Charter Schools
I am currently a senior at Western Illinois University studying Elementary Education. I am currently taking a class on School Law that has provided me with a general overview of how the legal system applies to the practice of education. One of the controversial issues we studied in this class was related to the topic of charter schools. After learning more about charter schools, I am a proponent of charter schools. I would like to see the idea of charter schools grow and become more available for students and parents. Charter schools were developed on the idea of opportunity, choice, and responsibility (US Charter Schools). I do fear that students educated at public schools are not challenged enough these days, and this mediocrity is threatening the future of our country. Charter schools provide another option for our students and parents. Charter schools are run by a contract/charter with a school coordinator and a state department of education or a school district (School Law, p.131). The coordinator and the sponsor are held responsible for the education achievement (School Law, p.131). Because the accountability rests with the coordinator and sponsor, the school is not required to adhere to many of the same public school laws and rules. The federal government should continue to provide funds for these charter schools, since these schools are considered a public school, and are not allowed to charge tuition fees. Even though charter schools have an open admission policy, parents have the duty and privilege of selecting their charter school based on their quality of education. I am in favor of charter schools because they tend to cater to the needs of the community, and these schools are a new way to improve education. Teachers at charter schools have a chance to create new opportunities for themselves and their students (US Charter Schools). Charter schools allow for families to choose the educational needs for their students. I recommend that charter schools continue to be held accountable for offering a quality curriculum and educational goals. Charter schools are a great idea because they offer competition to the public school system. Competition will only aid in helping to improve the public school system. Public schools will be forced to improve the success of their students, or families will switch to a charter school environment. Both charter and public schools will be competing to make their students successful.
Fischer,L., Schimmel, D., and Stellman, L.R. School Law, (2008) What Every Educator Should Know.131.
WestEd (2000, August). Steps to Starting a Charter School [Online]. Available: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/ta/steps.htm.
This post was submitted by Danielle Ary.
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