Charter Schools, as I'm sure many of you are aware, are both public and private schools in one. They can expel a child and deny admission to others, and some even are blatantly illegally holding admissions tests. And they are still being funded by our tax dollars.

Yet, despite all of that, I support them and their cause. Why? Because in my state, the prototype charter school is the state's top achieving school. Almost all students who go there attend college (I cannot name one who has not).

This school does not just take up the best and brightest of the school system, as public schools say they do. They also show the most improvement on their state testing, much more than your average public school student. Because it is free, both low-income and wealthy students attend. Charter schools also focus on both ends of the spectrum-high achievers and developmentally challenged individuals.

And despite this higher achievement, Charter schools run much cheaper than regular public schools annually. This is part of the reason that administrators hate charter schools and want them shut down.

Funds are not mishandled on perks, and the teachers that are hired do not have to be a part of the teacher's union. This cuts down on paperwork, which cuts down on your average school red tape, which cuts down on the number of staff working on said red tape, which reduces the cost of running the school. There is also a vested interest in charter schools to succeed: if they fall below a standard, they will have their licenses revoked.



Recently, a newspaper came out with a national report stating that charter schools performed worse than public school children. Unfortunately, the paper ignored the fact that most charter schools are very small, with under a hundred students, and are aimed at helping those with special needs.

But something that many of these administrators don't get is that students WANT to be there. Going to a charter school is a choice. And there is a huge waiting list. Why the waiting list, then, if charter schools are bad?

My frustration is that our schools are already overcrowded. It's a simple fact that everyone knows. Closing down schools is not the way to improve education. It is my belief that they are trying to close the schools out of fear for their job security, and that they are not looking out for the best interests of their students.

To me, a school that actually cares about its students' success, has a high graduation-to-college rate, and operates on less money than an average high school deserves to exist.

Any comments? Corrections? Please add below.

My view is that if a school is receiving public funding, they should not be denying enrollment.

I like the idea of charter schools, but there needs to be some logic to how they're funded, and what they can do...

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Sayeth John Drake - 10/13/08: "OK, you're right, I admit to LYING"

Perhaps, but denying enrollment is, in a way, their only way of keeping their number low. There would be thousands of kids going to just one school. Granted, the admissions thing went a little overboard. One good thing about the admissions idea is that if someone doesn't want to be there (I.E. the parents forced the child to go) the school can deny the admission.

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Sever the line to the guilty past
To the ones who brought us nothing
Spoke of futures brave and proud
And brought only hate and war.
Lined the roads with hollow praise
Marked the land with paper statues
Shadows fell on their futile ways
And then there was nothing more