As of 2010, there are over 5,000 charter schools that have popped up in several communities across the United States, and this number is increasing every year. Charter schools are now becoming extremely popular options for many parents who are searching for an ideal alternative to regular public schools.
Charter schools do not adhere to many of the regulations and rules of conventional public schools. For instance, the schools have the right to make their own grading systems and curriculum, and the teachers are not really required to have a state teaching certification or a master’s degree. There are several arguments about the subject of charter schools that is why it is important to take a closer look at its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros of Charter Schools
Here are the different advantages of having your child enrolled in charter schools.
1. Offer families or parents with public school options.
The emergence of charter schools enables parents to have better alternatives to regular public schools without struggling from the pricey tuition fees of private schools. Parents and families are now able to choose the right school that will best suit their child.
2. Can serve as Effective Laboratories of Reform.
Charter schools act as a laboratory of improvement, reform and educational development, determining successful practices that can be replicated by traditional public schools. Through waiving some rules and regulations in limited numbers of schools, those prohibitive school policies can be determined and eliminated for entire schools for the benefit of students.
3. Healthy competition within school system.
Because people now have several options as to where they could enroll their children, the competition within the school system in public schools in established. This gives pressure to school districts to start reassessing their educational practices and improve their operations.
The Cons of Charter Schools
You can identify the main advantages of charter schools but there are also different reasons why some are opposing such schools.
1. Potential of Overwork.
The needs for teach input can be translated into an insatiable demands for teacher hours. During the first year of operations, charter schools will demand for teacher hours and those young and ambitious teachers may just respond to such grueling schedule from exhilaration to burnout or resentment. Many of them may choose to leave their profession.
2. Quality and Effective Management Uncertainties.
Quality of school management can always vary from school to school. Mismanaged schools under an unreliable and incompetent school leaders or board of directors can lead to a low quality curriculum, high levels of both teacher and parent dissatisfaction and insufficient teaching materials. Such lack of quality control that is combined with compensation issues can always lead to high turnover rates among those teaching staff.
Debates over those charter schools are still ongoing. With the increasing popularity of charter schools also come several concerns and issues regarding the subject. Is a charter school better for your child’s education? Is it an ideal alternative to attending a traditional public school? What are your thoughts about this subject?
