here’s a link to a great article about a boston charter school that serves mostly poor immigrants and the curriculum incorporates chinese.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/10/18/041018fa_fact_boo

Some fixes off the top of my head:

1. Smaller class sizes -> More teachers
2. Students motivated and ready to learn -> More support for families and communities to develop a culture which esteems education
3. Research-based education practices -> More paid training and paid time for teacher planning, conferences, and workshops
4. Safe and effective learning environment -> Buildings constructed specifically for schools with the latest technologies

Many charter schools try do these things, but are they really helping all students or just an elite few?

And one of the best things about charter schools is that it mainly attracts those who want to see results. Your evaluation is based on a pre-set agreement that if you don’t uphold can be grounds for dismissal. This would discourage teachers who think their only job is to show up to class and run a powerpoint presentation. I’m not saying you’re one of these people, I’m just saying from experience that there are alot of teachers like that

You are welcome to come down to my school during one of my 80+ hour weeks and see me “do just enough”.

Most Charter school are not free enrollment. Since they require a higher level of parental involvement, they self-select. Many charters also harvest new teachers who are willing to work for poor compensation and benefits. They are in the majority of cases, non-union and non-supported.

I give everything I have to my students. I don’t have time to do individual drag out salary negotiation too.

I agree that there should be more accountability and smaller schools. However, since the climate is currently so anti-teacher, there are many of us who want more accountability who don’t trust the current system to evaluate us properly.

I am personally hired by parents from one of the top ten public schools in the country to tutor their kids. They could hire anyone in the country, and they choose me.

However, I am not omnipotent or omniscient and in my daily teaching, I’m compared to teachers teaching in environments where they have triple the funding and they don’t have to shield their students from gunfire in the course of their work.

I just asked to be evaluated on a thoughtful metric that takes into account the fact that it’s harder to take a kid from a 3rd grade reading level to an 11th grade level than it is to take them from a 10th to an 11th grade level…

And to me, these charter schools are what schools ought to be in the first place. There’s no accountability at all in the system, with the students or the teachers. Students often just ‘move on’ during high school instead of earning their grades and teachers do just enough to keep their jobs.

I would favor any school reform program that grants better opportunities for students. However, these magic bullet solutions which are supported because they drive the poorest students out of the school system and cherry-pick the students with parental support.