Charter School vs. Public School

I posted this as my very first post but I didn't have many readers then and wanted to share it again. I have seen many parents wonder what is the best school situation for their child a charter school or just public school. I have worked at 1 public school and 2 different charter schools so here's the break down.

Differences

Content - What is taught. All schools are required to teach the state standards for that specific grade wether they are public or charter schools. I just wanted to make that very clear. Public schools follow the state standards fairly closely. IF the teacher has extra time they can throw in something else like a dinosaur unit in the 5th grade, a special art lesson, or an extra unit that their students are interested in. This is a big IF. Most teachers don't have extra time and are working their kids up to the last minute to cover everything that needs to be covered and to catch up those that are having a difficult time.

Charter schools have a speciality like Science, Core Knowledge, Spanish, or something extra that they guarantee your student will learn at their school. One of the schools I taught at had a goal of those students that started at their school in Kindergarten and stayed through 9th grade would know enough Spanish to pass the AP Spanish exam that Seniors at the high school took. Instead of the teacher coming up with extra things IF they have time, they have to make time and be creative to complete the state standards and the Charter of the school. Teachers have to be more creative and combine subjects like teach a Science lesson and combine it with reading by pointing out the parts of speech as you go through the assignment.

Volunteering - Charter schools require a certain amount of volunteer hours each school year. This is generally on a per family basis not per child you have attending the school. Parents can volunteer either in the classroom or from home by correcting papers and tests.

Public schools don't require help but they do need and ask for it.

Volunteers can be a good and a bad thing. From a teacher's perspective: I had some parents come into my classroom and show me or tell me how I should be doing my job. I also had parents that would come in, get the kids wild with the activity they were doing, then leave me holding the bag with 30 wild 8 year olds. When you volunteer in the classroom be respectful. Remember the teacher is with these kids 180 days a year and 8 hours a day. The teacher knows their class and the kids know what will happen if they chose not to behave and follow their teacher's instructions.

It was nice at the charter school because I knew I could call on anyone of my 30 parents to help me with something and they would most likely say yes because they had to have 30 service hours.

From a parent's perspective: I am one of those parents who is VERY involved in what my children are learning. We discuss what they have learned and what happened every night at the dinner table WITH THE TV OFF!!!! Each child is responsible for saying what they learned and what happened. The spotlight is on them. It helps them know they are important and they better be doing their best. I also like to know my child's teacher so when they come home and tell me a wild story I know wether to believe it or not.

Distance - Charter Schools are usually a lot farther away from you house than public schools. This means school friends may live in another city and play dates are difficult. Car pooling can also be difficult. Many schools have a system to help you find people that live close to you and help you find car pool partners.

Similarities

Kids - You will still get a mix of good kids and bad kids, smart kids, and kids that need extra help.

Teachers - You will still see good teachers that you will love, and bad teachers that you would rather not have.

Administration - You will still get an administration that is either great to work wilt or horrible to work with.

Those things won't change. In one of my charter school classrooms I ended up with 5 kids that went to Kindergarten together at a different school. A couple of those kids were the reason the parents left the Public School.

So really the decision comes down to what you think is best for your child and what you want them to learn through their school experience so they can become successful adults. I have horror stories from every school I worked at.

The biggest problem I am seeing with the charter school movement is the division between parents. Some parents think their child is "better" because they got into the charter school and the other kids in the neighborhood just go to public school. I have had parents call me a traitor because I was switching to a charter school. Having seen both sides of this debate I don't know what I will choose for my kids. It just depends on the child. Who knows maybe I'll get really brave and stick all 3 in different schools that fit their needs or maybe all 3 will go to the school by my house.

I learned that the most important part of your child's education is YOU. If it's important to you and you expect your student to do well they will do better. Now I'm not saying place a huge amount of pressure on your child to get them to succeed. I'm saying encourage and demand that they do their best at all times. If their best is a C accept it and help them get there. Be involved. Watch what you say about your child's teacher in front of them. If it's negative, wether it's true or not, you are shooting the teacher and your child in the foot because they will stop listening, which means they will stop learning.

An Education is what you make of it. Others play a big role in that, but it's still up to you and your child. Just remember you will encounter the same girl fights, mean kids, name calling, ect. no matter what school you chose for your children.