Charter Schools, Magnet Schools, School Choice, Oh My!

I went to an online charter school from 10th grade until I graduated. My choice wasn't because the public school was inadequate (The teachers were actually great) but because I was having issues with bullies. I was a LOT happier at the online charter school and my grades even improved. All in all, I loved it!

I think you should try speaking with neighborhood parents with older children who have had to navigate these waters before you.

Don't get dissuaded by the category of school that the school happens to fall in. The right school for you is the one which is the right fit for your child, and for you as a parent.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

My son goes to a Charter School. He started in a Public School for Kindergarten, and I absolutely did 'not' like it. He only went half day, and he was barely learning anything.....plus I did not like his teacher nor the way they handled the drop off and pick up. I put him in a Charter School, and within a couple of months, he was writing his name, and small sentences and already doing math! And another plus, was that it was an all day Kindergarten. He absolutely loved it! He's in Second grade now and still loving the same school! :-) They have strict anti-bullying rules, Free Tuition, Lunches are reasonable priced and they give discounts to families with low income and for families who have no income, their child gets free lunch. Their buses are free of charge too. They just ask you to buy certain necessities for class, like glue, pencils, crayons, etc., and chip in for items that the school nurse needs.
For my experience, I definitely like the charter school best vs. the public school. My youngest son will be going there as well. :-) Oh, and they have uniforms that they wear as well. They feel as though with the uniforms, the kids won't concentrate on what they are wearing so much and moreso on their schoolwork. They don't tolerate baggy pants either, which is really nice. I live here in AZ....and I know what I have experienced here maybe different than your area, but I would do some extensive research on the schools there in your area, the charter schools....and look up their websites to see what they offer. Plus your district may have a scale as to who offers the best for your kids. Good luck in your search. :-) I hope you find one that really suits your child's needs. I think it's one of the hardest jobs for a parent. :-D

I'm responding very briefly to say, it really, really just depends on the individual school. Charter schools, especially, make for an incredibly broad category: They can be progressive community-based institutions, they can be be part of a cookie-cutter model run by a for-profit corporation, they can for all intents and purposes be religious institutions -- anything. With magnet schools, they often have a particular focus or theme -- science and technology, fine arts, etc. It really depends on the individual school and the fit (or lack thereof) for your individual child.

My son does attend a charter school, but it's part of the early model of charters (community-based, Montessori-esque, etc.); since for-profits entered the charter market, this type of charter has become a minority. I chose it because my son is a very advanced reader, and our local public school doesn't offer differentiated education until 2nd grade. I do like it, and I have a world of admiration for the people who made it happen and hold it together, but it's not everything I hoped it would be in terms of gifted education. That's our one individual situation, in one specific area, though. Only people in your area can fill you in on what's available for you.

We do a school of choice because I wanted the language immersion program. All the schools in our district are very good, though. It just depended if you wanted language, sign language, K-8, math, etc. as a specialty. There were tons of choices, all good!

Charter schools are often not great at all...it depends on the school. If you don't feel the public school is good, private is probably the best option. But a school is only as good as the students.

I'm in Florida and the questions you are asking are state based and school district based. Have you gone to visit your assigned school yourself? Sometimes the rankings for schools / districts are based on things that are useless for parents. In FL, our rankings are based on improvement over last year - which means that some really great schools get poor ratings because they either didn't improve much or went backwards (we are talking on the state standardized testing here). Well, if the school is awesome and doesn't improve - they get poor rating. Really dumb in my opinion.

Anyway, get on your district website and make phone calls if you have to...we also have something called "reassignment" - which means you ask to go to another school in your district that is not your assigned school based on address. Our assigned elementary is great, but it is too far from my office and I would never make it before after care closed so I had my son "reassigned". His reassignment elementary is super good also and the schedule allows me to keep working.

Be careful with magnets and charters - in FL the charters don't have to have state certified teachers and the testing minimum standards are lower than a regular public school.

C.

I found this link to explain what they are. Hope it helps.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_school-types-the-difference-b...

Don't forget there's also cyber school to think about. My son goes to parochial school too. We don't have too many choices locally here. There's public school of course and state cyber school which you don't have to pay tuition, since it's funded by property tax. We have 1 charter school, which is not in our school district and the school district is fighting to have it closed down because it rents space from a church. (Sad the students are doing better at the charter school than the public, but still not up with the other local private schools.) We have a christian school and the parochial school. Then there's the option of having your child bused 45min.-1hr. away to a Moravian school. (The bus belongs to that school, so you have to pay an extra $3,000 besides the $10,000 tuitiion.) The other choices are 2 other parochial schools in another county, that you can have your child bused to, but you have to drive to the bus stop.

I'm pretty satisfied with the parochial school my son is in. Basically if your not happy with how they do stuff or you'd like to see them do stuff, you just make an appointment to see the principal or guidance counselor and talk it over with them. Usually they will listen and act or may ask you to help participate. It's more parent controlled than anything. They tested my son and accepted him early, then tested him again in middle school and put him the the GEIP program and skipped him a grade. He's in the school rock band, film club, and latin club so they have things for the non-sport oriented student. Also, there's no belittling of students who aren't sports minded. You really need to visit the various schools and talk to parents, students, and administrators to make a decision you'll be happy with.

My son loves his charter high school. But every charter school is different so go visit any you are considering, meet the administrators, sit in on a class if you can and hang around a bit.

My son's school is a good fit for him because he is self-motivated and the charter school is less structured than the regular high school. There are alternative learning options and open lab times that my son will take advantage of. Class attendance is not mandatory so it's up to the student to keep up. My son is has an internship and can miss class for special work projects when he wants. He makes sure to communicate with his instructors and make up assignments. The negative side of this is that there are students who choose this school because they think they don't have to go to class and their attitude can affect the school culture. But I'm impressed with the teachers and administrators there because they want to provide an opportunity for students to learn, and to be independent.

So of course you're getting conflicting opinions about these schools. What works for one student might be a disaster for another. The great thing is that you have a choice. Good luck on finding the right fit for your children.