I am looking for information on public vs. charter schools. What are the main distinctions, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each? Any personal experiences or opinions would be valuable.
I’ve worked in public, private, and charter with over ten years experience so far…
The short answer is that there is no clear answer. It depends on the student and it depends on the school. For example the highest testing high school in MN last year was a charter HS. But for every time you can point to something like that, you can also point to a charter that isn’t doing well at all and is on the edge of closing. So it’s really a mixed bag. Depending on the area, if the traditional public schools are not very good then perhaps a charter is a viable option but if the public school is high performing then I wouldn’t see much point of going to a charter unless your student has some particular needs that would be served better at the charter than the traditional school. Essentially, parents need to be savvy and make informed decisions about the educational choices in the area.
At charter schools, you’ll probably discover specialized programs and smaller class sizes. However, the absence of a union typically results in a high teacher turnover rate as well as fewer programs and specialties. The only library available to teachers at our district’s one public school is what’s in their classrooms.
Charter schools often offer smaller class sizes and specialized programs. However, because they typically do not have a union, they may experience high teacher turnover and have fewer programs and specialists available. In contrast, the one public school option in our district lacks a dedicated library, relying instead on whatever books teachers have in their classrooms.
Public schools operate under the school district’s umbrella, meaning they all follow the same curriculum and standards. Charter schools, on the other hand, have more independence. They sign agreements (charters) with the government that give them more control over their curriculum, but they still need to meet certain performance standards set by the government.