Charter schools, rhetorically at least, are the unrequited love of pretty much every waffling politician (i.e. pretty much every politician). They represent a way to support expanded parental choice – but without angering the educrat establishment that keeps real parental choice on lock down.
Anyway, that’s not to belittle charter schools … it’s just to say that despite record numbers of parents looking for a way out of failed public systems, charter schools continue to deal with some serious hurdles – particularly here in South Carolina.
From the Wall Street Journal:
…the charter school movement continues to face all manner of obstacles. Eleven states ban charters, and even those that don’t can make it very hard for them to succeed and multiply. Charters typically receive less money per pupil and, unlike other public schools, they must pay for the buildings they occupy. In many states, charter enrollment is capped and only school districts—which generally oppose charter schools—are allowed to approve charter applications.
Still, charter schools are slowly growing – even though they serve just 3% of the nation’s student population.
The students who attend these schools, which are concentrated in urban areas, tend to be low-income minorities. Yet they regularly outperform their peer groups in traditional public schools often located blocks away. In their 18-year history, only 740 schools have lost their charters and been shut down for poor performance. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools must be re-authorized every few years, which means they don’t exist in perpetuity to fail multiple generations of youngsters.
Indeed.
Of course, God forbid that this sort of accountability actually be applied to our state’s worst-in-the-nation public education system.
Anyway, our friends over at The Voice have an informative article up this week that highlights efforts by that failed system to restrict charter schools in South Carolina.
Check it out … particularly all you S.C. politicians who claim to “support” charter schools …
Hat tip: The Voice
By Ynot December 30, 2009 at 9:47 am
one public school system please and make it count, make it a good one, that actually teaches kids something, like history, math, english…. etc
By Huhhh??? December 30, 2009 at 10:03 am
Why don’t you do a story about the charter schools in SC that consistently score worse on PACT/PASS than the public schools in their district, but never go away?
Boondoggles for politically connected public school teachers who want to coast to retirement?
By Spartanburg Charter School December 30, 2009 at 11:38 am
The Spartanburg Charter school is in the same boat, except the fact that it is opened (currently in its first year) and receiving a minuscule $1700/pupil.
Real reform is needed if the state is going to provide an alternative public option.
By Liberty For Me December 30, 2009 at 5:14 pm
This is not really hard to figure out…Ynot is close to right.
Abolish the Dept of Education and tell the feds to get lost…Then let the parents draft the curriculum.Real history and math.Bring back in a huge way vocational training.Why try to teach trig to kids that don’t know who is president.Priorities…people
By Liberty For Me December 30, 2009 at 8:16 pm
The inclusion of the word “government” is necessary to properly define public school. The word ‘public’ conjures up images of “public parks” and “the public good”, the phrase “public school” inadequately differentiates the two. By including the word ‘government’, we instantly establish that it is coercive in nature. There is not a single action government does which is completely voluntary; there is always some type of method implemented, may it be through taxes, force, or both, which compels or manipulates people to behave in involuntary ways. This is clearly seen: the government manipulates children and their parents through school taxes and jail time to attend their institutions. The very act that government bears the exclusive responsibility in formally educating children establishes that government has implied power over the educational state of the future. Additionally, and more importantly, it implies authority over both child and parent. Education town hall meetings aren’t about “getting your voice heard” but instead begging the masters of your children what they will do to them. Not only is it bad enough that parents have limited options of where to send their children, but they have even more limited choice at what their children are being taught and subjected to.
By Dora Taylor January 1, 2010 at 1:59 am
Charter schools are not a cure-all. Parents and the community need to start to understand and support the value of education for all children.
What Is a Charter School?
The basic difference between a traditional public school and a privately run charter school is that with a charter school there is complete control of the school by a private enterprise within a public school district. Although taxpayer-funded, charters operate without the same degree of public and district oversight of a standard public school. Most charter schools do not hire union teachers which means that they can demand the teacher work longer hours including weekends at the school site and pay less than union wages. Charter schools take the school district’s allotment of money provided for each student within the public schools system and use it to develop their programs. In many systems, they receive that allotment without having to pay for other costs such as transportation for students to and from the school. Some states, such as Minnesota, actually allocate more than what is granted to public school students.
See:
http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2009/08/north_clackamas_seeks_money_ow.html
http://www.mn2020.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B198C7021-C205-4F44-B914-84BDAF67A34B%7D
A charter school can expel any student that it doesn’t believe fits within its standards or meets its level of expectation in terms of test scores. If the student is dropped off the rolls of the charter school, the money that was allotted for that student may or may not be returned to the district at the beginning of the next year. That is dependent upon the contract that is established by each district.
Also, according to a recent (June 15, 2009) study by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), charter schools do not necessarily perform any better than public schools. In fact, 37 percent performed worse. Forty-six percent demonstrated “no significant difference” from public schools. Only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than public schools.
See:
http://www.mn2020.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B198C7021-C205-4F44-B914-84BDAF67A34B%7D
By Dora Taylor January 1, 2010 at 2:01 am
To understand what’s gong on, see:
http://seattle-ed.blogspot.com
By Liberty For Me January 1, 2010 at 9:14 am
The true American way(at least the anti-socialist version)would be to make ALL schools charter schools….But then the bureaucrats would have no power and we would save Billions of dollars.That would give people liberty and efficiency….and we all know how crazy that is.
By Misty Flannigan January 3, 2010 at 7:57 pm
As a teacher in a charter school with experience teaching in regular district schools, I believe the basic philosophy of the charter school movement but charter schools still have a long way to go. For instance, out of approximately 40 teachers at my current school, only 7 have a clear teaching credential, the rest having no teaching credential or a preliminary (new teacher) credential. There are several outstanding teachers who have coached students to achieve amazing pass rates on the advanced placement tests, yet these teachers receive no recognition from the administrative staff. The administration hires personal friends and family members, which is why the number of staff with clear teaching credentials is so low. The school has incredible potential but poor administration and management. The gifted teachers have come to regard their current position as their ‘recession job’ until a spot with a regular school district opens up because the school does not value quality instruction.
By Sami September 30, 2011 at 6:02 pm
You people are sooooooo wrong!!!!!!! I am a student at South Carolina Virtual Charter School and I don’t appreciate you talking bad about how charter schools don’t measure up to regular public schools because charter schools are sooooooo much better than stupid public schools for a lot of reasons. So think before you talk bad about my choice of education because you’re not my mom and you can’t change what school I go to, so back offf!!!!!