We will share information on Charter Schools, laws relating and other data.
Netflix Billionaire Reed Hastings’ Crusade to Replace Public School Teachers With Computers
When pondering the best way to transform and improve America’s K-12 public schools, do the ideas that first come to mind include: ditching locally elected school boards? Placing grade-school kids in overcrowded computer labs for hours at a time with unproven software and inexperienced teachers? Telling children from poor homes that test scores are the only results that matter? Or putting high-tech entrepreneurs who have financial stakes in the digital tools being road-tested on students on the private boards running those schools?
Read the rest of the article originally published at www.alternet.com This article was added March 5, 2016
Washington State Charter Association: http://wacharters.org/
Charter Schools in Washington State: http://wacharters.org/enroll/
SB6194 – Charter Schools (January 21, 2016)
This bill went through two (2) re-writes but passed through in just 14 days. Here is the link to the State page that shows the timing: http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6194&year=2015
SB6194 – Comments: Clicking this link will open the pdf version of the Bill. Using the comment function we highlighted and made comments as we saw something that stood out as noteworthy. Mouse over the little bubbles and the comments should be visible – nothing to click or open in the pdf file.
SB6194 – Financial Estimates: This file contains the details about the cost of allowing the charter school system based on this Bill. Please note that the numbers are significant. The money comes out of the public schools funds.
Analysis/Comments: In the end it look like the charter schools need to follow many of the same rules as public schools suing the same testing and thus most if not all the same curriculum. Separate School Board for the Charter. The State can play a role. The “authorizer” can make decisions. While I like parental choice I don’t see that Charters are going to offer anything distinctly different or better. It just spreads money over more outlets without improving education and outcomes. Finally, I would say that this bill is an excellent example of…repeating everything multiple times and sometimes conflicting with what it said elsewhere and taking 5x longer to say what could be said. Simplicity and readability are things that seem to escape those who govern.
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What are Public Charter Schools – This website is The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: http://www.publiccharters.org/get-the-facts/public-charter-schools/
From UnCommon Schools site: http://www.uncommonschools.org/faq-what-is-charter-school
From National Charter School Resource Center: http://www.charterschoolcenter.org/what-is-a-charter-school
Center for Public Education offers this background: http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Charter-schools-Finding-out-the-facts-At-a-glance
What is a Charter School? (Public School Review): http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/what-is-a-charter-school
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Here are articles that question the validity of Charter Schools and/or offer comparisons to Public Schools
The Myth of Charter Schools (a book): http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/11/11/myth-charter-schools/
A Dozen Problems with Charter Schools (The Washington Post): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/20/a-dozen-problems-with-charter-schools/
The Verdict on Charter Schools? (The Atlantic): http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/the-verdict-on-charter-schools/397820/
Why Charter Schools Work…or Don’t (US News): http://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/03/16/why-charter-schools-work-or-dont