Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Charter schools
After tonight's class I was thinking about reform in schools, and I found an article in The Herald regarding York Preparatory School that may open in 2010. York Preparatory School will be a charter school in Rock Hill. The article can be found here. I can see that the charter schools are neat because they give teachers more decision making responsibilities such as choosing curriculum. But, I admit that I have trouble envisioning the charter school because it does not fit my "grammar of schooling." I am trying to be open minded and better understand. I do not understand how it is considered to be public, because they do not provide a lunch or busing to and from the school. How is this school going to be available to the children who can not afford to bring their lunch or do not have transportation? Are we only trying to provide progress to those who can afford it?
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2 comments:
You bring up a good point that charter schools do not appear to be for everyone. If students are on free/reduced lunch, the family needs the school to provide lunch and in many cases breakfast to their child(ren.) When I sub at a Title I school, roughly 17 of 20 students eat the school-provided lunch. However, at non-Title I schools, that number falls to about seven. (Non-scientific data, simply my observation.) The meals are an important part of their school day. Since the school day ends before the typical work day, this also proves problematic for single-parent families or families with two working parents. I understand where you are coming from when you question whether this is choice for all or only for those who can afford it. One another note, this school does provide an excellent collaboration model. From what we have learned in Dr. Ferguson's class, the contracts parents sign will help improve parental involvement which should help with student success. However, the article does not state the level of parent involvement expected. This may not be feasible for some families, which again brings us back to your question about this type of school only being a choice for those who can afford it.
Charter schools can provide an excellent schooling option for some students. It would be difficult for this to be an option for families who find it hard to provide their children 2 meals at home each day, much less providing for a lunch during the school day. I agree transportation to get their child to and from school may also be an issue for some families. However, if a new charter school like the one being proposed in Rock Hill is a success, perhaps it will lead to others becoming established. This may then make the public realize these schools can meet a special need in their community and they should be provided additional funding to cover expenses like lunch and transportation.
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