Charter Schools: To give or not to give them their wings?

by

Maria Sumner EDL 624i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ADVANTAGES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS DISADVANTAGES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES

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INTRODUCTION

Growing up, public school education, private school education and home schooling were the options for schooling for children in Kindergarten to 12th grade. People in the United States differ on opinion, thoughts and philosophies about education and more options had to be given to the public. This is where chartering began. Charter Schools were created to address different educational philosophies and these philosophies into real life. There really is no set date or year that anyone can say when the idea of charter schools began. In 1974, a paper was written called Education by Charter and this is where the idea opened the eyes of educators and parents to charter schools. Parents and children were given the opportunity to go into these schools where the newly researched ideas on education are being implemented. The parents were lured to the idea that the idea of charter schools allowed them to have a choice. Parents who are not financially able to send their students to private schools are not stuck in the public school setting. Even though the Charter Schools are considered part of the School Districts and are funded through the school districts, these schools are operated privately but need to strictly follow the same educational standards that the state and the district implements.

Charter Schools have show to be successful in some places but some unfortunately have not shown to improve student achievement. Currently, there is a lot of debate as to whether to keep Charter School doors open especially the struggling ones or to open more Charter Schools. This paper shows the advantages and the disadvantages of Charter Schools. At the end of this document, I would have hoped that the readers should have a better understanding of Charter Schools and the opinion weather Charter Schools should continue to open up all across the country.

ADVANTAGES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS

Since Charter Schools have more freedom to try out new teaching strategies and newest innovations in the education field, Charter schools get the first hand look as to what works and what doesnt work in the latest educational trend. Ironically enough, the newest educational trend is choice schools. In the previous decades, students went to a certain school if that school is closest to the street that the student lived in. Charter schools have definitely met that trend and allows for students in all areas of the county to pick a school that the parents feel the need would benefit their child the most. Another new educational trend would be Dr. Robert Marzanos Opportunity to Learn or OTL. This philosophy is based on Marzanos theory that if the students are given enough time and opportunity to learn, then the students would eventually learn the material. Renaissance School in Port St. Lucie, Florida is a charter school that focuses on OTL. The students would have extended days where the students are given the opportunity to learn missed or unclear information. This extended day is closely monitored and supervised by the teachers. The Renaissance School in Port St. Lucie has shown success in terms of the FCAT results as it is compared to other schools in the district. This Charter School

opened in 2009 and has received A ratings according to the FCAT. Another benefit of Charter Schools is the accountability. Charter Schools aggressively try to meet the needs of all their students in order to attract more students. The reason for this is the budget. If the Charter School does not attract enough students, the school would be at risk of closing or their Charter title could be stripped away. Another advantage of Charter Schools is the resources that these schools receive from private companies. Private resources allow for the schools to offer programs not necessarily available to the students in a regular public school setting. Aside from offering the programs, parents are encouraged to take a pledge of volunteer time to devote to the school. A Charter School in Central Florida called UPC is known for specializing in educating students with disabilities. The school mandates the parents to pledge ten which means they agree to devote 10 hours out of the whole school year to help the school in academics, programs and events.

DISADVANTAGES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS

Even though Charter Schools show many advantages, there are disadvantages as well. Charter Schools have admission requirements. If a parent finds a Charter School appealing but the student does not meet the requirement, the student will not be admitted to the school. As previously mentioned, UPC is a Charter School dedicated to students with disabilities. Another similar case is a Charter School that will be opening in the 2012 school year in Orange County, Florida called Access Charter School. The school is devoted to students who have already been labeled as ESE and it is only for students in grades 6-12. In this case, students residing in Orange County are given top priority. Transportation could potentially become an issue in a Charter Schools. Charter Schools do provide school buses but it does not cater to all students. Depending on how far the students live is a factor in who may take advantage of the school bus. As Charter Schools begin to open its doors, they dont have as much funding as the regular public schools have. The start -up costs are less so the facilities and the classroom resources are not comparable to a public school thats just opening its doors. Another disadvantage that Charter Schools have is the freedom of regulations. This freedom allows Charter Schools to hire teachers

who are not highly certified to teach as long as there is an contract that the teacher would be given 2 years to finish his/her certification needs. In Achievement First Middle School which is located in Harcourt, Connecticut, 7 out of 57 teachers were not highly certified teachers. If having a lack of highly certified teachers is a problem, lack of certified administrators is also an issue. The State Department of Connecticut did issue a waiver to these individuals in Charter Schools. In the waiver, it allowed the teachers and the administrators to stay in their current position even after the 2 years are up as long as they are showing that they are closing the achievement gaps. The average teacher turnover of Charter School is about 40% and the reasons differ. Teachers are considered public school teachers but they do not necessarily get the same privileges and retirement benefits that public school teachers receive. The instability of some of the school due to the enrollment trend is also a reason for the teacher turnover.

RECOMMENDATIONS

So, should Charter Schools be given their wings to fly? Should Charter Schools continue to be the guinea pigs of the newest educational trends? In my opinion, I feel that Charter Schools should be allowed to fly and venture the newest ideas and philosophies in the education field. Charter Schools have good intentions. They are not around to make money. They are not around to benefit any other company except for the students. They might not always be successful but with time and intervention from the district and state, I can see how Charter Schools could become successful. I feel that Charter Schools just like any other school system whether private, public, home schooled has its ups and downs. It all boils down to individual preference. Parents need to prioritize their needs and their expectations. From there, a parent would get to decide what the best schooling for their children is. Some parents feel the need to have a school where their children are exposed to diversity and stability and so a public school setting would best meet these needs. Some parents feel the need to address the specific needs of their children, and then the Charter School might be an option. For other parents, religious education

might be a priority where a private school setting would be ideal. When safety is a top priority, then home schooling is usually the route those parents take. Parents come from so many different educational experiences and from those experiences; they realize what their educational expectations they have for their children. I recommend parents to do their research. In the world we live in, where there are so many choices, parents need to become more aware. We all want whats best for our children/students. Education is the most important resource that we could give our children. Not only will it help them succeed in their future but it can mold them as the individuals that they are going to grow up to become.

REFERENCES

Chen, Grace. What is a Charter School? http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/3 Miron, Gary. Teacher Attrition in Charter Schools. (2007) Retrieved from http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Research/Miron_Attrition.pdf National Charter School Resource Center. Retrieved from http://www.charterschoolcenter.org/ Origins of chartering. http://www.educationevolving.org/choice/origins-of-chartering. Rabe, Jacqueline. Fight Brews over Charter School Teachers. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.theday.com. The Official Website of UCP. Retrieved from http://www.ucpcfl.org/ The Official Website of Access Charter School. Retrieved from http://www.accesscharterschool.org/Home.aspx What are Charter Schools? Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Charter_Schools/

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