So I’ve seen some stuff about charter schools but I’m not from the states and don’t think my country has them (if they do I’m not aware and they aren’t well know).
They seem a little controversial and I’m not getting why (apart from what seems like gentrification. But again don’t know what they are so I might be wrong) so please ELI5
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They’re basically just state-funded schools that have substantially more autonomy than normal. The main reason they are controversial is because often someone has some ulterior motive for operating them. Some are effectively run by extremist religious movements, and others by profit-making companies, for example.
> don’t think my country has them (if they do I’m not aware and they aren’t well know).
There are many different variants with different names in different parts of the world. In the UK, we have “free schools”, “foundation schools”, and “academies”, not to mention several kinds of state-funded religious schools, because our governments love privatisation and conservative religious movements so much that they have gone through several different waves of promoting both in education.
The rules vary a bit depending on the state, because it’s down to state law.
But basically charter schools create kind of their own independent school district based on a contract (charter) signed with the state DOE. They’re still a kind of *public* school, just different from the regular school district.
This has the downside that they don’t get to use district resources, but it allows them to operate independently of district administration, so they can pursue distinct educational philosophies or approaches while still getting state funding.
My kids go to a k-8 charter school here in Idaho that follows the “harbor method.” Basically, providing a safe environment (with zero tolerance for harassment and bullying), with parent involvement, that’s also academically challenging. They tend to go on more field trips, have a slightly longer school year, with their breaks in different places, and they usually finish 8th grade a bit more advanced in most subjects than the kids from the regular school district (my 14yo is starting high school next year with all Honors math classes, a year ahead of most of the district kids, for example).
The rules vary a bit depending on the state, because it’s down to state law.
But basically charter schools create kind of their own independent school district based on a contract (charter) signed with the state DOE. They’re still a kind of *public* school, just different from the regular school district.
This has the downside that they don’t get to use district resources, but it allows them to operate independently of district administration, so they can pursue distinct educational philosophies or approaches while still getting state funding.
My kids go to a k-8 charter school here in Idaho that follows the “harbor method.” Basically, providing a safe environment (with zero tolerance for harassment and bullying), with parent involvement, that’s also academically challenging. They tend to go on more field trips, have a slightly longer school year, with their breaks in different places, and they usually finish 8th grade a bit more advanced in most subjects than the kids from the regular school district (my 14yo is starting high school next year with all Honors math classes, a year ahead of most of the district kids, for example).
The rules vary a bit depending on the state, because it’s down to state law.
But basically charter schools create kind of their own independent school district based on a contract (charter) signed with the state DOE. They’re still a kind of *public* school, just different from the regular school district.
This has the downside that they don’t get to use district resources, but it allows them to operate independently of district administration, so they can pursue distinct educational philosophies or approaches while still getting state funding.
My kids go to a k-8 charter school here in Idaho that follows the “harbor method.” Basically, providing a safe environment (with zero tolerance for harassment and bullying), with parent involvement, that’s also academically challenging. They tend to go on more field trips, have a slightly longer school year, with their breaks in different places, and they usually finish 8th grade a bit more advanced in most subjects than the kids from the regular school district (my 14yo is starting high school next year with all Honors math classes, a year ahead of most of the district kids, for example).
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