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

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), 1-21.

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, 3-15.

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), 213-239.

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), 597-627.

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), 448-477.

Strauss, V (2015). Charter school law funded by bill gates in washington state ruled unconstitutional. Washington

Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/06/charter-school-law-

funded-by-bill-gates-in-washington-state-ruled-unconstitutional/