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Could the decentralized nature of charter schools help explain why some of them are so successful?
Rather than a central administration issuing detailed commands, those who are right on site decide what, when and how to teach. And, they know that they will be the ones to take the credit for good results or the blame for poor results.
Charters can kick kids out and/or make their lives and their parents' lives in that school too bad to stay. << There you have it.
I'd like to see the percentage of IEPs in the school and the severity of the issues they reflect.
One of the best ways to get and keep parent engagement is to have a process for getting into the school. Right away you've self-selected for parents with some knowledge and interest in their child's education.
Sorry for the cynicism, but until charters take all comers -- and don't lose them over the years -- it's not a real fair comparison. The kids they kick out? They go right back to the schools that the charter is compared to!
All that aside? I agree, if you've got a school with engaged teachers and administrators, more good things are going to happen than if all the decisions come down from above.
City Charter HS indicated at a presentation that they take all comers.
In terms of kicking kids out- they would probably be comparable to magnets like CAPA, sci tech, IB, and engineering like Allderdice, which make it clear that they will remove from the program those who do not meet behavior requirements.
Yes, charters have to take all comers -- but they don't have to keep them and often they make it clear that certain children would not be a "good fit."
Yup -- and those programs you mention? They are considered the "better" programs to be in.
I don't know much about Propel, but many charters *especially* those that extend to high school end up with huge attrition rates. They'll have 5 freshman for every 2 or 3 seniors -- meaning that they lose half their population during the four years of high school.
If you keep "losing" the kids who pull down your scores...you get good scores!
The only guarantee a parent has for their child is FAPE. Free Appropriate Public Education.
I have heard that City High provides extensive supports to struggling students, even those without a formal IEP. Not every school has what it takes to be a City High.
6 comments:
Could the decentralized nature of charter schools help explain why some of them are so successful?
Rather than a central administration issuing detailed commands, those who are right on site decide what, when and how to teach. And, they know that they will be the ones to take the credit for good results or the blame for poor results.
Also, successful charters seem to make true parent engagement a high priority.
Charters can kick kids out and/or make their lives and their parents' lives in that school too bad to stay.
<< There you have it.
I'd like to see the percentage of IEPs in the school and the severity of the issues they reflect.
One of the best ways to get and keep parent engagement is to have a process for getting into the school. Right away you've self-selected for parents with some knowledge and interest in their child's education.
Sorry for the cynicism, but until charters take all comers -- and don't lose them over the years -- it's not a real fair comparison. The kids they kick out? They go right back to the schools that the charter is compared to!
All that aside? I agree, if you've got a school with engaged teachers and administrators, more good things are going to happen than if all the decisions come down from above.
City Charter HS indicated at a presentation that they take all comers.
In terms of kicking kids out- they would probably be comparable to magnets like CAPA, sci tech, IB, and engineering like Allderdice, which make it clear that they will remove from the program those who do not meet behavior requirements.
Yes, charters have to take all comers -- but they don't have to keep them and often they make it clear that certain children would not be a "good fit."
Yup -- and those programs you mention? They are considered the "better" programs to be in.
I don't know much about Propel, but many charters *especially* those that extend to high school end up with huge attrition rates. They'll have 5 freshman for every 2 or 3 seniors -- meaning that they lose half their population during the four years of high school.
If you keep "losing" the kids who pull down your scores...you get good scores!
The only guarantee a parent has for their child is FAPE. Free Appropriate Public Education.
I have heard that City High provides extensive supports to struggling students, even those without a formal IEP. Not every school has what it takes to be a City High.
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