today's lesson: are charter schools up to par?

There is much debate surrounding the expansion of charter schools in our country. In fact, they seem to be a topic of interest for educators, administrators, and politicians alike.

An article by Monica Rhor pointed out the a few key characteristics of charter schools for Latino students, such as free and reduced lunch prices, more hands on interaction, and what they call "highly qualified" teachers. Madison School District Superintendent, Geoff Thomas expressed his opinions in a seminar at BYU-I about how charter schools are detrimental to the public education system. President Obama is encouraging Americans to embrace charter schools and use the close teacher-student interaction as a way to advance education so that our students can compete with the rest of the world.

With so many opinions muddling the statistics, one has to wonder if charter schools are indeed helping or hindering the education system in America. Below are a few interesting results from The Center of Education Reform's 2010 annual survey of charter schools.

•  Less than 12% of  charter schools adhere to union contracts. Fifty-four percent are moving toward paying teachers based on their performance.
• Charter schools receive nearly 30% less funding than public schools in general.
• The demand for charter schools is increasing yearly, according to longer and longer waiting lists for each school.
• Finding adequate facilities seems to be the largest hurdle to overcome in opening new charter schools across the United States.
• Students at charter schools must be chosen by a lottery, thus eliminating the constant debate that only the best and brightest students are chosen to attend.
• Almost 11,000 students attend charter schools in Idaho alone.
• However, 3 charter schools were shut down in Idaho in 2010.
• Charter schools almost always have more instructional time with students than public schools because decisions are made at the school level and not always the state level.

At BYU-Idaho's Pre-Professional Conference last week in Rexburg, Idaho, Geoff Thomas stated that the majority of charter schools are performing at lower levels than public schools. He feels that much of the motivation behind starting a charter school is the amount of funds it receives for such a small number of students and teachers.

What are we to do about the controversy? Follow President Obama's encouragement in 2009 to push for more charter schools and longer school days? Or should we embrace the public school system and strengthen teaching and learning in that way? The decision is ours as future leaders of classrooms and school districts. Educate yourself on the issue and stand your ground.