Public Charter Schools

[Ms. Mom]

Anyone else have a child in a Charter School?

My son is in an Edison school and it's been a wild ride!

Some things are fantastic! Like the reading program and Chicago Math.

Others are difficult - like the way they handle discipline. They tend to use bribery as a for of getting the kids to do what they want. It takes a tole on the selfesteme.

All in all, it's been a good experience for us. The school is only in it's 3rd year and we've worked out a lot problums - many more to go!

[mommy22]

My children have attended a Montessori school since the age of three (they are now 7 and 8). The school was awarded a charter last year, and this year will be our first as a charter school.

Since I have been at this school for so long, I already know that I love it. I have several friends that have children in charter schools, and they love it.

The beauty of it is that you are truley expected to be a part of your child's education and overall school experience. The other part is that you have a ps choice. The education programs differ from tradional ps, so you also get to choose the kind of education your child receives.

The only downfall is that fundraising is a major issue at most charter schools, especially if it is less than 5 years old. But I'm up to the task, and really looking forward to this upcomming school year!

[lauren]

Here in Vermont we don't have charter schools yet! It is such a small state, population wise. OUr only choice at the elementary level is private school or catholic school. Luckily the elementary schools nearby are pretty small and pretty good. High school is a different story.

There is a movement in the state to get more choice and to perhaps get charter schools. I wish we had more choice.

[Kirsten]

We live in a small city in Washington state. I had not known of any charter schools or other alternatives to the traditional public schools. I assumed I would send dd to the elementary a few blocks from our house as both dh and I went to PS, had good experiences, believe in PS. Went to enroll her for kindergarten and walked away with a bad taste in my mouth. By chance, heard another mom talking about a multi-age school right here in our town! I had never heard of it and would have missed out completely had I not been lucky enough to be there when it was mentioned. My advice to anyone with kids who wants to explore their school options (or even if you are sure - I was sure until I spent 45 minutes in our local elementary) is to go to your district website and look at the list of schools. There will (with any luck) be a group of alternative, multi-age, or charter schools. Look into these! I have been so very happy with my dd's multi-age elementary! Call the local elementary school and ask for the district's web page address - not the school's webpage, the district's. Our little school (75 kids in 3 classrooms - a K/1, a 2/3, a 4/5) had been quietly doing an incredible job for 8 years. I had lived in our town all that time and never heard of them. So before you assume there are no options, really look. I am so glad I did.
Kirsten

[Ms. Mom]

Hi, I was just alerted that there was some activity on this thread. Sorry I havn't been back, I thought it died!

Things didn't work our very well for us. The school had so many problems and somehow they lost touch with the human side.

Academically, they were amazing. I still can't believe how much my son learned. But they really lacked in discipline. There were over 30 kids in his class and no assistant to his teacher. It was totally out of control - pencils flying everywhere, kids wandering the halls, water fights in the bathroom and worse - intimidation. My son was so distraught and he met with a great deal of racism. The principal wouldn’t meet with me and the teachers didn’t care AT ALL! When my son was kicked in the ribs and told to pray to God (in the classroom) the teacher claimed she had no idea.

In February, I removed him and began homeschooling. It worked beautifully for us and ds’s confidence has slowly come back. Due to some other situations however, we did have to put him in school this year. We choose a public school outside of our district and today was his first day. He seemed very pleased with the fist day and the kids in his class seem really nice. We’ll see!

Sorry I don’t have better information for you. I know how excited I was about the Charter program. I still think it has it’s merits, but there are so many things that need to be worked out.