Conflict Theory: The Impact Of Charter Schools In Arizona

One of the reasons we consider or support charter schools is there is good chance that it could be one the things that will improve student's education achievements. Lots parents believe that it has enormous potential to improve achievement. We have seen that the competition

Charter schools are a type of public school that is open enrollment. It has been growing immensely as the years go on. 42 out of the 50 states have voted that charter schools are a part of their state’s education system. There are over five thousand charter schools in the United State with over two million students enrolled. The schools are run by teachers and certified teachers. They are considered to be an alternative public school that creates a high-quality public school choices that cater to the child’s specific needs. Charter schools do not believe in the idea that education is “one size fits all” and the choices that they give offer more opportunities to the children for success. Charter schools are very similar to traditional public schools. They are technically open to all who apply. They cannot discriminate in their admissions and must enroll all students that submit their applications on time. Also, they are tuition free and administer standardized tests throughout

Charter schools are basically tax-payer funded, independent public schools that are free from several of the regulations and laws that traditional public schools are governed by. They are instead; constrained by a contract that specifies the mission of the school, its academic goals and procedures for accountability. The initial charter school was opened in 1992 as an answer to the restriction of educational choice and the need to restructure the public education system. Most charter schools are run by for-profit organizations and compose the principle elements for the privatization shift in education and their goals are increased academic achievement. Since charter schools are less restricted by the normal regulations of traditional public

Public education has struggled with securing funding for years and the opening of charter schools has impacted the budgets of school systems across the country. As more charter schools are created and parents

To quote Jonathan Stith, “Where you see the charters providing an avenue of escape for some, it hasn’t been for the majority,” (Zernike 4). In some cities charter schools are educating more that half the students in some American cities (Zernike 1). These charter schools make promises to parents and students that are hard to pass up in many cities, where public education is lacking and private education is out of reach for many. Charter schools exist all across America, in forty-two states and Washington D.C.(Oliver). These charter schools promise choice, opportunities for better and safer education, as well as strive to to close the achievement gap occurring in schools across America. (Oliver). The question is: are charter schools living up to this promise? I believe that many charter schools are failing to follow through on these promises and, that changes should be made in order to provide a more genuine source of educational opportunity to students across America.

A charter school is an openly funded, self- sufficient school, entrenched by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter or with provincial or domestic jurisdiction. Charter schools were established over twenty years ago. They have expanded rapidly during the last decade. (Barbour, 2013) The US Department of Education has contributed grants to support charter school efforts. Charter schools should be considered by every parent before enrolling a student in school due to their advanced curriculum program, smaller student population, and organizational establishment.

Public schools from the beginning have contributed to the continuous sustainability of our society. People who question the traditional school systems effectiveness often see charter schools as a viable alternative. However, due to their limited focus, their pursuit for private funds, and their limited accountability, Charter schools only detract from traditional public schools.

Charter schools are supposed to contribute to school innovation and reform by their combination of freedom and accountability (Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools 2004, 1). Those that support charter schools hope that due to their independence they will be able to spark innovative reforms, promote competition within the public school sector and provide new options to families (Finn, Manno, & Vanourek, 2000; Nathan 1998a; 1998b). Then those on the opposite end of the spectrum, argue that charter schools and greater choice within the public sector may cause further racial segregation and cause economical strains for not only states but school districts; all while not being proved to be more effective (Wells et al., 1998; Fiske & Ladd,

The privatization of schools allows for students to be left behind by the educational system. These children are usually from low income communities which further degrades their chances from obtaining a higher education. These schools have reverted to practices that could be seen as discriminatory thus promoting the racial segregation of students. In “How messed up is California’s charter school sector? You won’t believe how much.”, Valerie Strauss found that “more than 20 percent of all California charter schools have enrollment policies that violate state and federal law”. Charter schools have since lost their credibility to educate America 's youth but instead take the public 's taxes for their own personal benefit. Charters were funded 1992 which was quickly seen as a new and innovative alternative to public education. They were deemed better than public

Charter schools have an interesting history with origins that are most often overlooked. Since the enactment of the first charter school legislation in Minnesota in 1991, charter schools have grown rapidly to over 6,000 in forty-two (42) states and the District of Columbia (Karp & Heitner, 2013; CREDO, 2013). Originally, charter schools were teacher-operated schools serving students struggling inside the traditional system (Karp & Heitner, 2013). Accordingly, charter schools were established to operate outside the reach of administrative bureaucracy and politicization among many city school boards (Karp & Heitner, 2013).

Charter Schools: Another Flawed Educational Reform?, a book written by the late Seymour B. Sarason, author and Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology and Institution for Social and Policy Analysis at Yale University, is a plea to educators and legislators alike to thoroughly consider the possible effects of creating and funding charter schools. Sarason’s background in the field, at the time of publication, spanned over fifty years, and included many educational reform-related papers and books.

Charter schools have recently become a topic of debate among educators. Charter schools are schools working in the public sector of education while also being privately owned. Charter schools are privately run, but receive public funding. There has been much debate since the sprouting of Charter schools about the demographics being represented and underrepresented. While there is evidence to support both sides of this argument, it should be clear to anyone after doing the research that charter schools are an overall negative aspect of the educational system.

From the earliest days of charter schools, they have been the subject of many education debates across the country between the public, politicians, and education experts. In 1995, when the first charter was constructed in Minnesota, many education reformers believed charter schools to be the answer that was going to change the face of public education. However, over twenty years later with over 6,079 schools in total and increasing around 7 percent every year, the debate still rages on about the impact of these charters (The Hechinger Report, U.S. News). In the 1990s, school choice campaign movements sprouted up urging state legislatures to pass laws authorizing charter schools. To offer a quick background, charter schools are established after an organization –either nonprofit groups or for-profit businesses –acquires a charter from a state-authorized agency (Ravitch, 122). In addition, while charter schools do have to follow some of the major education laws and regulations that all other public schools across the country have to follow, charters do not have to follow most: giving them too much freedom from state curriculum frameworks and educational standards (The Center for Education Reform). Despite the popular belief that charter schools are incredibly successful and the “fix” to the education problem in the United States, after taking a deeper look at the management problems and lack of achievement, it can be argued that charter schools are not as successful as one may think.

The history of charter school has been shaped through political legislation in the United States. Viteritti analyzed the charter schools as they have spread across the country while Black’s study focused on the public good of charter schools in the U.S. (2005, 2013). These studies of politics and how it is changing the U.S. education system will aid this research as it provides a background of why charters exist as and where they do today.

There is a growing problem in the U.S. that is typically unseen, and that is very important to parents and students, and that is Charter Schools. Charter Schools has always been a pet peeve of mine, due to the lack of schoolwork that is actually happening, I believe that the common core learning is much more effective. Some of the problems are: the charter teachers getting distracted, students not taking school seriously and students not being prepared for the real world.