Anonymous wrote:Yes, charter schools are technically free, but they are distinct from public schools. There's DCPS and OSSE; they supervise public and charter schools, respectively. Some families choose their inbound public school; some go for charter schools in the lottery. Why are people harping on this? I can tell you that when I decided to send my kids to a charter, people said, "Oh, so you're not choosing your local public school."

No, this is wrong. OSSE is the entity that sits over both DCPS and charter schools. OSSE is NOT the charter school equivalent to DCPS, as you suggest.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, charter schools are technically free, but they are distinct from public schools. There's DCPS and OSSE; they supervise public and charter schools, respectively. Some families choose their inbound public school; some go for charter schools in the lottery. Why are people harping on this? I can tell you that when I decided to send my kids to a charter, people said, "Oh, so you're not choosing your local public school."

?????? Low information citizen has spoken up. Charter schools are NOT distinct from public schools. They ARE public schools. And OSSE supervises through enforcing statutes etc. both DCPS and Charter sectors of the DC Public School system. The DC Public Charter School Board approves and provides oversight for Charter Schools while the DC City Council and mayor-appointed Schools Chancellor provide oversight for the DCPS schools.