Sub Vision: Charter Schools, Chapter II

The public education, schools and districts, are suffering defeat at the political arena. A U.S. Secretary of Education who had never been to a public school… A Board of Education elected official backed by big money supporters who have never been in the education profession… Is this the trend these days? Persons with no qualifications running huge systems they know nothing about?

Talking to public school teachers, I always make known my familiarity with charter schools, and my opinion of them... It had been almost two years since I had written about it in my blog, but a teacher had recently asked me about my experience and I was happy to share my knowledge and to refer her to my writing.

When I re-read my blog it reminded me of the weird school sites, the unprofessional staff members, the classrooms without desks and without white (or black) board, the school that did not have teachers, the Science school that did not have a science teacher, the ‘Computer’ class that did not have computers…

Talking to new teachers, or teachers looking for a change, I always remind them that at a charter school, teachers are not protected by a union that tells the school what duties, and hours, are acceptable, and which are not. Supervision before, during or after school, is a common practice there, as well as late meetings, and extra unpaid tutoring or enrichment classes.

Here is the truth behind most charter schools… It is not about a better education, it is about a more profitable education. People who run charter schools are not, usually, educators, but business people who know how to use public funds to their benefit. With some savvy tricks they can save money hiring unqualified teachers for a low pay, make them work many extra hours, and if teachers quit, or fired (no binding contracts), others will come; replacement teachers or replacement subjects.

I don’t pretend to know all the details and requirements of starting a charter school; under what kind of scrutiny they are, and for how long. I do know, however, that they have a lot of leeway at the beginning and, conveniently, they don’t have to prove success for many years… so they can change the name, or location, or administration, and start all over again, ruining another generation of trusting students of unsuspecting parents…