Commentary: The Case Against Charter Schools By Bruno Manno

It was with wild fanfare that the state’s Republican legislature and Republican Governor enacted their reforms for the state’s public school system. Among the panaceas was charter schools, a ‘90s education fad that gives individual parents the right to send their children to state-approved public charter schools at public expense. Politicians reasoned that less-bureaucratic charter schools would teach students better than traditional public schools because charter schools wouldn’t be subject to the same mandates that the state had heaped upon public schools. Furthermore, traditional schools would be forced to compete with charter schools as they lured thousands

Throughout the text, the author includes various facts and pieces of information in order to further convey his argument. By doing this, Younge is able to increase the credibility of his ideas and gain the trust of readers. He writes, “In a 2012 report, UCLA’s Civil Rights Project noted: ‘Nationwide, the typical black student is now in a school where almost two out of every three classmates (64%) are low-income.’” By mentioning this statistic, he is able to back up his claim that schools are resegregating across America. Since the majority of black students attend low-income schools, they are given less resources to succeed; therefore, wealthy suburban families are able to continue creating private schools that many minorities cannot afford. The author also includes, “The discrepancy between black and white unemployment is the same as it was in 1963,” adding,

When schools are converted to charters or “turned around” they are following the educational reform of Arne Duncan to give better education to underserved areas in Chicago. The myth of this is that these schools are highly beneficial to the underprivileged areas when in fact they are doing a great amount of harm. In “Arne Duncan and the Chicago Success Story: Myth or Reality?” the myth is recognized by stating the impact on children and teachers; a statement from the article says, “Renaissance 2010 was (and is) marketed as an opportunity to bring in new partners with creative approaches to education. That's the myth” (Brown, Gutstein, Lipman, 2009). As stated, the myth here is schools should be operated as markets and the charter school system does this by getting rid of the difficult working ways and replacing them with creative partners. Brown, Gutstein and Lipman further explain why the charter school is harming the community saying how students are facing attendance and violence problems, “…there is no guarantee that a student who had their school closed will attend a charter school and those who had their school closed down have faced destabilization of spikes in violence…” (Brown, Gutstein, Lipman, 2009). This demonstrates the fault of charter schools because it shows how community warnings were ignored on what school closings will do to the neighborhood. A further statement on the problem with teachers and charters schools found in the

Receiving a lesser quality education also slims the likelihood of becoming relatively successful in modern day society, which affects adolescents; financial futures as well. Referring back to “The Rhetoric of Choice”, Ericson also

The first day of school is a rite of passage for most children. The step from home or day care to school is huge: they are a big kid now. However, sometimes the local Public School, especially in rural or economically challenged areas, can be an uncertain, questionable and scary place, and yet parents are expected to entrust them with their five or six year old child. Some years ago, when my daughter was ready to enter school, she and I had just such an experience, and we began to seriously search for an alternative school for her to attend. What we discovered was a Charter School: a possible solution for parents, enabling them to take more control of their child’s education. For my daughter and

"The Charter School Vs. Public School Debate Continues." NPR. Claudio Sanchez, 16 June 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

“The antiquated educational model our schools stubbornly cling to was designed well over a century ago to meet the demands of an emerging industrial economy”(Mercogliano, 2005, p.2). In his article,

Public education has had a negative effect on students; it’s often because of the bigger class sizes, poor test scores, and high crime in the surrounding areas. Public schools need to revise their system to determine what’s the best fit for their student’s educational needs. All children who live in a school district have a right to attend a district school. Many parents would like more options and opportunities for their child, and would like to be involved in their child’s education. Charter schools are part of the answer for a better educational choice for children’s academic achievement. Charter schools have many successful methods and continue to pave the way for children’s education needs .

Charter schools are unique public schools that is allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. These charter schools are not private schools, they do not charge for tuition and they are open to all children within specific boundaries. Research has demonstrated that charter schools make picks up in the urban community with students who have veritably been undeserved by traditional state funded schools. Charter schools outscored their traditional school peers in 25 of the 41 cities in math, and 23 of the 42 cities in reading. On average, charter schools had no significant impacts on student’s achievement. Charter schools help enhance student learning, empower the utilization of new and imaginative educating strategies, and give schools an approach to move from a lead based to an execution based arrangement of responsibility. Public schools are like charter schools except for the freedom that a charter school has. And private school is based on tuition and that is funded by charities and tax holders in that community.

It is for those reasons that public charter schools are part of the solution to a better education system; they offer an alternative to the monopoly that is leaving so many students behind. Charter schools are independent public schools with rigorous curriculum programs and unique educational approaches. In exchange for operational freedom and flexibility, charter schools are subject to higher levels of accountability than traditional public schools. Charter schools, which are tuition-free and open to all students, offer quality and choice in the public education

Chicago charter high school has a higher standard of education and curriculum for students and to a pathway to early collage. The Three main points that I will be explaining in this essay are: Charter schools benefits students and help students achieve by improving academic performance and results through specific charters. As schools operating outside of the traditional public school system, charter schools could provide more flexibility and improved leaning environment as well individualized choices or pathways for students. The Charter schools provide choices for families that are educational. It improves specific curriculum ideas and makes teachers have more balance in their work. The thesis statement states the essay’s main argument

Although very risky, starting a charter school has its advantages too. A study performed by Phi Delta Kappa International focuses on the differences between charter schools and public schools. This study gives a comprehensive interpretation of the advantages charter schools have over public schools. The study mainly focuses on the management aspect of the charter schools and shows how principals of charter schools use their power to put their schools ahead of public schools. A former public school principle interviewed eight charter school principals on how they hired teachers. The interviews suggested “that charters schools are serving as exciting seedbeds for new approaches to finding, employing, and keeping better teachers.”( Finn) Interestingly enough some principals would be willing to hire non-state certified teachers to meet their standards of quality. These principals were looking for was a teacher who was “highly intelligent, had prestigious college background, was articulate, and liked kids.”(Finn) Although they would be taking a risk hiring someone without the standard teaching qualifications set by the state, they knew that with their intelligence and prestige, they would strive to educate the children as they would themselves. The charter school system gives the principal the power to hire teachers which enables them to select the teachers that match the needs and culture of their school. Most of these principals look for overachievers, those "who want to

Education is a very important part of a person’s life. Every parent want the best thing for their children. They want their children to be happy and to be able to achieve their dreams and be what they want to be, which is why they want the best education for their children. Because, almost everyone would agree that being well – educated is the closest way to success life and good future. But, their desire to send their kids to the best school have to face many obstacles. One of these obstacles would be choosing school for their kids. In the U.S., there are three types of school: public school, charter school and private school. Private schools are usually very selective, has better performance than government-funded school and has expensive tuition fee. Rich families would send their kids to private schools because they could afford the expense. However, for a normal family, paying the expense for private schools would be overwhelming. So, there options are narrowed between charter schools and public schools. There have been many debates on whether charter schools or public schools provide students with better education. But, there are obvious evidences that charter schools are generally better than public schools:

Charter schools are an alternative to public schools. Whether this alternative is a better solution to the public schools is the argument. Public schools can be just as creative as charter schools. Public schools are funded by our tax dollars, which ultimately the United States Government decides where those funds go. Education should be the last thing to be cut in the budget, but unfortunately, we the people do not have a choice other than the public offices whom we hope will do what they have said in their election speeches. Charter schools have come about to fill the gap that public schools cannot fill. They can gear their curriculum to student needs, where some public schools cannot because of funding cuts.

Many charter schools are known for their rigorous programs that challenge students to fulfill specific requirements that are different from traditional schools. Charter schools also value the idea of cultivating students with a talent for arts, technology or music (Chen). Institutions such as charter schools may be viewed as open or loosely constructed based on the unique guidelines displayed in each school’s charter, but in reality this is untrue because the individuality of each charter is what allows each student to excel based on the personalization and attention given to every single student who attends. A charter school has the potential to reach out into the community and help children who are not able to fit in at a traditional public school and it may allow the student to learn from a new perspective. Any child is allowed to apply to a charter school and they are admitted on a first-come, first served basis or through a lottery. The decision is not made on race or sex of the child and there is a fair chance for every student. A charter school is a great alternative to private school because there is no tuition fee at a charter school which is run by the state. Operators of the charter schools are able to provide children with a school that will create new and improved services which are lacking in the public school districts (“Charter School FAQ”). A charter school can also help