Charter schools are essentially privately run schools that receive public funding. They are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to regular public schools, however, to continue receiving funding they must be held accountable and produce certain results - namely, their students must improve their proficiency in reading, math, and other subjects.
In a 2008 survey of charter schools, 59% of the schools reported that they had a waiting list, averaging almost 200 students. So the demand is clearly present.
The idea is that families who live in a district where their children would normally be sent to a below-par or failing school would instead have the option of sending their children to a charter school that, in theory, could provide them a better education.
Here is the central question in the political debate... Should charter schools be an integral part of the solution in improving America's public school system, or should those resources that would go towards funding charter schools be better utilized by investing them directly into improving public schools themselves? On one side of the debate, many people argue that healthy public schools are vital to a democratic society. On the other side, many parents argue that, in practical terms, their children need a quality education today, and they are less concerned with who provides it.
How can we best allocate our resources?
Being the mother of two school-aged children and currently living in a city where the schools are rated way below average (3 and under), this is topic is not only relevant but very important to me. This can go both ways - if we pool resources into making our public schools better, that is exactly what will happen - they will get better. However, this is a collective effort between the local or city government, the teachers and certainly the students and parents. Public schools have clearly been given (or earned) derogatory grading when it comes to sufficiently educating our children and preparing them for high school/college and beyond, but this should not just be the sole responsibility of the teachers and local government. Yes it is imperative that the teachers are knowledgeable and equipped to teach our children, but our children also have to be prepared to learn. There is such a lack of respect for teachers in the public school system and some parents do not make it easy to teach their children. It is no surprise that some teachers are just no longer motivated - not only do they have to teach in appalling conditions but they have to deal with rude and disrespectful kids. Where I grew up, the environment was completely different. Respect was not a choice, it was mandatory and both parents and teachers demanded it. A lot of the teachers are threatened and face violent kids on a daily basis. My sister teaches at a public school in DC and says that it is the worst system she has ever encountered. Just a couple weeks ago an 11 year old threatened to have her beat up because she stopped her from bullying another student. The conditions some teachers work in (and for the pay they receive) should be criminal.
ReplyDeleteYes, distributing money for resources such as computers, books, better desks and chairs and well qualified teachers is definitely a step in the right direction. Personally, I am more concerned about my children getting a great education rather than where they receive it. I would take every available option to ensure this. Charter schools have a proven positive track record - and we can see from the current demand that parents believe in this type of system. My concern would be that my children would not receive the opportunity due to the great demand. This is an issue that I would say let the public vote directly - those who have children in the lower rated school systems versus those in charter schools to determine how the funding should be allocated. If money is going into improving public schools, improvement should be realized. Parents need to become more involved in the education of their children - attend PTAs and board meetings and get to know who is making the decisions that impact the lives of our children. If there are areas that you would like to see improvement, make your voice heard - talk to teachers and principals and see how it can be rectified. Be the one who not only complains and stands in the background but take action to make a better learning environment for your children.
Charter schools are schools that receive public funding, but operate independently of the established public school system, in which it is located. Public schools are schools that get money from the government and is also controlled by the local government. In my opinion, every child/person deserves a good education. Unfortunately, many schools around our neighborhoods are rated below average. So instead of having to wait on a list for a charter school to possibly improve the education of a few students, why not invest the funding that would go towards the charter schools to improve the public schools themselves? Of course the school systems would need the help from the government, but also the help of the students themselves, and of course their parents to make these improvements happen. The schools should let the local government know of the repairs, or materials they need such as more computers, or more textbooks to improve the local school system. The students must be willing to learn and the parents must engage as well. For example, parents should attend Parent teacher meetings and or conferences. This way, not just a couple of children are getting the better opportunities, all children could and should receive this from their public schools.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the topic, of Public School vs. Charter School, I am indecisive. The reason being is that I am a product of public school and at the time I when I was attending elementary school I had wonderful teachers. I had older teachers and teachers that were teaching over 15 years plus with experience. I was not only taught how to read and write, I also was taught about home economics and back then we didn't have all of these advance technologies that we have today so learning was more hands on.
ReplyDeleteNow on the other hand, I think that Charter School should be treated in the same level as public school. Although they have a much smaller class setting in which it can be beneficial towards students who learn at a slower pace. I also think that funding should be split in both ways, so that It can benefit all the students. I also have a graduate from a charter school and I really did not see a difference in her learning. The only things was that charter schools don’t have a lot of the amenities that public schools have. But then again I also see the student benefiting from both parent and teacher involvement so that all schools can have equals.
So I say that to say that all funds should be allocate for teachers, public and charter schools.
Omaria, I agree what you are saying, both type of schools should benefit from all this instead of just the charter schools. I don't know if charter schools should be treated on the same level as public schools but I see it as vice versa. These days more people want to get their children into charter schools other than public schools but all funding should be based for the teachers along with BOTH charter and public schooling systems
DeleteI'm in agreement with Judy, my concern in more in the quality of education rather than where they get the fond from. In my experience raising my kids in an urban community it's a team effort to provide the best for our children. I believe in the public school's and I know if the finances are spent the right way to enhance the curriculum it will benefit the kids greatly. I wonder why do we need so many charter schools? why not give the money to the current schools now. Public schools have been around for a long time and need more resources, they need to set higher standards, more qualified teachers, more learning tools and such things to make our kids successful and want to learn. The schools are just buildings its what happens within the building that is important and what/how we educate our kids. Public schools should be able to benefit from government funding to provide more computers, more substantial accredited classes, classes that would challenge them with hands on experience.
ReplyDeleteI've tried the charter school program with my 1st child and it didn't sit well with me. It turned out to be more about money and my child lacked the support I as a parent expected. The efforts and the focus in my opinion should go to the public schools and making them better, with better standards as well as better expectations for our kids.
Elsa, I agree with your statements " Public schools have been around for a long time and need more resources, they need to set higher standards, more qualified teachers, more learning tools and such things to make our kids successful and want to learn. The schools are just buildings its what happens within the building that is important and what/how we educate our kids." Now a days, people perceive our public school systems as just a day care for students. Many students act out and many teachers no longer have the desire to teach. This lack of desire to teach students goes hand in hand when you say we need more qualified teachers. However, today on social media we see students fighting teachers. Perhaps it is because the students parents are not as involved with their kids schooling. (Of course, there can be many other reasons.)
DeleteYou mentioned you tried a charter school with your first child and it seemed to be all about money, i can see how that is so being that charter schools are not funded by the government. They need help from the public. What were your expectations bringing your child into a charter school?
As per my post above, i am in agreement that our focus should be on making our public schools better.
I agree with both Elsa and B.'s arguments on this issue. I don't think more money should be put towards Charter schools and still having to wait on a list nonetheless but rather have the already established public schools utilize the money.
DeleteLike B. said, it's what happens inside the classrooms, inside the school grounds that matter. It doesn't matter if charter schools have better amenities and/or buildings if their curriculum is not good enough, students still won't learn anything.
And as students, they also play a huge role if not the biggest role in how the public schools improve. With social media and pompous pricks running around the internet, it is up to the students whether or not they want to be the kid that goes viral because he beat up his teacher or the student that goes viral because of how much he's helped in changing their school system for the better.
The experiences that these students learn at school are of their own creation. The best the government can do in my opinion is to fund public schools and help them reshape the public's view of public schools as just a "school" and rather have them view it as a tool for learning and growth.
Respect begets respect. If a student is disrespectful to a teacher for no acceptable reason then that student deserves to be disciplined and taught respect.
The road towards a better future for the future generation is a two-way street. Everybody has to pitch in and work together.
-J.Mo
All my life I never experienced a public school system. I attended private school than for high school I went to catholic school. I understand the issue at hand that kids in certain areas aren't receiving the proper education. However, I feel this isn't a really big deal I've read and seen success stories of kids making out of poor schools and poor neighborhoods. I also feel if charter schools accepted more kids wouldn't they run out of space to send kids to the schools. I mean there are some districts that could have thousands and thousands of kids. A town by me, and the school district Sachem was so big they had multiple elementary school, middle schools and even high schools. If for instance there education was bad, how would they be able to send all those kids to the charter schools.
ReplyDeleteI feel charter schools should help fund the below average public schools and give a helping hand. Help the kids with books, and all the essentials they need. If they did that public schools would improve. Also you have to take this into the account the kids have to do the work no matter where you go. You can send a kid to a high end school or a charter school and if he doesn't put the work and focus on his grades it would be a waste. If the public schools are bad but the kid has straight A's do you really think he's not going to go to a good college? The answer is no because scholarship offers will be offered and help pay for some of the tuition if not all of it.
--Stephen Nourijanian
I'm kinda on the same page as Stephen here - but rather than have charter schools help fund the below average public schools I think they should be done away with completely, because that's how bad some of our schools are. A charter school does not address the problem of us having a weak public education system, it's part of the problem or may even be the problem. With equal opportunity at every American public school, we will climb the ranks nationally, and there will be no excuses. Also - Private catholic schools are totally fine because they are not funded by tax dollars, as far as I know.
Deletethink Judy just made a great point about teachers from public schools. It is sad what they have to go through the majority of time because some parents let their child be disrespectful to the teachers . Of course everyone wants the best for their children but education starts from home, if parents don't stay behind their child every day to make sure they are not on Facebook all the time and they are doing their homeworks, their Kids won't learn anything. The government should invest that money to improve Public schools that way teachers would be able to provide a better education for the kids having new computers and new books. I also agree with Judy that it does not matter where the children are what matters is that they get a good education where they can also get prepare for college .
ReplyDeleteCharter schools already have a good reputation, it would be a great idea to improve Public schools because need this help more than anything. Parents have the responsibility to make sure their kids get a good education by talking to the teachers to see how their children are doing and If they are not doing good , see what can do at home to make them improve . As I mentioned before education starts from home lets not leave everything to the teachers and the schools .
CD
Thank you for your feedback. I think we fail to recognize how crucial it is for us as parents to be our child's first teacher. We cannot expect them to have a solid educational foundation if we are not willing to participate by adding a brick or two. We also have to be mindful to educate not only in academics but in morals and mutual respect, because if we don't, our children are prone to become more of a menace to society as opposed to making a valuable contribution to it. We see it far too often lately – an alarming lack of respect. As far as the public school systems go, I think it will take a lot more than money to bring some of them to acceptable standards. We need to take a look at what works in other cities or states and emulate a similar strategy.
DeleteCharter schools are meant to provide quality education without the cost that private schools have. However, I do believe that we get out what we put in – whether it is a public, private or charter school. Not all charter schools will give our children superior education – and contrastingly not all public schools are destined for failure. As I stated before in my comments, I think success for any of these schools rely heavily on joint participation from all involved. If we as parents show little or no concern regarding the quality of education our children receive, how can we expect the teachers to do so? My brother teaches at a charter school and a few students in his class are failing. He spends hours grading, preparing tests, doing lesson plans and even making calls to the parents of those who are failing, but sometimes they still fail.
As Omaria said, kids today have the added advantage of computers, personal tablets, and so much more in the area of technology than some of us did, but even with all this, some still face many challenges. Personally, I keep in touch with my kids’ teachers on a weekly basis. I stay involved and intervene before a situation gets out of control. The teachers and I have a good relationship and I encourage them to call me at any time for any issue they deem urgent. We cannot rely solely on the educational system or teachers, no matter how good either may be or how much money is put into them.
All public schools need to provide a better education is new computers, new books, new chairs, and new tablets. I don't if anyone agrees with me at these but I believe that teachers from public school should get pay a higher salary because working with kids is a huge responsibility as I mentioned before some kids are very disrespectful and threat the teachers when they try to discipline them, some kids will attempt to hurt the teachers. Advantage should be taken of these buildings and money should be invested to make it better each day. Everyone wants the best for their child and if that money goes to public schools I'm pretty sure they kids would be happy to come to school because they would have access to the technology.
Delete-CD
I think charter schools are the problem here when referring to improving our public schooling in America. Here is where a little bit of democratic socialism makes sense to me. Why should we allocate our resources to one small group of private schools, that not every child may have the opportunity to attend? I do not think there should be charter schools. Privately funded private schools are fine, they do not interfere. As a country that is pretty far behind the rest of the world educationally, it's evident that we need to improve. If we pulled all the spending on charter schools and redistributed it accordingly and gradually to public schools that need it to improve, we would strengthen ALL of our public schools. The highly-ranked, blue-ribbon public schools would require little money for improvement, leaving plenty of funds which we could allocate towards improving low-ranking, under-performing public schools. Using this method, we would essentially be getting rid of high-quality "lottery" schools that only a small, lucky percentage may attend, and replacing them with a public education system that is strengthened nationally. With the money allocated progressively towards which schools need the money more to reach a certain standard, it will greatly strengthen our education system. Posing a hypothetical - we get rid of charter schools, put most of that money toward under-performing schools (mostly in bad neighborhoods) to improve the facilities, attract higher-quality teachers, and provide them with proper books and equipment. Now, you won't be afraid to send your child to that public school anymore because you know they'll receive a quality education at any public school nationally, and there will be no need for a charter school.
ReplyDeleteOkay now the real question is do we want to remove classism from our schools, No matter if we allocate the money evenly throughout our public schools and get rid of charter school. There will always be children that are more advance,there they will be separated to create a curriculum fit for them. Now the separation than will go further for students with elite transcripts they will want to go to more well funded schools and the government will have no choice but to give public schools with better test scores more grants. Now everyone likes the idealistic idea of equal funding for all public schools. But we need to have competition to boost our grades in the educational aspect in our country. All these other countries make competition to make student work harder thus ending up in a better funded school with more qualified professors. Charter school should be integral in improving our public schools systems because it created much needed competition.
ReplyDeleteAs stated by previous comments, I am more concerned about the quality of education for children rather than where the finances come from. The quality of education has to start at home and everything is built upon, the younger education system needs to greatly improve because if children do not have a foundation, they will never be able to understand even basic skills. Many of my friends are teachers and some in the low-income public school areas and some in charter school. My friend in the low-income public schools speaks about how rather than teaching, she is babysitting, the children who want to learn are unable to because of the distractions around them. While my friend at the charter schools would speak of the bureaucracy and red tape and drama. This is a different perspective than most. I do remember one of my friends in New Mexico stating rather than learning anything at all, they just learned to be able to pass the standardized tests so that they continue to receive funding. This is what many schools have become.
ReplyDeleteCharter schools are an answer for the now until the Country learns how to fix the bigger problem. While charter schools provide better education than many public school in low income areas, they may not provide the best education and there will still be a gap. However, this is a salutation for now, rather than the Government funneling more and more money into public schools without guidance or a real solution on how to improve them.
I agree with you Reem 100% .education should start at home first. The education now is totally different from how it used to be back in the days. Over here the schools have no discipline for the students. In my country(Haiti), if a student were to disrespect a teacher or get a question wrong when asked, the would get hit by a ruler in their palm or they would be put in a corner until class was done or school was finished. Now students go to school all they do is play around and take videos of their classmates fighting or disrespecting the teachers. They have no respect for the teachers that put up with their stupidity.
DeleteS.D
I believe that funding should go towards public schools so that they can improve on their weaknesses. Having enough funding for public school is an outstanding advantage for the middle class parents, because there can be more extracurricular activities for their children that attend public schools, and it can keep them away from trouble and more interested in their school work instead.These kids should take the advantage of going to public schools, because in other countries kids don't have that advantage of going to school for free and because of that the parents have no choice but to let their children stay home.
ReplyDeleteS.D
I feel as tough money should be used to improve public schools and they should be held to a higher standard just like the charter schools. There are stories I heard where some Charter school skew there numbers in order to keep receiving funds so it does not accurately show if the students are at a higher level.A high level of education should be available to the masses and not to these smaller school who have waiting lists. Students attending public schools are very capable of utilizing there education if public schools are the only school available for them. Education is a fundamental right in this country and should be of the upmost quality. A standard needs to be established to help these schools that are not doing well.
ReplyDelete-RG
We need to take care of our children in our public school systems, we seem to look for alternative ways to get around the problem of our schooling systems and how they are run. If we have public ran schools why are we focusing on the charter schools that have their own private funding as well as the public funding that could go to the public schools instead. Teachers and parent are not involved enough, the proper tools aren't in place to take our students to the next level. If public funding are being spend on privately ran schools how fair is that to those who go to public schools and not receiving that money that should be rightfully theirs for their school? It becomes another debate about how overcrowded the schools are and parents fighting to get their children in the chapter schools that have the funding backed publicly and privately, has the parents in-tune with what is going on and pay their teachers well that makes them want to stay and teach, all these things could and should be implicated in out public school system.
ReplyDeleteI believe that funding should go towards public schools and charter schools should be done away with. Money that can be spent on improving public schools just seems to get tossed to the charter schools. What's the point in having two schools that get separate funding when you can just have one that receives funding to improve and better itself. Charter schools just seem to be something that requires more state funding.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your statements, the money should definitely be going towards just one type of school. Public schools are quite flawed but I think that they can be fixed with the right amount of curriculum adjusting and a huge fund increase. Education has become quite competitive these days and the education kids are receiving these days. I believe that unnecessary competing between schools should be eliminated. All schools should offer the same great education and opportunities.
Delete- C.A
Deletewhoops forgot to leave initials.^
Based on the information given i fully support having both public and charter schools. if an adjustment were to be made it would be that the charter schools not be privately owned. However, public school teachers are having a lot of trouble challenging advanced students as well as slowing it down for those students that need the extra help. By splitting the groups up it allows each student an equal learning opportunity. As long as colleges take in to consideration which school an applicant graduates from. -TR
ReplyDeletePublic schools have to educate students with all sorts of needs unlike charter schools. Parents of charter schools are more involved in their children’s education because if their child does not comply with their requirements, their child will be asked to leave the school. In public schools, parents know that their child will not be kicked out because of the law. Parents tend not to be as involved in their child’s education. Lately government leaders are taking away monies belonging to public schools to fund new charter schools. Charter schools are doing better because public schools budgets keep getting smaller every year, living with the threat of being shut down any day.
ReplyDeletePublic education is not a U.S. Constitutional right. This realm of government and responsibility belongs to the State governments. It is up to the States to provide education to its citizens. Uncle Sam is the big watch dog of education but it is the responsibility of the State governments to ensure every citizen is being prepared to function in today’s world successfully.
During the past fifty years or so, the quality of education has become weak and therefore has produced a population not highly qualified to compete with other work force throughout the world. We as a nation are falling behind other nations when it comes to our public education. To remediate this weakness in our public education, many have pushed and implemented charter schools to replace our traditional public schools. Lately charter schools have had higher test scores then their counterparts.
First of all, let’s take a closer look at the situation originally created and failed due to poor leadership in the white house and in State governments. Had they done their jobs to begin with, our public schools would not be threatened as they are today. Who is responsible for public education? The State governments and their leaders. Therefore, replace or change the leadership from the top and not from the bottom. The problem with public education is not the school’s themselves but the hierarchy.
Fix the problem by removing those who are responsible. Charter schools create a student that is educated in a military like tactics. Their students are required to walk in a straight line and are not allowed to speak during lunch time. In the classroom they are to sit in STAR position. The goal of charter schools is high test scored and not in educating a well-rounded child. Charter schools pick and choose their students as opposed to public schools, where they have no choice in their student population. Charter schools can expel or remove any student they see as a problem, a lot more easily as opposed to a public school. Which is almost impossible.
Charter schools do not have to deal with teacher unions because their teachers are not unionized. They also do not have tenure as public school teachers do. Charter schools are not the answer to our public education. Everything is still new when it comes to charter schools. Everything is looking good, but give it another ten years when charter schools do not have any competition because the public school system as it has been and American tradition will become like the dinosaur. We must support and improve our public schools just like we must support and improve our leadership in the white house and the State governments. -- SF
Many good points, but why do charter schools get benefits that public schools don't? Why can't we provide the finances to the public schools to enhance their education? What keeps the government from helping the current schools and building on what already is there? We can get the high test grades from our public schools if they have the resources provided to them and are challenged to do so with the right curriculum. I agree replacing and/or changing some top executives or representatives is probably the best 1st step rather the opening more and more charter schools that have the chances of failing.
Delete
ReplyDeleteSchool based decision making that pushed choices about resources, priorities, time, and staffing closer to the classrooms where it matters the most. Charter schools have an interesting history with origins that are often overlooked. The idea of charter schools arose, often with teachers' union support, in urban districts in the late 1980s and early '90s. They were originally conceived as teacher-run schools that would serve students struggling inside the traditional system and would operate outside the reach of the administrative bureaucracy and politicized big city school boards. Charters also drew on early rounds of small school experiments initiated by teachers and community activists.
I have notice that currently in my communicated more charter school and after speaking to my cousin about their input on charter school I have come to the conclusion that they are better fit to student, but many will argue differently but in my point of view the old fashion way is better. It actually all depends the way of teaching we are all use to and the style of learning. The government should allow the children parent to decide in what type of school their children should attend and they should all be fund, it should be the parent’s responsibility to decision how their children should be taught.
M.E.