Taking money from these schools will only make
  matters worse.

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Lower Standards for Teacher Credentials

• Many teachers hired for charter schools, by
  for-profit companies, are far less experienced
  and command lower salaries than those in
  mainstream schools.
• Even experienced teachers who accept lower pay in
  exchange for the autonomy and opportunity for
  educational innovation offered by charters are
  becoming frustrated and burned out by heavy
  workloads and lack of resources.

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For-Profit Companies Influence on Charter
Schools

• Charter schools are often organized by for-profit
  companies, whose main concerns are often
  cost-cutting.
• This can result in lower standards in certain
  areas, such as transportation or special
  education programs.

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Accountability

• Although supporters argue that charter schools
  are inherently more accountable due to the fact
  that failure will result in their being shut
  down, the administration of these schools often
  have vague and ill-defined standards of
  accountability.
• Charter School Boards are not directly
  accountable to taxpayers because they are not
  popularly elected.

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Enrollment Patterns

• Relatively homogenous student bodies
• Students who attend charter schools are often the
  children of highly concerned parents who take an
  active role in their childs education, leaving
  out struggling students who could potentially
  most benefit from innovative school strategies.

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Local charter schools

• ArtSpace in Swannanoa
• Evergreen in Asheville
• Francine Delaney New School for Children in
  Asheville

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Future

• Provide a choice in education- and it is a public
  choice
• The market will determine the future of charter
  schools.