Charter Schools

Dionna D’Ambrosio
Charter School Blog

Charter schools are publicly funded primary or secondary schools that are not obligated to follow the rules, regulations, and statues of other public schools. Each school has implemented a “charter” which explains the accountability for producing certain results, and some schools even provide curriculum for specific fields. Since charter schools are funded by tax dollars they are open and attended by choice and are not allowed to charge tuition. Some of these institutions can be founded as well funded by teachers, parents, private donors, corporations, and activists, some may even be state authorized. Charter schools reflect their founders' varied philosophies, programs, and organizational structures, serving diverse student populations, and continued commitment to improving public education.

There are many members of society that are dissatisfied with education and public school districts, so supporters see charter schools, as a workable compromise and an alternative to vouchers. The charter approach is guided by two principles:  1.)  insisting that schools operate as an autonomous public school  2.) they are accountable for student achievement. So the most common reasons for founding charters were to pursue an educational vision and gain autonomy. Charter schools tend to be somewhat more racially diverse, and enroll slightly fewer students with special needs and limited-English-proficient students than the average schools in their state. Most newly created charter schools face obstacles when implementing their charter, making them more vulnerable due to limited resources and inadequate startup funds. Even though most charter activists recommend schools control all pupil funds they usually end up receiving less funding then other public schools. The greatest benefit of charter schools according to supporters is that all public schools will get better if there is competition. The public school system as it previously stood was a monopoly. Except for paying for private schooling which some families may be lucky enough to do, the local public school was the only option a parent had for educating their child. Another argument for charter schools is that they give parents options. Charter schools give parents the option of sending their children to schools that are more to their liking, especially when cultural or religious preference is a concern. So a benefit is that charter schools give choice to those who previously lacked it.

A criticism of charter schools is that they attract students with concerned parents, who want to take an active interest in their child’s education. There have been studies that show that children who have parents actively involved in their education do better overall than students who do not. Therefore, charter schools may attract the students who tend to do better in school leaving the local school system left with fewer children who have active parents. In the end it would be hard to accurately compare the charter with the local school district. In the United States democracy and fairness is very important, so is the belief that schooling should serve all regardless of class and give all an equal chance at an education. However, the traditional public school system has not delivered on the democratic equality promise because all schools are not equal. Some are much worse than others and poor students in these schools have no choice but to attend them. This results in them not having a fair chance at succeeding. Charter schools may offer this fair chance so in turn children can succeed in all that they choose. In the end education through charter schools will hopefully help us create a higher educated society.