Thanks for a very informative post. I was wondering why there
is such a high turnover if the pay is decent. I always imagine
that the students are more motivated due to the structure.
On 8/18/14, Beware of the Charter Curse wrote:
> I worked for a Charter for a while and like everything else,
> it has its good and its bad. They are generally smaller
> than ISD PS's and have smaller class sizes, which is nice.
> They pay was good, comperable to most and higher then
> some. Resources were great for core classes, but lacking
> for electives. We participated in TRS and they do look at
> your service record for compensation, but ours didn't
> recognize state leave. You still earned it so it accumulated
> and can be used if you return to an ISD, but we couldn't
> use it there. However, we earned about 10 days/per year
> from the charter so I didn't miss it and took a lot of unused
> with me when I returned to an ISD. One of the problems
> is that most ISD Admin don't look favorably on Charter
> Schools and it can be hard for many to transition from a
> charter to an ISD...something we called the Charter Curse.
> Also, as mentioned earlier, many Charters don't give their
> teachers contracts so as at-will employees you can be let
> go at anytime without any explanation at all and I saw that
> happen many times. The joke was to time it right to get out
> before they decided to fire you. There was high turnover
> and it was rare to have a teacher make it longer than 6
> years there...most were there for 2-3 years. It was a family
> atmosphere and I loved that, but the lack of job security led
> me make the decision to return to an ISD and luckily,
> working at the charter school didn't keep me from getting a
> job.
>
>
> On 7/23/14, PsyGuy wrote:
>> They can choose to participate in TRS, but they can also
>> choose to provide social security or another retirement
>> program. Charter schools are not required/mandated to
>> participate in TRS.
>>
>> On 7/23/14, Lonestar wrote:
>>> Do they participate in trs??
>>>
>>>
>>> 7/14/14, a year
>>>> difference. Yes you will be given full recognition of
>>>> your
>>> service
>>>> record.
>>>>
>>>> A charter school is basically a "public" private school,
>>>> they
>>> dont
>>>> charge tuition, but they cant raise money by issuing
>>>> bonds. They get the attendance rate for each student,
>>>> which is calculated in October. Most charter schools
>>>> have a
>>> particular
>>>> focus, such as science and technology, or health care.
>>> Charter
>>>> school systems like harmony have given charter
> schools
>>>> in general a bad name.
>>>>
>>>> Another issue is that contracts at charter schools can
>>>> be at
>>> will,
>>>> meaning you can be terminated for any reason, and
> you do
>>> not
>>>> have all the protections available to you at a PS.
>>>>
>>>> On 7/14/14, Curious wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> What exactly is a "charter school" in Texas? I taught
>>>>> for 14 years in regular public school, before resigning
>>>>> to start a little business of my own. Now that my
>>>>> spouse and kids can handle it, I am seriously
> thinking
>>>>> about getting back in to the profession. For certain
>>>>> reasons, I do not want to get back into the PS as
>>>>> before, but a charter school has some
> appeal...although
>>>>> before I have never been curious
>>> enough to
>>>>> ask all that much about one, and all.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can someone sort of outline it for me? Is it under the
>>>>> auspices of the state in the sense of "high-stakes
>>> testing?"
>>>>> Does the local school district control it? Is pay
>>>>> subject to state standards as a baseline? Does
> previous
>>>>> service count in that regard?
>>>>>
>>>>> Anyway, that is some of the general questions I hope
>>> some of
>>>>> you all might provide some insight! Thank you in
>>>>> advance!
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