Charters schools are an ongoing experiment, Cary, and the jury's still out. Basically, they are granted a charter from the state to operate for a trial 5 yr period, if they want to continue beyond that, they have to apply to renew the charter every 5 yrs. The state has the discretion to deny renewal based on the success/failure of the program, and we all know that determining what constitutes success is a tricky thing. I'm sure there are good ones and bad ones, but if you're concerned about consistency or worried about having to move the girls at a rough age if the school ultimately fails, you might want to think long term. I'd certainly be asking about the salaries of the teachers, whether they are unionized, their backgrounds, etc.. If they're compensated substantially less than public school teachers, I'd be thinking about what kinds of teaching credentials/experience they have. Some positives- schools that are just starting out are usually on their toes- energetic, committed, visionary, and the families CHOSE to be there, and can usually be counted on to be supportive and involved. Some negatives- lack of diversity, resources, and as I said before, long term security.
We thought about a charter school for Alec way back in the day when he was in 1st grade or so. In the end, after alot of meetings and hand wringing, it never got off the ground- the state denied the charter application. In the meantime, we kind of came to terms with the limitations of public school- not that we gave up wanting "the best" for our kids' education, but we realized we could fill in what we thought was missing ourselves. For our kids, they just wanted to go to school with all the kids they played sports with. Good luck with the decision, kup! |