I just spent about an hour watching videos and reading studies on charter schools. I’ve pasted the info below for you to check out but here’s my quick summary:
What Is A Charter School?
“Charter schools are schools that are publicly funded but operated by independent groups. Charter schools don’t have to follow the same regulations from states, municipalities and school districts as traditional public schools. In general, charter schools have more flexibility to set curriculum and school hours and rules than traditional public schools.” – Vox (Everything You Need To Know About Charter Schools)
Why Do Charter Schools Exist?
The U.S. public school system is not performing well and charter schools were introduced as a way to privatize and create free market dynamics within public education.
Summarizing My Learnings:
- A 2015 Stanford study found that (in aggregate) Charter schools in 41 Urban cities significantly outperformed public schools in math and reading scores
- There’s a strong case for the need for more regulation in many states because there have been numerous cases of fraud, extremely poor-performing schools and other issues.
- Like with any free-market system, there are high performing and low performing organizations (schools) so each school needs to be valued independently but in aggregate, charter schools do better
Action Steps:
This is more of an educational/learning post than a post designed to create action BUT I’m committed to outlining actionable steps at the end of every post.
If you’d like to help propel one of the largest and most successful non-profit charter school programs focused on minority populations, please join me in donating $5 to KIPP.
“KIPP is now the biggest and best-known national charter network, educating 88,000 students in 209 schools nationwide. Almost all KIPPsters are poor and minority, and the KIPP network now extends from pre-K through high school and college graduation.” – National Association of Elementary School Principals
It’s worth noting that I don’t plan to educate my kids in the U.S. but I’m donating because I believe a better educational system in the U.S. makes us all better off.
