Here is the dirty truth. I work for a charter school. I always assumed I would work for an urban public school. Yet when the offer came to work at this charter school (after student teaching and then subbing for two teachers on maternity leave) I was happy to accept the job! Frankly being a newly minted teacher I wasn't aware of the political minefield associated with charters.
My school was started by an organization that had a WIC clinic (Women, Infants, and Children) in a neighborhood that is poor and mostly Latino. After many successful years as a WIC clinic they decided to expand. They started by teaching one class of Kindergartners and committed to growing slowly. Over the past 15+ years we have grown to include an elementary, middle, and multiple high schools. We are our state's first and only K-12 charter system. Our charter is through a local university.
I am caught between two feelings, I love and believe in public education (being a product of it myself and being lucky enough to be able to choose it for my own child) I also know that charter schools can be just as good as public schools.
My school is not perfect, but we do a lot of things right. We have a smaller class size than the public schools in our neighborhood, 20 students compared to 35. We offer music, gym and library. The one criticism that bothers me the most about charter schools is that we can hand pick students and weed out students with special needs. Surely there are many charters that do so but we are not one of them. The mission of our school is to serve the population that lives in our neighborhood. We serve all sorts of kids with all sorts of needs. I have never heard about a family being turned away, unless we didn't have a seat for them. Our school is driven by relationships and we bend over backwards and provide a lot of support to families to make sure they can get their children to school (bus passes, gas cards, etc.). One of our major goals is community partnerships, we are constantly making connections to provide our families with services that will help them rise out of poverty (Health care, arts programs, community fairs, etc). Since we are a small district we are able to have a bit more freedom in how and what we teach, so we can best meet the needs of the population we serve. Having less rules provides teachers with autonomy to do what is best for their students.
Here are some things that are not so great about my charter school, no union, lower pay than public schools, less resources than other schools, and yes it distresses me to think that money that could be going to public schools is going to mine. It also distresses me that many charters are for profit.
Are there some (or even many) charters that give charter schools a bad name? Absolutely! Are there public schools that are equally awful? Of course. Do I favor a dismantling of the public school system in favor of charters? Absolutely NOT! I favor honest and open discussions about what works in all schools (noting that it may be different for different populations), and trying to increase the things that work in schools so that all students can be successful!
What do you think? Do you have strong feelings about charters or public school? What about private? Is there room for everyone? What can we do to make sure more students are getting the opportunities they need to be successful?
