The virtual charter school will greatly expand the range of educational options available to students and their families and the concept is attractive to parents who are not content with their local public schools, but who are not able to home-school their children. Baker is poised to take advantage of the growth of online charter schools and lack of a virtual charter school in Tucson devoted to at-risk students through effective management and marketing. Baker will be positioned as a premiere charter school set up for distance education. Charter schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. A charter school may be started and operated by individuals or) Successful charter school developers are granted a charter to operate a public school for a fixed period of time which is usually between three to five years. Charter schools are generally exempt from most laws that apply to regular schools, so administrators, faculty, staff and parents “have considerable autonomy in designing an educational program, facilities and budget that meet the needs of their students” (1).
In exchange for this increased autonomy, charter schools are held much more strictly accountable than most non-charter public schools. Charter schools must meet all of the student performance and operational goals listed in their charter, or their charter may be revoked. The term “charter” may have originated in the 1970 s when New England educator Ray Buddy suggested that small groups of teachers be given contracts or “charters” by their local school boards to explore new approaches (2).
The Essay on Home School vs. Public School 3
Schooling is an important decision in educating children. In today’s world more and more families are choosing to home school their children. While there are advantages and disadvantages to both options. The major factors in deciding which option is best are the learning environment, the curriculum, and meeting the needs of the child or children. Advantages: Home School Learning environment. ...
Albert S hanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), then publicized the idea, suggesting that local boards could charter an entire school with union and teacher approval (2).
In the late 1980 s Philadelphia started a number of schools-within-schools and called them “charters.” Some of them were schools of choice. The idea was further refined in Minnesota where charter schools were developed according to three basic values: opportunity, choice, and responsibility for results.
The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1991, with California following suit in 1992. By 1995, 19 states had signed laws allowing for the creation of charter schools, and by 2003 that number increased to 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Today, there are nearly 2, 600 independent public charter schools operating nationwide (Richard 1).
The charter school reform concept was largely developed by Ted Kold erie, a public policy expert at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The “charter school reform concept is a part of a larger policy effort to fundamentally alter the structure of the public education system in an effort to both enable change-oriented educators to establish and operate new, innovative schools and provide increased competition within the public education sector (3).
It’s the competitive aspect of the charter school concept that makes it controversial and also powerful. Basic National Statistics o Total number of charter laws: 41, (40 states and the District of Columbia, excluding Puerto Rico) o Most recent states to pass laws: Maryland (2003), Iowa (2002), Tennessee (2002) o Total number of states with schools in operation: 37, excluding Puerto Rico o Most recent states to open charter schools: Indiana (2002-2003), Wyoming (2002-2003) o Total number of schools in operation: 2, 695 o Percent increase from the last school year: 15% o Total number of students enrolled: almost 685, 000 o States with the most charter schools in operation: Arizona (464), California (428), Florida (227), Texas (221), Michigan (196) The National Charter School Directory 2003, Center for Education Reform Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, usually a state or local school board, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups, “the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them and the public that funds them” (4).
The Essay on Separation of School and State
The Separation of School and State Families, these days, are becoming more and more religious; yet they can not decide if religion should actually be a part of the school day. Whether or not religion should be allowed in public schools is a very controversial issue. Some people strongly oppose it, and some strongly support it. In fact, they support it so much that the parents are choosing ...
There usually three types of charter schools, “newly formed charter schools by parents and / or community groups (56 percent of charter schools nationwide), pre-existing charter schools (40-45 percent of charter schools nationwide) that include public schools that are converted to charter schools (33 percent) and private schools that are converted to charter schools (12 percent) and For-profit charter schools that account for fewer than 5 percent of charter schools nationwide (“IDEA” 6).
Charter schools vary from state to state because the individual charters set out unique mission and goal statements and because state charter laws also vary. The laws cover different basic policies and legal areas that include:.
