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Schools and Education General Discussion
Charter vs Public School
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Anonymous
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Ok, since $30K a year for private school is not an option for me, I'm weighing my options w/Charter & Public Schools. However, I just don't know enough about Charter schools, ie. differing from Public School, what does one offer that the other one doesn't, etc. One advantage w/charter schools I know is no boundary limits, & no limits on number of applications...
I'd like to hear from those who were also deciding between the two... |
Anonymous
| I think it depends more on the individual school rather than whether it's DCPS or charter. Then again a charter can kick you out more easily than the DCPS school that you're in-boundaries for. |
Anonymous
| Where do you live OP? I started my search geographicly, and viewed charters and publics closest to my house and expanded from there. If some of the good DCPS public schools are close to you, give them a shot, and apply to all the good charter school lotteries since they are competitive. |
Anonymous
I live in Capitol Hill, but an open to commuting across town.. |
Anonymous
| Are you on the Moms on the Hill list? There are lots of folks who can give you feedback on public and charter schools on it. |
Anonymous
Yes, I'm on their listserv, but i'm looking for more info on schools in NW, as well. |
Anonymous
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Apparently there are quite a number of Hill families at Yu Ying - enough so that they charter a bus to drive the kids back and forth from the Hill. Here is some recent press on the school:
http://washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=36480 http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/476350.aspx http://www.washingtondiplomat.com/October%202008/c2_10_08.html |
Anonymous
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The reason many charter schools are formed is to get around teacher union requirements as well as to select students and families who are committed to the educational philosophy that is offered by that charter.
It is my understanding that teachers in Charter School are non-union so that there is a lot more flexibility in what they can do including number of hours worked, salary structure, bonus structure etc. Each charter also has an expectation for the child and the family for commitment to the school and academic standards. There may be a requirement to attend a certain number of school clean-up days a year, a commitment that the child will not miss or be late more than a certain number of schools days, wear a uniform etc. AND breaking this contract could translate into your child being kicked out of the charter school. Charter schools are paid through DCPS based on a formula on the number of children enrolled. In addition, Charter Schools have to follow certain safety standards and program rigors established by a DCPS Charter School Board (forgive me for not having all of the specifc names correct here - hopefully you are able to follow the general idea) Charter schools are at least partially funded through DCPS and may be getting grants and donations through other areas. BUT they are a subset of DCPS. I think what your question is trying to get at is --- Where can I find out more about all of the DCPS Charter schools? To the best of my knowledge, you can start at the DCPS website and see all of the schools listed there. Most charter schools have a website and you can find out the general info such as how long the school has been open, location, grades the school supports, philosophy, open house dates. Good luck with your search |
Anonymous
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Here's a charter school directory with a pretty good overview of each school:
http://www.focusdc.org/charterschooldirectory/index.asp |