Getting cold feet about the charter school option

[Anonymous]

The other thing to consider is that the Private Schools usually offer no test data and have no certification standards for teachers. At least you can be assured of those two things in a charter.

[Anonymous]

THis is absolutely true. And the fact that so many DC kids move into top private schools after elementary school and seem not to have trouble keeping up really lays bare how silly and self-serving this whole line of thinking is.

I agree to the extent that kids from Mann, Janney, Key, etc. might not have trouble going private at that point, but all schools in DC don't do an equal job educating.

[Anonymous]

typo - that should have been "of" educating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: Actually, most people we know with school age kids have moved out of DC or have gone private. The rest live in bounds for schools in upper NW. One friend in particular keeps saying that kids can fall behind very quickly, especially in math, and that it may be difficult to remain on grade level, that if we move to the burbs later, DC might have to repeat a grade, she has known families where this happened. We do like the charter and are were willing to give it a try but we also want our kid to get a decent education. The whole "falling behind" argument seems like it might be a little overblown for K. We don't know a lot of people who have sent kids to charters so it's hard to really know what to expect.

My son has attended a DCPS school in SE Washington. He has taken full advantage of every opportunity, has entered and won competitions, and has thrived in a big public school. His test scores put him in the advanced proficient category (just like our demographic in NW schools). He uses the same math program as his friend in private school and seems to be at about the same level. I dislike many of the structural problems faced by DCPS schools, but in my experience I do not think that DCPS schools necessarily put kids behind their peers at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Hello

I'm an Editor at NPR, looking to do a story on the pros and cons of charter schools. I am looking for parents who are against charter schools, and prefer the public school system.

I'm Jennifer, and I am at 202-513-2852.

Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Jennifer, charters are 'public schools'. Why would you have to be against charters to attend regular DCPS?