How are Charter Schools Funded?
They are publicly funded – but not to the same degree as regular public schools. But – they also tend to make up for it through massive parental involvement and fundraising. One major concern usually is that charter schools are generally not given a facility – no building is given to them, so they have to find a space in which to create the school. This can be disruptive to the children because some schools find themselves hopping around through temporary spaces or being in inadequate spaces.
What kind of parental involvement is expected?
My friend Ruth is a founding parent of the Larchmont Charter School – West Hollywood, serving my LA neighborhood. She was telling me that considerable parent involvement is required, in her case 50 volunteer hours per year. In addition, there is also a lot of fundraising that goes on, which is understandable given the underfunded nature of Charter Schools. Ruth was saying one of the many benefits of all the parental involvement is that you end up with a group of very motivated, involved parents who are passionate about their children’s education.
How do Admissions Work?
As a public school, admissions are open to all. Because charter schools tend to be better than regular public schools, they tend to receive more applicants than they have room for – this is certainly the case in my neighborhood. When there are more applicants than spaces, most schools then go to a lottery system and waiting list to fill slots when there are vacancies.
How are they doing?
Every charter is different, and every Charter School is different. You really need to investigate them on a case by case basis to see how they are doing. As with any new venture, there isn’t as long of a track record or as much data yet compiled as there is for traditional schools. There are risks and rewards that come from being part of a cutting edge venture. Most charter schools are so new that you will be actively involved in shaping them, which obviously involves a lot of trial and error along the way. In addition, if your school does not succeed within the period of time the charter is granted (3-5 years) the school can be shut down, which would obviously be disruptive to your child. Some parents are more comfortable with an old, familiar stand-by than a new, unknown entity. Plus, with all the involvement required, you cannot be a passive parent and have your child in a charter school – you have to be willing to devote time and effort to making it the best it can be.
Bottom Line?
There are lots of “IFs” involved – IF you have a Charter School in your area, or IF you want to start one, or IF you can get in, and IF you are willing to devote a lot of time and energy to the school. BUT – I think if you are willing to go for it, charter schools provide an exciting alternative to help bridge the chasm between public and private schools. It just may be the wave of the future and a way to get a fabulous education on a frugal budget!
| PrintPages: 1 2
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by kathypape. kathypape said: Can you afford 500k for private school or are charter schools right for you? http://fabandfru.com/2009/09/charter-schools/ #charterschools [...]
Thank you for this article! Very informative and well written! xoxo
I’ve read that, statistically, charter schools often fail to meet education standards more than traditional public schools.
Do you have any numbers on how many fail to meet education standards, how many close each year (for that or other reasons – space, funding, etc)? I also wonder how much a parent ends up paying in fundraisers and sweat equity when contrasted with a private school.
We spoke with Anna Nicotera, Director of Research & Evaluation for the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (www.publiccharters.org), here’s what she had to say:
Out of 4600 charter schools in the U.S., 109 closed in 2008 due to a variety of issues (usually funding issues rather than academic ones).
There are many studies out there with a mixed bag of results re – charter school performance. The most recent one we have seen came out of Stanford University on Sep 22, 2009 which was very positive. They studied New York City charter schools and found that students enrolled in charter schools performed better on state exams than students who failed to win a spot in the charter schools. One interesting finding from this study: they found that students attending charter schools from K-8 do almost as well as children in affluent, high performing, suburban public school districts on math exams (the researcher refers to this as closing the “Harlem-Scarsdale gap”).
As far as sweat equity goes, Ms. Nicotera tells us that since charters are overseen by the states and every charter is different, requirements vary to a large degree. By law she says that no fundraising can be required, though of course many parents who can afford to give, do. Each charter is different, but some charter schools have parents sign contracts, in which they agree to devote a certain amount of time and energy to the school. Again, the exact nature of the commitment varies by school.
The bottom line is each charter is different and as widely varied as public school districts. You really have to evaluate what the options are in your neighborhood and see which offers the best education option for you.
My husband and I decided to investigate our neighborhood urban high school, for our daughters, instead of relying on hearsay and media hype. We found some great teachers and administrators. Against a lot of social pressure, we enrolled our daughters at the local public high school, after letting them shadow students there for a day. Our oldest daughter is now enrolled in one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, and our youngest will be graduating this year, and going to college. Are there things that we don’t like about the school? Of course. There were also things we didn’t like about the private school they attended from kindergarten through 8th grade. Dismissing educational opportunities without really investigating them is foolish. If you look at the racial makeup of public schools, it’s pretty clear that racism is what leads many families to private schools, and to suburban areas.
Lots of usefull information and inspiration, both of which we all need, thanks for this.
These blog is wonderfully great to learn from, I’ll make sure I be back to read more of it.