What exactly is the purpose of the whole charter school push that currently faces us? Is it a way to try and circumvent the ridiculous guidelines set by the epic fail we know as No Child Left Behind or maybe there is something much more evil at hand here. Could some be using this as a way to create schools of "Haves" and "Have Nots"? Let's take a look at some of the things that are currently going on and let everyone have a chance to form their own opinions.
Why would a charter school have kids fill out an application and then go to an interview before they find out if they have been selected to attend the school? More than once I've heard people talk of kids being a "good fit" for a certain school. It blows my mind that kids would need to be a good fit for a school. I always thought schools existed to meet the needs of students. Would a school have a selection process like this so they could have complete control over who attends? For if they did not have control certain kids could not be guaranteed to get in. Worse yet certain undesirable kids would get in. Try to imagine this process from the perspective of a child.
First there is a lengthy application that has to be filled out and a number of recommendation forms that have to be completed. Once that is turned in, you have to attend an interview. At the interview, you work with a small group of other kids, some of which you have never met and you work on a project together. While you work a group of teachers from that school watch you and evaluate your performance. Weeks later you get a letter in the mail letting you know if you "made the cut". As I type this I'm reminded that this sounds like trying out for a basketball team. The child that makes it can't wait to go school the next day to let everyone know their exciting news. However, imagine the child that doesn't make it. They will have to go to school and face those other children that were lucky enough to make it. Who would want to face that? I know I wouldn't! The other part is the pain of knowing that you tried out and didn't do good enough to be selected. That gut wrenching feeling of failure is something they will surely never forget.
In the past, I had a student apply to attend a certain charter school and was denied. This student was very intelligent and super creative. She didn't make the cut though. I emailed to complain. I asked professionals at my school their opinion on why she wasn't selected. I was told that this student had a history of not doing her school work and of generally being unmotivated. I pointed out that this child just spent a year in my class doing her work and being super motivated and even producing such creative work that she raised the bar for others in my class. I was then told that just because she was able to do that in my class for one year, that doesn't take the place of the other years that were characterized by lack of motivation. That makes absolutely no sense to me. The description of her history of low motivation that only improved in my class told me that she is exactly the kind of student that should have been selected first for this prestigious school. Could it be that she spent other years in classes that did not peak her interest and tap into her creativity and when she was placed in a class that provided those things, she blossomed? It almost seems like the very kids that are turned away are the ones that need to attend this school the most. Why take all the brightest, most creative and motivated students out of other non charter schools and put them in one charter school? If that school is such a special school with such innovative ideas, shouldn't every child have the same chance to attend? I had another student that wasn't fortunate enough to be selected and even though she had a record of very few absences throughout her academic career, she missed three days in a row after getting a letter in the mail that she didn't make it. She spent those three days in bed crying. That child did eventually get a call and get selected but that doesn't take away the misery she went through.
I'll end with a few more thoughts to ponder. If Spanish is so important, shouldn't there be some kind of Spanish program in all schools? If technology and creativity are so important, shouldn't it also be found in abundance in all schools? Should schools that are "special" be turning away the kids that may need them the most? I for one would love to see the whole charter school idea become a thing of the past. I would like to see all schools become elite. That to me would be so much better than the current elitist trend of trying to pick students that are a "good fit".
