Charter Schools

We had a charter school built down the road about two or three years ago. Unfortunately, there is little tolerance in this particular building. If your child is reading second grade level he/she will take their reading group with second graders, irregardless of what grade they are in. We have had at least twenty kids leave our district who were LD, and all have returned. I think testing gets done faster there, because they have no intervention programs/procedures in place ex. recovery reading, title 1, etc.,

I hope this helps!

I think it depends. Janis, who posts on these boards, has had a great experience with her daughter in a charter school. I thought, based on her experience, of transferring my son to a local charter school. He did not get in and the horror stories I have heard since make me grateful he did not. I think you need to talk to the principal and the special education teacher. My impression here was that they had excessive turnover in the sp. education position.

Beth

It depends upon the charter school, its purpose, etc. On the whole, they are public schools and I would not expect better, unless the school is chartered with this as a goal. Some are set up so they won’t have to deal with many special education students, just a tiny few who are very high functioning. You know, they have hoops, requirements, contracts and the like. They end up dumping on the public school district.

Schools run by businesses don’t either. I don’t know why people think that certain places do better. Bottom line is your local school district has to take all children. Private, charter, etc. schools can establish hoops you have to jump through that weed out severe problems and challenges, excepting the few schools that are set up to meet special needs.

The School is a Charter High School grades 9-12. The first year only being 9 and 10. with 135 students total. It will offer majors in Three art disciplines: visual arts, preforming arts., and culinary arts. They advertise as hands-on training through on site student-run venture: an art gallery, resturant, and performance space. I am still unsure about the School and have many questions to ask of them in regards to LD students and how they will fit in. They have told me that the Law requires them to except students with disabilities and to hire a Special Education teacher. The Teachers are required to stay in School untill 4:00. The HS ends at 2:30 and will offer after school programs untill 4:oo each day. These programs are for extra help , or extra time to work on projects. It all sounds to good to be true , I am keeping an open mind to everything before I make a final decision.

Pam,

Every charter school is totally different. With charter schools, it can be wonderful or terrible, much like other schools. The school you mention sounds absolutely wonderful for a particular type of child. And I think that’s great because public schools try to put all kids in the same mold which is why we have so many special ed. kids failing. A school that caters to the creative kids would be wonderful!

As Beth mentioned, my child goes to a a very nice charter school that is doing a fabulous job (compared to the public schools) with special ed. The principal is a former ed. psychologist who is very interested in providing appropriate remediation. Last year, my child’s first year in the school, both the principal and LD teacher went to Phono-Graphix and Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing trainings. In a couple of weeks, they are hosting a PG training for all their K-3 teachers!

Another advantage is that the school is small, only one class per grade. There are disadvantages in that they are having to develop everything from scratch but at the same time are obligated to follow the state curriculum. An advantage is that they DO have high standards for behavior and children and parents understand the rules at the outset. Guess what? Those high expectations pay off in a very well behaved student body! They do have a higher than expected number of older LD kids who have been failed by the public school system. The LD teacher loves to tell me the joy she had teaching a class of 10th grade boys with Phono-Graphix last year. She always thanks me for introducing her to that method.

So my point is, you can’t generalize about charter schools. And I pretty much say, the school is going to be as good as the staff and their level of training, so that you will have to find out about the particular school you are considering.

Janis

YOu may find that the focus on the arts makes a big difference…. or not. The fact that their response is tuned to the “well, we are legally requierd…” frequency is NOT a good sign :( Much depends on the spirit of the school — is it exclusive (“we’re the special arts school and we expect our students to win awards “… and teach themselves most stuff, and if you don’t fit in that is YOUR problem) or inclusive (“we’re looking for a way to let kids develop themselves freely — and to help them out”)? Obviously different individuals will have different perspectives, and I”d be seeking out the ones that can make all the difference in a high school kid’s world.

[%sig%]