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georgiabelle -> charter school (4/25/2008 5:09:27 PM)

I have home schooled for eight years; my ds will be in 6th grade next year, and dd will be in 4th. Over the past couple of years, I have become discouraged with hsing, feeling like I am not providing the best for my children. My dh and I have prayed about the situation, but I am yet to have a peace about what we should do concerning school.

In the fall 2009 a charter school is supposed to be opened in our town. My dh and I have been to a couple of meetings about it. It sounds wonderful except for the the fact that it is all academic, nothing about God. I realize the charter school is technically still a public school, just supposedly a really good, academically strong one, but I still cannot find a peace.

Have any of you had any experiece with charter schools before? I really not worried about the school's putting a damper on my children's spirituality. I think I am more concerned about not being in control of their education.

PLease just pass along some of your thoughts. Thanks.



cynthia -> RE: charter school (4/25/2008 5:59:11 PM)

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Jenny-Fair -> RE: charter school (4/25/2008 6:34:15 PM)

quote:

Over the past couple of years, I have become discouraged with hsing, feeling like I am not providing the best for my children.

I am sure you could start a thread on this little bit back in the HSing folder where we can encourage you in this next year and perhaps the years to come. Frequently all that is needed is a bit of redirection, but this folder is not the place for that.



garsyt -> RE: charter school (4/25/2008 7:52:35 PM)

quote:

In the fall 2009 a charter school is supposed to be opened in our town. My dh and I have been to a couple of meetings about it. It sounds wonderful except for the the fact that it is all academic, nothing about God. I realize the charter school is technically still a public school, just supposedly a really good, academically strong one, but I still cannot find a peace.

Have any of you had any experiece with charter schools before? I really not worried about the school's putting a damper on my children's spirituality. I think I am more concerned about not being in control of their education.


I haven't had any experience with charter schools, however IF we were still living where we used to live MY children would likely be attending a charter school that has just recently opened up simply based on academics.

quote:

I think I am more concerned about not being in control of their education.


And this is a valid concern. Just remember that just because you are not the one doing the teaching doesn't mean you cannot be involved. If you do decide to send your children - get involved in the school as a volunteer. If there isn't already a parents group, organize one. Communicate with teachers and staff. If the school asks for parent input on curriculum give your input. REMEMBER your children are yours and if you keep those lines of communication open with them and their teachers then you are already ahead of the game.

I too homeschooled for a period of time, and my dh and I decided to enroll our children in public school and made a move to get them in the schools we wanted. Were we still in our old district we may still be homeschooling or have them enrolled in that areas new charter school.

Blessings,

Garsy



stampinlady -> RE: charter school (4/25/2008 10:51:26 PM)

A neighbor introduced me to Charter Schools about 5 years ago. I would highly suggest you find out ALL you can about this school!!!! I think they work well in certain areas of the country, but in the district we were in at the time it didn't. Find out who is supporting this school and who they are accountable to. We loved the curriculum, which was CORE Knowledge. Have you really checked out your district school? So many times we're bombarded by the evils of public school when when you really dig around your school isn't so bad. I'm saying you haven't, but sometimes we take others comments way to serious.



coolfamily6 -> RE: charter school (4/26/2008 9:25:02 PM)

I love our charter school. My daughter began in 5th grade after homeschooling for 3 years. I had always felt that I could not give her the higher level she would need in middle and high school, so I was praying about what to do. One day we had a really bad day with her little brother and decided it needed to be a "field trip" day. We packed up and went to the local Museum of Science and Industry. When I pulled into the parking space I noticed a school sign on the "old" museum building. I called DH and asked if I should check it out for DS who was a second grader at the time...well the school was middle school 5-8 grade. I was not looking for DD so I left but before I left the administrator told me that that day was the last day they were accepting applications for the following school year.

When DH called later, I relayed the infomation that it was a middle school, etc. He said did you fill out an application for M? I said no she is fine at home. He said it is not an accident that you are there on the last day of the application process AND we need a middle school. Go fill out the application. I did then I rushed home to check out the school online and with the school district. It is one of the top schools in our county. There were 2 applications for every spot available and my daughter got in. It has been a blessing.



coolfamily6 -> RE: charter school (4/26/2008 9:45:19 PM)

Now, to get to your question about charter schools. I was at DD's school so much they offered me a job, so I have learned a lot. My boss is the head of our local Charter Consortium, so I get info from him.

-Charter schools in our state are each automonomous of each other (unless their charter makes them connected) this makes it very important to research EVERY charter school individually. Some are great others are not.

-Charter schools are generally very open to parent involvement and often are the grassroots effort of parents who have seen a need for a "better" school in their district. Or an educator that saw a need and worked really hard to fill it.

-Charter schools in our state are PUBLIC schools ran with public dollars, so they do have to follow at minimum the state standard. If the state tests for benchmarks charter school children are required to take the same tests.

-Charter schools in our state hire (and fire) their employees, we are not district employees. At our school we are only given ONE YEAR contracts and the contract is very clear that we can be fired if the school deems it necessary for the good of the students. Two teachers were fired this year in one grade level, which has been hard on the kids but keeping the poor performing teachers would have been worse.

-Charter schools in our state choose their own curriculum as long as it meets the minimum state standard (which for our state is not hard!).

I could go on and on about our charter school but I will refrain. If you would like our website I will PM it to you. We have an awesome informative site that may answer some of your questions. Our school is a Blue Ribbon school, we regularly out rank our traditional peers on standardized tests, our band/math leagues/forensics teams etc. always place at the top tier. 45 of our 176 7th graders took the college board SAT's this year under the DUKE TIP program 19 of them scored high enough to recieve state honors (DD is one) and 2 will receive national honors. Enough bragging. [:)][:)][:)]



elliemaejune -> RE: charter school (4/27/2008 12:13:47 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: georgiabelle

but I still cannot find a peace.


Well, there's your answer.

quote:

Have any of you had any experiece with charter schools before? I really not worried about the school's putting a damper on my children's spirituality. I think I am more concerned about not being in control of their education.


I assume you're talking about a campus-based charter school, not a home-based charter school. A campus-based charter school may or may not be better than a "regular" public school. Only you can tell; you'd have to talk to all the teachers and check out the classrooms and the campus to try to determine that. You'd also want to see all the textbooks and other materials being used (although often the questionable stuff is in the teacher's manuals, which you would NOT be able to see).

If you're only worried about the educational aspect, you'd just have to monitor your dc's schoolwork carefully. You can probably supplement anything you think is lacking...but why should you have to do that? And are you prepared for many hours of homework every night? As many hours as you would have spent if you'd been hsing, and that's after the dc spent all day long at school. That's the part that would bug me.



garsyt -> RE: charter school (4/27/2008 12:31:21 AM)

The amount of homework a child brings home VARIES greatly from school to school, classroom to classroom and EVEN child to child! Not every public schooled or charter schooled child has HOURS of homework every night! In fact there are nights, sometimes several in a row that the only homework ANY of my kids have is their required 30 minutes of reading each night and that requirement comes from me and NOT the school district!

Blessings,

Garsy



Annie64 -> RE: charter school (4/27/2008 5:53:58 AM)

Every charter school is different, and every child's experience in a charter school will be different. My experience could have been a whole lot better and it could have been a whole lot worse.

I homeschooled my kids for six years. During that time, my youngest son took a two year break from homeschooling to attend a charter school. The way things happened we really believed we were following God's leading, and I still do. God doesn't promise that following Him means that everything will always work out like we think it should. Not all of my son's experiences were good, but they weren't all bad, either. Overall, I give our experience with the charter school he went to a solid B. The academics weren't as good as we had hoped, but they weren't awful, like the public schools in our district are. Since the public schools it was mostly drawing from really are very bad, it was probably the best it could be.

The fact that you don't have peace about enrolling your child is a red flag, but not completely determining. Emotions are not the best thing to make decisions on, but it may be a good place to start. Go to prayer and ask why you don't have peace. Search out the reasons. Search out why you are homeschooling in the first place and why you are considering placing him in a charter school. Whatever decision you come to, you need to be fully persuaded this is God's will for your family and for your child.



georgiabelle -> RE: charter school (4/27/2008 11:52:01 AM)

Thank you for all the comments. As for "feeling at peace", I do not have a peace about continuing to home school either. I will home school next year since the charter school will not open until 2009, but I will be on my knees alot during this time about this matter.

Our public school system is awful. I am from a very small town, and I am well aware of what is happening in our school system. I would not want to send my children to be a part of this system.

Also, I am already very involved in the charter school. I am on the curriculum authoring committee, and my dh is on the finance committee. We are involved mainly because we want to be aware of what the school is about and because our children would be guaranteed spots in the school should we decide to send them there.

Currently, it seems as though the school will be an IB (international bacculaurate) one. From what I can tell, this seems to be more of a method rather than a curriculum, but I certainly am not sure about that. The charter school will be considered an autonomous public school; we can choose our own curriculum, teachers, etc. The probelm I am experiencing with writing the curriculum is the overuse of words such as "global", "international", "other cultures". I realize this terminology is used because the school will probably be IB and also to set itself a part from the public school so that the charter will be accepted, but in between the lines I am reading acceptance/teaching of other religions. I am probably being somewhat dramatic in my interpretation of the curriculum.

Also, I have another internal debate. My dc, 11 and 8, are very sincere and grounded in their Christian walks, and I think it is because so much of what we have focused on during our home schooling time. I also have a three year old. If the other two thrive in the charter school, I will be inclined to register the youngest there also from the beginning, and I worry I might be shortchanging her Christian background for that of an academic one.



ladyingrace1979 -> RE: charter school (4/27/2008 8:43:48 PM)

Also, I have another internal debate. My dc, 11 and 8, are very sincere and grounded in their Christian walks, and I think it is because so much of what we have focused on during our home schooling time. I also have a three year old. If the other two thrive in the charter school, I will be inclined to register the youngest there also from the beginning, and I worry I might be shortchanging her Christian background for that of an academic one.

You still have 2 years before the baby startes school. That will give you some time to work on her faith. As far as the others, sometimes God grows our faith by allowing it to show to others. Since you are so highly involved with your children you will be there to answer or discuss what they are taught about other religions and cultures. Your children are well grounded in their faith, it maybe that God is calling them to be salt and light to their world.
Kim Q



sen10tious -> RE: charter school (4/28/2008 9:57:23 PM)

Georgiabelle,

How do you feel about computers? Do your kids like to write/type? Enough to do 1/4 to 1/3 of their schoolwork that way?

There is a virtual public school available in Georgia. Your kids are still home with you, but you are not responsible for any of the curriculum. A licensed teacher is assigned to each student. Schooling is done mostly through email and an occasional visit, which can be at a library or public place if you wish. They even have a few field trips. You are not their teacher but their “coach.” The amount of “control” you have will depend somewhat on the relationship you form with your children’s teacher; they are flexible enough to accommodate special needs, gifted studies, and to adjust the pace of the coursework. You would have to add any ‘religious’ studies on your own time.

If you are thinking 'public school' but have some misgivings about the IB program (I was under the impression that was a high school thing), you might want to check this Georgia Virtual Academy link:
http://www.k12.com/ga/

Edit to add: They are enrolling now for next year.



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