Charter Schools

What are your thoughts?

“An independent public school of choice, freed from rules but accountable for results”

How are Charters Different? Charter schools have fiscal and curricular autonomy, with a wide range of control over curriculum, instruction, staffing, budget, the school schedule, as well as the school’s internal organization.

Three Charter School Origins Converted from a public or private school University-sponsored Private industry (sponsored by donors) & Community organizations

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools : Segregation: academic & racial Often caused by self-selection & school location

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools : Loss of cultural identity

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools: Discrimination toward students with disabilities

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools :

Apples to Apples Comparison Study: charter schools serving similar populations to that of their neighborhood public schools Charter schools do make a difference, although the study reports it to be minimal, still facing obstacles in order to make more effective reform.

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools: Corporate Marketization

Controversial Issues Created by Charter Schools: Overall Mismanagement

Successes Reported of Charter Schools Grass-roots approach to education

Successes Reported of Charter Schools Local Control; meet needs of community

Successes Reported of Charter Schools

Able to specialize to meet student needs & interests

Successes Reported of Charter Schools Close learning gap: more teacher control

Sponsored Charter Schools

DNA Likenesses of Charter Schools STEM Schools

DNA Likenesses of Charter Schools

Conclusion: Organizations are what we think they are and what others think they are

Personal Thoughts About Charter Schools They may work better for some families Offer choices Not bound to legislation Challenges public schools to improve Watch: do they have the best interest of each student in mind? Fiscal and morally responsible New idea: Charter classrooms

References Dowell, M., & Bickmore, D. (2015). The promises of charter schools. Equity & excellence in education, 48 (1), Finn, C., Manno B., & Vanourek, G. (2000). Charter schools in action. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Green, J., Forster, G., Winters, M. (2003) Apples to apples: an evaluation of charter schools serving general student populations. Education Working Paper 1, Lauen, D., Fuller, B., Dauter, L. (2015). Positioning charter schools in los angeles: diversity of form and homogeneity of effects. American Journal of Education, 121 (2), Owens, R., Valesky, T. (2015). Organizational behavior in education: leadership and school reform. Boston, Pearson Education, Inc. Stein, M. (2015). Public school choice and Racial Sorting: An examination of charter schools in Indianapolis. American Journal of Education, 121 (4), Stern, M., Clonan, S., Jaffee, L., Lee, A. (2015). The normative limits of choice: charter schools, disability studies, and questions of inclusion. Educational Policy, 29 (3), Strauss, V (2015). Charter school law funded by bill gates in washington state ruled unconstitutional. Washington Post. Retrieved from funded-by-bill-gates-in-washington-state-ruled-unconstitutional/