Charter Schools HELP!

[Cat]

My little one is starting Kindergarten this year and he has gotten into a Charter School. I'm rather happy with his public elementary school (not happy with our middle and high school home schools)and can't decide if I should put him in the Charter School or not. The Charter school goes k-12 but it doesn't seem to have good ratings for any grades beyond 5th grade.

When comparing the two schools the student test results are about the same. The teacher to student ratio is better at the public schools, as well as the technology and infrastructure.

I don't know a ton about Charter Schools. I do know it's mostly funded by the state and is ran by a for profit company.

If anyone has an opinion or insight I'd love to hear from you. It's a big decision and I kind of freak out about those. I want as much information as possible.

[pstall]

Both of mine have gone from 1st and one is going into the 7th and the other 5th. Love it. Everyone there is motivated and the expectations are high.

I would say the first couple of years at a charter could be great because of getting a great baseline of education going and if they need to go to public then they may be ahead.

The main dif I see is a charter isn't bound to the system or te politics the way a trad pub school is. That goes a long way.

But if the public school is as good as you say, it might be good to stay there.

[Cat]

Both of mine have gone from 1st and one is going into the 7th and the other 5th. Love it. Everyone there is motivated and the expectations are high.

I would say the first couple of years at a charter could be great because of getting a great baseline of education going and if they need to go to public then they may be ahead.

The main dif I see is a charter isn't bound to the system or te politics the way a trad pub school is. That goes a long way.

But if the public school is as good as you say, it might be good to stay there.

Thanks

How are the class sizes at your Charter School? That's one of the things that worries me. Class sizes are about 23-28 for 1 teach with 0 helper. Also the school day is 1 hour longer than public school. Seems like a lot on a teacher. Our Public School is 20-23 kids per class with a rotating teacher helper.

[g5jamz]

Charter schools can be really great...or really bad.

Some charters were opened simply on the basis of a new pool of money to draw from...some actually try to do great things and have become some of the best schools in the nation.

Raleigh Charter High School...Woods Charter school for example.

Some need to be shut down.

You'll need to really do your homework.

[Guest]

I'll say two things. First, I'm not belittling your concerns or situation, but, it is Kindergarten. I think your child will be fine either way for certainly K-2. After that is when the real heavy decisions start.

Second, having said that, words cannot express my hatred and disdain for the crap cesspool that is CMS. If all things are equal, after doing homework, I'd go with the charter school.

[Cat]

I want to get him in a school and try to keep him there. I don't want to move him around a bunch.

[Guest]

I want to get him and a school and try to keep him there. I don't want to move him around a bunch.

I understand totally. Not sure where you are in CLT but in my experience, the elementary schools are a close reflection of where they are located. Example, my soon-to-be daughter will go to Highland Creek Elementary next fall. Thats fine for K-5 but the middle schools are where you start to see influx from other area schools and potential problems.

I have two older kids, my son will (hopefully) graduate from Olympic HS next year, and my daughter just finished at SW Middle. Both had great elementary schools but the middle school sucked and is getting exponentially worse. I'm moving her to Cabarrus County school in the fall.

[Cat]

I understand totally. Not sure where you are in CLT but in my experience, the elementary schools are a close reflection of where they are located. Example, my soon-to-be daughter will go to Highland Creek Elementary next fall. Thats fine for K-5 but the middle schools are where you start to see influx from other area schools and potential problems.

I have two older kids, my son will (hopefully) graduate from Olympic HS next year, and my daughter just finished at SW Middle. Both had great elementary schools but the middle school sucked and is getting exponentially worse. I'm moving her to Cabarrus County school in the fall.

Same deal here. Elementary school is great. Our Middle and High School home school are unacceptable. I think we will either be sending him to Private school or moving when he starts middle school.

[pstall]

Yeah middle all over Clt iss not good. Which is why charter is good becase they get so much under their belt. The class size is about the same.

I actually like the Supt for Cms. He has a good track record and ideas. Cms can gobble up a good person tho.

[g5jamz]

My daughter is going to going to private middle school because of all the stupidity of WCPSS.

[Davidson Deac II]

What is WCPSS?

[g5jamz]

Wake County public school system