The American educational system used to be the model for educational systems around the world. For the past 20 years America has declined and is now ranked #18 out of 38 developed countries in the world in education(14). Reformers have searched far and wide for a way to fix the educational system. One debatable answer to the problem could be charter schools. A charter school is a public school that operates independently of the district board of education. In order for a charter school to exist, a contract must be written. It can be written by anyone, for example: educators, parents, community leaders, entrepreneurs. The contract explains what the charter school’s goals will be and applicable accountability measures. After the charter is written
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A small group of teachers was given contracts called charters in order to explore new educational techniques. These charters were only given to individual teachers at first and weren’t meant to be used on a larger scale. That is, until Albert Shanker—former president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—believed that it would be beneficial to charter an entire school instead of individual teachers. By 2003 a total of 40 states, including Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, have passed laws that allowed for the creation of charter schools. The growth of charter schools has sparked controversy amongst educators and government officials alike. In theory, charter schools have the potential to be very effective. Unfortunately, even though charter schools are meant to turn around the American educational system, there is evidence to suggest they may be harming the system more than helping …show more content…
Along with not meeting the charter goals, problems such as educational underperformance, financial mismanagement. organizational incompetence, non-compliance can cause a charter school to fail and close(23). Educational underperformance refers to if the students under the charter’s care are performing below average academically. Financial mismanagement can be the pitfall of many charter schools. Since charter schools are funded by the state they are funded like traditional public schools, which is according to enrollment. The schools will receive a certain amount for each student enrolled. Unlike traditional public schools, most charter schools do not receive funding to cover the cost of securing a facility. Occasionally charter schools are established from pre-existing schools called conversion schools. This disadvantage leads to insufficient funding and can lead to inadequate educational experience for students. Organizational incompetence and non-compliance go hand in hand and they pertain to charter schools in organizational disarray that lack the will or capacity to change or improve their ways. The lack of change means the charter schools are no longer compliant with the regulations stated in their
A small group of teachers was given contracts called charters in order to explore new educational techniques. These charters were only given to individual teachers at first and weren’t meant to be used on a larger scale. That is, until Albert Shanker—former president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—believed that it would be beneficial to charter an entire school instead of individual teachers. By 2003 a total of 40 states, including Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, have passed laws that allowed for the creation of charter schools. The growth of charter schools has sparked controversy amongst educators and government officials alike. In theory, charter schools have the potential to be very effective. Unfortunately, even though charter schools are meant to turn around the American educational system, there is evidence to suggest they may be harming the system more than helping …show more content…
Along with not meeting the charter goals, problems such as educational underperformance, financial mismanagement. organizational incompetence, non-compliance can cause a charter school to fail and close(23). Educational underperformance refers to if the students under the charter’s care are performing below average academically. Financial mismanagement can be the pitfall of many charter schools. Since charter schools are funded by the state they are funded like traditional public schools, which is according to enrollment. The schools will receive a certain amount for each student enrolled. Unlike traditional public schools, most charter schools do not receive funding to cover the cost of securing a facility. Occasionally charter schools are established from pre-existing schools called conversion schools. This disadvantage leads to insufficient funding and can lead to inadequate educational experience for students. Organizational incompetence and non-compliance go hand in hand and they pertain to charter schools in organizational disarray that lack the will or capacity to change or improve their ways. The lack of change means the charter schools are no longer compliant with the regulations stated in their