Education is an important right for every person. It develops an exceptional foundation for an individual’s mental health. School is where you learn things that will help you build your future. Choosing the right school is necessary for a parent, the institution you are going to enroll your child must help them grow, not only as a better person but to be excellent and globally competitive in a good way. Charter school offers you a quality service in helping your child be the best person he/she can be.
What is a charter school?
In 1991, Minnesota passed the first law authorizing charter schools on the state. Since then, 43 states include charter schools in their education system. The charter school movement had tremendous growth, and the number of charter schools in the United States doubled. Charter schools are offering education ranging k-12, they don’t have tuition fees and other extra fees. A charter school is a public school, but not all public school is a charter school. They are tax-funded and has fewer rules than a traditional public school. The operators of charter schools receive charters from public agencies, commonly the local school boards or state.
What is the difference between a charter school and a public school?
Charter schools and public schools are formed by tax-funded education in the United States, they are open to all students, regardless of their family income, because it has no tuition fees. There are also other differences in a charter school and a public school, aside from no tuition fees. Public school has a set curriculum to be followed made by their district. Meanwhile, charter schools have a common goal and focused on a specific skill depending on an institution, and their curriculum depends on schedule, methods of teaching, and also other factors. In charter schools, a student can be funded by the government or thru private organizations. While in traditional public schools, funds came from taxes. In terms of government regulation, charter schools are run independently but require to meet the standards design in their charter to secure state funding. In a public school, they must adhere to all state school board laws and regulations that are governed by school districts. Some charter schools, teachers don’t need to be certified, but the decision for hiring a non-certified teacher depends on the state. While in public school, it’s a requirement that the teacher is certified by the state’s education board. Public schools must adhere to all state school board laws and regulations, governed by school districts that implement state law. The charter school may also have an application, but students do not have to take the entrance exam in their applications. While in public school, all student that is within the school district is free to attend school without having to apply.
What are the advantages of a charter school?
Charter school has become popular in the United States, and it became beneficial to some parents and students. Here are the advantages of a charter school:
- Students do not require to take an entrance exam during application.
- Charter school is independent and does not rely on the curriculum of the state. Rather, they have their ways of teaching the students.
- Charter schools encourage donations to support children and their learning programs.
- Has fewer students compared to a public school, which makes the student and teachers’ interaction easier.
- The small population allows the parents to be more involved in their child’s learning process.
- The skills of a student are concentrated in a particular area. It can be mathematics, science, and technology, or performing arts. Students are also allowed to choose a specific subject area that they can specialize, to prepare them for college and career.
- Charter schools have greater independence because they do have managerial freedom than a traditional public school. Charter can devote more on implementing high academic standards that will help students to achieve educational excellence
- Charter school is accessible online, but online learning is not available in all charter schools. The online process will make learning easier. Each task assigned will be completed online. This will also serve as practice grounds since society is becoming more of digital work.
- Statistics show that students from the charter school are accepted into college or university, which only proves that the technique of teachings is effective in students learning.
What are the disadvantages of a charter school?
Charter schools may have advantages from a traditional public school, but at some point, there is also a disadvantage in a charter school.
- If the charter doesn’t have enough space for enrollees, they will have a public lottery basis. They will pick the students that will be accepted randomly. Other applicants that are not be picked will be on a waiting list, but there is no assurance of being accepted.
- The students from charter schools need to provide for their transportation because school buses are not available and other services for school-associated programs.
- Although they are free from a curriculum that provides more academic freedom for both students and teachers, they still have areas that may limit some choices.
- Charter schools do not have to follow government rules and regulations, which is a disadvantage because they have the freedom of choice to appoint a teacher without a certification.
- Although they do not have an entrance exam, charter schools have strict admission requirements, which may discourage some children from applying.
- Some charter schools are small, they often have fewer options for sports and extracurricular activities. Extracurricular and sports activities are a huge part of children’s learning.
How Charter Schools Choose Desirable Students?
Charter school is alternative learning for students because they specialize and focus on student’s skills that can help them in their college or career. Charter schools are strict in admission requirements. Parents are often interviewed and asked how do they intend to help the school if their son or daughter is admitted because a charter school is mostly run by teachers, parents, and private agencies. Charter schools do not choose students, anyone who wishes to enroll is accepted. The admission in a charter school is not limited to race, disability, gender, religion, ancestry, intellectual ability, and national origin. The purpose of a charter school is to enhance and improve the skills of the students.
Charter schools must accept students who wish to attend school. Technically speaking, there is no qualities or standards that a student must have to be accepted. Every student is desirable, but in some cases, charter schools cannot accept many students because they don’t have enough room for every student. A public lottery is conducted, wherein there will be a random picking process that will handle the student’s application manually or by using a computer program. In this lottery, every student that applied has an equal chance to be picked. If not chosen, they will be on a waitlist. The lottery is only necessary if there is no enough capacity to accept students. There is no entrance exam but, they will give a task for students to make a research paper, essay, original story, etc. A student can apply to many charter schools at the same time. This only shows that a charter school does not pick for qualities rather they accept students who hope to enroll. A charter school is established to give everyone a chance to learn without barriers.
Plan the future of your children ahead, find out more about Charter schools with American Preparatory School. https://www.americanprep.org/ for your questions.