I've been researching the local charter schools for at least one of my kids...if not all of them eventually. Have any of you been to one, put your kids in one, taught at one?

I really value the opinions on this board and with all of the educators who post here, maybe you could give me your insight as well.

Pros/cons whatever is appreciated. :)

My son goes to Beehive Science and Technology Academy and we feel he's getting superior education compared to what he was getting from Jordan School District. We are very happy with Beehive.

http://www.beehiveacademy.org/

I used to work at a charter school and thought it was a very good school. The staff were all talented and enthusiastic. The few teachers who weren't very good didn't stay long.

In Utah:

1) One big advantage is the more involved parents tend to be the ones that get their kids into them. So the kids overall seem to behavior better just because overall the parent care more about education.

2) From what I've seen some of the worst teachers go to charter schools. If they get blacklisted in the regular public schools they go charter.

There's only one charter school in my area of PA. The niece of a co-worker attended it and he said she loved it. The school district she was in was not the best - a lot of crime and poverty in the area.

If we didn't have a private school option for our daughter, we'd definitely look at the charter school.

On average, charter schools are no better than public schools. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/0629/Study-On-average-charter-schools-do-no-better-than-public-schools

My sister's kids are in a suburban charter because she's very anti-public school. From what I see, her charter is pretty mediocre and our public schools are much better. The only advantage to her charter is that they can kick kids out who cause a lot of trouble, something the public school cannot do.

My wife did Connections Academy for 4-6th grade w/ our ADHD son. They provide an online curriculum for home-schooled children. CA did monthly field trips where the children & parents were able to interact w/ each other. They also provided some oversight on an as-needed basis, as well as quarterly reviews of the student's work. It was a good experience for both of them.

In some cases, they're no better than public schools, but not only do they sometimes have the worst teachers, but also principals. My mom taught at a charter school for a semester, but her principal was such an asshole that she resigned, and it turns out she wasn't the only good teacher to do so. The thing is that my mom was a retired public school teacher, and was a good one as well.

Really charter schools are a crap shoot. You have to do some serious research. In most states teachers do not need to be certified to teach in a charter school. As an experienced teacher, I know how terrible I was in my first years. There is no way to become a better teacher except by teaching. This means we need to have inexperienced early career teachers, but a school full of them is bad news. On a related note, the experienced teachers in my schools were most important to help guide me. So, if there are not many experienced teachers in the school, I would worry.

It depends on the state, but I think they need to give you a summary of the teachers experience and qualifications as well as the schools' performance on the state standardized tests. Take those test results with a grain of salt, but if they are far behind the state average, I would worry.

Finally, check the principal's experience. How many years did s/he teach before going into admin? How many years experience do they have as an admin? I would never send my child to a school run by someone who did two years in Teach for America and then became an administrator.

In my work, the best teachers are those with experience and the best administrators taught for 20 years before going into admin. However, admin with many years in the classroom are increasingly rare. It really seems that people who can't make it in the classroom become administrators. It's a pretty tough world right now in education.

I haven't had any experience in charter schools but from what I have read, they are good and bad. Do your research. I have had experience in public and private schools. Same thing. Depends on the school.

Charters overall are no better and no worse than any other public schoool. You have to investigate each school carefully. Charters draw from the same teaching and administrative pool as other public schools.

Never enroll your child in any charter school (or private school) the first year it is open. Wait until it gains a reputation.

Ask public school teachers where they would want their own kids to go to school. They'll tell you!

I think it will depend on your personal area and some of the reasons on why you want to send your child(ren) to a charter school. Like noted above, a charter school can be no better than the public school in the same area. Consider the reasons on why you want to send you child to a charter school. Is it because of class sizes, lack of resources on the part of the current school, or something else. Some charter schools specialize in certian things. For example, there is a charter high school in my area that is specific to students who might not make it in a regular school and allows them an opportunity to graduate rather than have them dropping out of school and doing God knows what.

Look at the options that you have for charter schools and compare them to the public schools in your area. Find people who have students in these schools as ask them questions about what they like about the school and if they would recommend the school to other parents. Also, even if you do find a good charter school, make sure it will be a good fit for your child themselves. Just because it gets rave reviews doesn't mean that the school is the right one for your child(ren).

I hope that you can find the answers you want and good luck on the search. - Katy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2013 09:44PM by kativicky.

Check out the state scores and see. In our area KIPP is doing amazing things. In the four cities surrounding me, KIPP is outperforming ALL the public schools in EVERY district. The school hours are longer, respect and responsibility are taught and expected, longer school year, well trained and well educated teachers, the financial backing of many well known wealthy people wanting to support EXCELLENT education. Each student learns to play a musical instrument, college bound from day one....and on and on. Research and see what charter knows their stuff, ask parents, visit the school, etc. I have personally seen that there is no comparison to our local schools. If you live in a well off school district with high state scores, then it might be a different story for you. I recommend the documentary, "Waiting For Superman". If you are not happy with the public school, take your child out. They only get ONE education. I sent my (at the time) Mormon child to a Catholic High School and it was expensive, but the very best education available in our area. Wish KIPP or another wonderful charter school would have been around then in my area. But it was money well spent, my child was well prepared for college (many are not coming out of public schools) and thanks her high school years for that. She also says the focus was so different than in public schools here. Also the environment at charters as a rule, are worlds apart from some of our failing public schools.

(Please know that I have many friends in the field of education and I admire and respect them all, public, private and charter teachers. However, we all have to do what is in the best interests of our own children.)

Good luck on your decision.

KIPP schools are well-regarded and are a good option. KIPP does require a significant commitment from both parents and students.

They are very, very demanding places for teachers to work, however. Basically teachers are never off duty. I'd be curious as to how long teachers stick with KIPP.

Most are good schools. I have heard horror stories where they were just ways for the community to funnel tax money into religious education, but this is rare in the States.

The problem with schools though, isn't the school system, but the community where the students come from. If the parents are largely poorly educated themselves, then the kids are not going to get a lot of support from home. If drug and alcohol abuse is a problem in the community, then a large number of kids are going to be abused, and are going to have behavioral issues as a result.

It isn't just minority schools, a lot of white rural schools have the same problem.

The thing about charter schools, is that in rougher communities, their student bodies are often taken from the ranks of the local parents who do care a lot about their kid's future. This by itself can make all the difference.

You'll need to research the specific facility you are considering sending your children to. In my area charter schools have high rankings from parents and children, but the schools regularly score worse than public schools. And our state is in the bottom 5 somewhere, IIRC.

there are a couple here. the one my kid goes to is amazing. about 22 kids per class, 2 team teachers per class. great teachers. project-based learning.

There are a couple others in the area, another bigger one is well regarded, but there is one that is not well regarded. You really do have check out each one, just with the freedom they have to do things it surprises me not at all that they vary greatly.

Our 7 year old grandson is in the 2nd grade at a charter school and he loves it. He started in the first grade and struggled for the first half of the year trying to catch up with the other students most who been at the school since kindergarten.

We have discussed the situation as a family and with the teachers and we feel the success is a result of:


1. High expectations for both academic achievement and behavior.

2. Parental involvement. (Kids attend from all over the city and parents are responsible to bring the kids to school and pick them up. If a parent is willing to make that kind of a commitment they are going to make sure the child succeeds.)

3. Teachers have the freedom to teach and modify what is presented in the classroom. (They still have to teach for and pass the state and federal tests but isn't all that is taught.

4. High expectations of the teachers.


As a grandparent I had the opportunity to talk with one of the teachers and she shared how amazed they are at the capacity for the children to learn more than they thought they could. At the charter school they have the freedom to both ask and then respond to the question "what else might the kids be able to learn and accomplish?" Here is a link = http://fics.us/dailey/

Locally, in SLC, charter schools generally score no better than public schools. Sometimes they are worse. As I said, I have no personal experience, but that is what has been reported.

My 2 kids go to a charter school,and it was the best move we ever made. Small class sizes, a great vision!