Re: Charter School Question

More | Report Post

On 1/06/11, Ana wrote:
> I'm not sure I followed your thoughts all the way through
> your post, but it seemed your basic question was, "Why would
> a public school teacher have an issue with charter schools?"
> Charter schools are, in a sense, run like a private school.
> Students have to apply to attend. This gives the charter the
> unique ability to select students, which in no way results in
> a student body comparable to most public schools in Indiana.
> Public teachers would likely not have an issue with this fact
> other than the powers that be in our state education
> department hold charter schools' achievement in the face of
> public schools and demand equal progress.

I guess what you say about charter schools selecting their
students is what confuses me. I say that because although we had
to apply, our child had to be picked in the lottery for any
available openings. Otherwise our child would be on a waiting
list, which happens in some of the grades. Also, the school
draws students from several surrounding rural counties. Other
then the charter would attract parents who are committed to the
school(versus a neighborhood school where a parent could simply
drop the child off and let the school "educate" the child), I
still don't see how the charter has the advantage of who they
get for students. When I read the average number of special
needs students in the state and country, it seems to me that the
charter our child attends that has almost 25% special needs is
not an "advantage" over "regular" public schools.

The number of students in the class is only 1 less then what
she had in her public school classroom last year. I know charter
schools vary considerably from state to state, but it seemed
like Indiana doesn't have all those privately funded charter
schools we read about. I don't know if I can say that the school
is run like a private school, but when it comes to the school
community, it feels like a private school. I have had children
in both parochial and public Indiana schools and this school
just does not feel like either when it comes to the learning
climate. I know some of the teaching staffthere had taught in
public schools before and chose to teach at this school. Each
teacher is able to develop his or her own curriculum rather then
having to follow a purchased textbook series. Maybe that is what
I meant by not having freedom to teach how they would like to.

I read the teacher chatboards and I read a lot from teachers
being unhappy with having to follow another "new" adopted series
the school wants them to follow. I see especially the early
childhood teachers in kindergarten who are frustrated by the
push for what used to be first grade curriculum down to five
year olds who are not ready developmentally for the seat work. I
know that is not all schools/teachers, but it is a hot topic in
the k circles.

I appreciate your response although it did confuse me a bit when
it came to student selection as student enrollment for charter
schools must vary across the state. This school is not sponsored
by a local school district or a government official. One of the
universities sponsored it and that is who the school has to
answer to in meeting all the charter "rules".

You sound fortunate to have taught in schools that allowed you
professional latitude. Again, thanks for your response.  

Posts on this thread, including this one