Why Charter Schools Are in Demand?

Waiting lists for charter schools in the last few years have been extremely long, hence resulting in a lot of disappointed and frustrated parents. Well this year doesn’t seem any different. If anything, the waiting lists are only going to get longer. There has been research to show that the enrollment in charter schools have doubled, if not more, in the last 6-7 years.

Charter schools are publicly funded schools, which are sponsored by entities such as school districts, state school boards etc. These schools generally have much more freedom to tweak around with the learning approaches, as compared to public schools. Hence parents often feel that such a curriculum is better for their children, as compared to a much more rigid learning approach. Also if there is space available, a public school student is permitted to transfer himself/herself to a chartered school.

Another reason that charter schools are in so much demand is because of their level of accountability. Charter schools have a strong incentive to abide by the contract between the school and the chartering unit. Usually these contracts include projected student grades and achievement. If the school fails reach these goals, it is liable to penalties, and can even lose its charter too. Hence charter schools are seen as an opportunity to get access to a greater quality education, thereby making them quite popular.

Also, traditional schools are often tied down because of the hurdles posed by the bureaucracies. This isn’t the case with charter schools as they are free of such bureaucracy. Hence as a result they be more creative and innovative with their school programme, curriculum etc. In essence, it encourages innovative teaching practices, which parents tend to prefer. In addition, the community and parents are much more involved in the public education, which is seen as another advantage of getting ones kids enrolled in a charter school.

It is also seen that the academic performance of students when transferred to charter school seems to improve. There are a number of cases, which have been highlighted by researchers and the media, where the student’s performances have increased substantially in a charter school. Hence due to this positive trend in charter schools, parents feel much more comfortable sending their kids to a charter school. In essence, these schools are often seen as an escape from other public schools, which usually are underperforming, and have safety issues as well.