Charter School Building | Bonneville Academy in Stansbury Park, Utah

Are charter schools better than public schools?

Being a parent, it is important to offer an ideal environment and opportunity for the kids to achieve success in life. Hence, an important aspect of this step is giving them the best chance to thrive both in education and society. In recent years, there have been several talks about the success rate of charter schools and public schools in offering quality and futuristic education. Traditional public schools and charter schools have some key differences, but both are more tied to state rules and regulations than other private schools. Hence, what exactly are the differences between the two? If you are on the same lines, then keep reading below to observe the results. 

Public Schools: 

Traditional public schools must obey the education standards set by the specific state education board and are not excepted from any type of federal, state, or local rules concerning education. They are administered by the school district, that is tracked by a democratically-chosen school board. 

Charter schools: 

Charter schools are public schools that are run by sovereign organizations mostly non-profit in nature. They are not tied to many rules that are important to other district-run schools. But they are made responsible for the performance by their administrators who have the power to close or replace them if they do not meet the standards. The majority are schools of choice that are not the same as the traditional districts that select the students depending on some criteria. If the number of applications is high, then they will opt for the lottery method to give only limited admissions. Charter schools are focussed on major aspects – accountability, autonomy, and diversity in learning process choice and run by non-profit firms to evolve urban learning. Charter schools are giving excellent results in many states with appropriate charter laws. 

Major differences between charter schools and public schools: 

Both Charter schools and traditional public schools are free of cost and cannot classify students during admissions as they receive funding from states. While charter schools receive fixed state funding on a per-student basis, traditional public schools get funding highly from local taxpayers. Some of the precise points that differentiate the process in charter schools from public schools are: 

Funding: 

  • Charter schools are funded on a per-student basis with funds from the government and can occasionally get private funds, but usually receive minimal overall funding. 
  • Public schools get funds partially via state budget funding but mainly via local taxpayers. 

Government directives: 

  • Charter schools are run independently but with rules that are mentioned in the charter to receive secured funding from the state. 
  • Public schools must follow all the state school board rules and regulations implemented by the specific school district that implements the state regulations. 

Certification of Teachers: 

  • Charter schools don’t demand the teachers be certified, but this rule changes across every state. 
  • The public school requires all teachers to be certified by the education board of that specific state. 

Curriculum: 

  • Charter schools let the curriculum be flexible, but the school is made responsible for its performance. 
  • The curriculum of Public schools is fixed by the state education board and applied by the specific school district. 

Admission: 

  • Charter schools do not have any entrance exams for students while some of them have an application to be filled. 
  • Public schools let all the students in that school district attend the school freely without the need for any application. 

Advantages of Charter schools over public schools: 

  1. Preferring Inclusions and Involvement of that community:  A major advantage of a charter school is the stress on inclusions and involvement of the community for enhancing educational and social growth. The style of teaching and process lets the child thrive in confidence which is tough to be achieved in a traditional school setting. Charter schools will also provide many after school activities and events that can aid children to enhance their passion which is not available in traditional schools.
  2. Practical Learning:  Traditional public schools do not allow an opportunity for deviating from their fixed curriculum. Charter schools offer good flexibility in regular curriculum to match the real-life scenarios to help the child. They follow a process of applying practical instructions in the teachings, events, daily assignments, and other activities.
  3. Limited strength: An unparalleled advantage of charter schools is their learning environment that allows only limited classroom strength. It lets us give more flexibility and individual emphasis to each student while enhancing their specific interests and improving the weaknesses.
  4. Autonomy: Even though charter schools receive some amount of funds from the state, they possess more autonomy than a traditional public school. If a charter school sees something that is not appropriate to the real-life scenario then they can bring changes in the process immediately. A traditional public school has to wait for the academic year to be completed to resolve a topic even if it is not meeting the needs of the students. Charter schools operate similarly to real-world scenarios where students learn to adjust to the changing circumstances. This lets them offer changes with the right tools for their students to be effective in practical situations.
  5. Customized Curriculum

Charter schools provide another unparalleled benefit of letting flexibility in the curriculum depending on their interest, unlike regular public schools. If a particular child has more interest in a specific topic, that can be pursued at charter schools with more emphasis on the topic. 

Final Thoughts: 

Every child is unique, which is why charter schools provide several options that can help in matching your child’s educational and social needs. Bonneville Academy is a charter school that offers an exclusive setting, that highlights high academic success employing modern technology and state-of-the-art but proven educational approaches. As a STEM school, our curriculum emphasizes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; letting students not only learn about these topics of their choice but also have real-world skills. We allow students to successfully compete in an ever more competitive post-secondary setting and the international professional environment. 

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