Charter Vs. Public High School...

You really have to find out about the specific school. Some charter schools are decent, others are awful. Over all, charter schools don't produce any better students than public schools, so it all depends on what schools you are comparing. Look closely at the graduating students, how many graduate, how many go to college, how many get scholarships, try to get SAT/ACT score comparisons, etc...
A lot of people think that Charter schools are better just because they aren't part of the public school system, and that's a real fallacy. Do your research and keep an open mind.

My son is at his second charter school. Ist was elementary now he's in jr.high. He will go to a charter high school next year. The great thing is that for 6th grad there were only 17 kids in his class. Now in 8th grade there are 22. His teachers give him more attention and the schools (even though they are public) get to make their own rules. Up till now they have worn uniforms and they have strict rules of behavior. My son went to public jr high last year and the kids behavior and language was appalling for my son. He loves his current school and has made great friends and is getting a great education. If kids don't behave they don't get to stay. I am so glad I found charter schools. You have to make sure that their Charter (mission) fits with your child's needs. Tour the school, meet the staff and sit in on some of the classes. That's what I did and I couldn't move my child fast enough. He was in a 6th grade class with 38 kids and the teacher was always talking about home stuff. His Charter 6th grade class used inventive was of teaching outside the box and encouraged problem solving.
Class sizes are smaller and there is usually more comraderie and flexibility.

Well, my daughter didn't go to a "charter" school, she went to Allen High School in TX. They have a Local College Campus built in to the school property, so she started taking real (not pre-college) college classes through them when she was 15. She ended up skipping 11th grade and finished High school with 1 full year of college completed. She then started college as a sophomore and finished within 3 years, went to a 1 year Master's program and finished everything by 21. She's 24 now and has been teaching 6th grade for the last 3 years. Depending on where you live, your current high school should offer "pre-college" classes, maybe an AB or IB program? Unless they are offering a substantially different curriculum and she really wants to be a part of it, I don't see any reason to move. My sister in law had high hopes of sending her 3rd grader to a new charter school in a town in Florida where the regular school system is terrible. But the charter has proved no better, with her daughter now on her 4th teacher this year due to them hiring teachers that can't handle the classes. Best advice...talk to them and to your current school, really get in to the differences if any. Also, look at your high school's drop out rate and percentage of college bound students. Usually a good indicator of how well a high school is doing

Charters can be great! They are the one bright spot in urban education. But not all of them are. Do some research. Find out what this one is all about. It could potentially be good. But beware! If it is a decent charter school, there must be a philosophy of hard work behind it. Nothing is accomplished by simply "nurturing the child" and "making them feel worthy". The time is over for those strategies. This is real. You want a program that will challenge here! Make her do her best! Support her in overcoming obstacles.

Good luck and work hard. That's what pays off.

I am a high school counslor and I would just make sure that the Charter is accredited so that if you choose to move her to a public school, the credits and classes she has take count in a public school. I have had students have to repeat their freshmen year over again or work very hard to catch up crdit wise when swtiching schools.
Good luck!

Just to clarify. Charter schools are public schools. They receive state funding just as your neighborhood school does. The difference is charter schools do not have geographic boundaries, like neighborhood schools, and they will have a specific 'charter'. For instance, the one you are looking into may have college prep as part of their charter. My girls attended a charter school that taught a portion of the day in Spanish and the other portion in English. As a result, both of my girls are completely biliterate. My oldest tested directly into AP Spanish as a Freshman. Each charter is different and like all schools there are good ones and bad ones. For a college prep school test scores are important, as are % of grads accepted into highly rated universities. For an imersion school, like my girls attended, the test scores will be a bit lower (since the kids are learing in two languages), but their language aquisition and cognitive skills will be much higher.
I would say check them out thoroughly as you would any school. Take a tour. Ask for their graduate info from last year. You may love it, you may not. My kids went from charter K-8 to our neighborhood high school because it is a great school and the local college prep charter high is more limited in sports and shop classes which were important to them. My eldest is now a Sophomore and is on track to the college of her choice with a 3.95 gpa in Honors classes. You really just need to find the school that is best for your child.

Enjoy your continuing adventure in parenting!

Updated

Just to clarify. Charter schools are public schools. They receive state funding just as your neighborhood school does. The difference is charter schools do not have geographic boundaries, like neighborhood schools, and they will have a specific 'charter'. For instance, the one you are looking into may have college prep as part of their charter. My girls attended a charter school that taught a portion of the day in Spanish and the other portion in English. As a result, both of my girls are completely biliterate. My oldest tested directly into AP Spanish as a Freshman. Each charter is different and like all schools there are good ones and bad ones. For a college prep school test scores are important, as are % of grads accepted into highly rated universities. For an imersion school, like my girls attended, the test scores will be a bit lower (since the kids are learing in two languages), but their language aquisition and cognitive skills will be much higher.
I would say check them out thoroughly as you would any school. Take a tour. Ask for their graduate info from last year. You may love it, you may not. My kids went from charter K-8 to our neighborhood high school because it is a great school and the local college prep charter high is more limited in sports and shop classes which were important to them. My eldest is now a Sophomore and is on track to the college of her choice with a 3.95 gpa in Honors classes. You really just need to find the school that is best for your child.

Enjoy your continuing adventure in parenting!

As a public school teacher, I hate to say it, but ours in town is great. The students get ahead and the test scores are great.

I think Sarah gives really sound advice on the issue.

It really depends on the public school system, the emphasis of the charter school, what kind of students they're attracting, what their philosophies are, etc.

Do your due diligence, and ultimately ask your daughter what she wants. My mom forced me to apply to a very good high tech school for high school. I was rejected, and it was probably the best thing for me because I wanted to be more social and involved in things like sports/student government that weren't as much of an emphasis at this high-tech school.