“The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments” by Richard Buddin

Charter schools are dependent on the public school system for funds and support, but are independently run and make their own curriculum, enrollment, and staffing decisions. Because of this freedom, and the free price tag to families, charter schools are rising above the rest as students are lining up for their chance to attend such a school all over the country. Charter schools have caught the eye of families wanting to remove their children from the harshness of some public schools, and even private school families who are unable to continue paying tuition, but want to keep their child out of public school. According to Buddin, “about 8 percent of charter elementary students and 11 percent of middle and high school students are drawn from private schools. In highly urban districts, private schools contribute 32, 23, and 15 percent of charter elementary, middle, and high school enrollments, respectively. Catholic schools seem particularly vulnerable, especially for elementary students in large metropolitan areas.

I believe Buddin has provided a great article that highlights the right amount of information about each type of school as well as the issue he is discussing. He writes in a way that is easy to understand and provides additional information at the end of his article.

 

Resources

Buddin, Richard. "The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments." Cato Institute. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

"Helping Schools Make the Grade" by Jessica Calefati

In this article, Calefati highlights the story of Steve Barr and how he started Green Dot Public Schools in 1999. Barr began the school system in Los Angeles to give the area better schools, and now has several charter schools out-competing the public schools in the state. Calefati does an excellent job of highlighting the story, and includes details from every point of Barr’s life, including his childhood, professions, and how he started the Green Dot Schools with only five teachers. Today, these teachers work hard to maintain their jobs, and provide students with a solid education.

“Unlike most charter school management organizations, whose leaders staunchly oppose teachers unions, Green Dot teachers are unionized. But one thing Green Dot teachers cannot bargain for is tenure. This is something that's inextricably linked to public school teachers unions, and often in a negative way. Though tenure's original intent was to give teachers their "day in court" if they felt they were unjustly dismissed, Weingarten says, many people now view tenure as an undeserved safety net that protects even burned-out, ineffective teachers from being fired. In Green Dot's New York school, teachers keep their jobs based on evaluations, not on the number of years of experience. And teachers also lobbied for provisions like standing professional development committees and caps on the number of students a teacher must see every day and every week, conditions that help Green Dot fill its classrooms with high-quality teachers,” Barr says.

Calefati also includes personal stories from students and parents which enhances the article, and mentions how the school is improving the lives of students in the Los Angeles Area.

Works Cited

Calefati, Jessica. "Helping Schools Make The Grade." U.S. News & World Report 147.1 (2010): 50-51. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Public Private (and Beyond) by Susan Poliniak

 

There has always been an ongoing debate between private, public, and charter schools, but the differences are becoming more and more clear. According to Susan Poliniak, a music teacher, “Different types of schools make for different experiences. Pros and cons abound, whether you teach at a public, private, magnet, or charter school. Although it's certainly true that some individual schools may offer better environments for music education than others, no type of school is categorically the "best." Still, it can be instructive to look at some of the differences -- and similarities -- between school types in terms of how they may affect music programs. We got in touch with three music educators whose careers have taken them to several different types of schools and asked them to compare and contrast.”

While Susan chose to speak about her experiences with music departments, she includes stories of other teachers and their experiences in the different school systems. Below are some examples.

“David DeStefano is a music educator at Phillips Charter School in Napa, California, and has previously taught in public schools in Florida and California. He offers this clarification: "I think the term 'charter schools' is very misunderstood. There are many different kinds of charter schools and generalizing them is a tremendous mistake. Not all of them are like the ones in the movie Waiting for 'Superman.' There's a general assumption that charter schools are just like private schools -- smaller class sizes, students have to apply for admission, no special needs students -- but the reality is that my school is just the local public school, with the same obstacles as any other school. Any student in the neighborhood is welcome to attend and, if there's room, we welcome students from other areas of town and even other towns. What makes my school different is the structure of the academic day, the types of curriculum and programs offered, and an extended day."

Tom Miller is a music educator at Johns Hill Magnet School in Decatur, Illinois. He notes that "the 'magnet' term is used loosely; while the school does draw students from across the district, it does not have a specific focus. Although the fine arts are strong in the school, we're not a 'fine arts school' as other magnet schools might be. I also teach in one of the local Catholic elementary schools and the Catholic high school. The Catholic school jobs incorporate students from the home-school community as well. We offer beginning-to-12th-grade instrumental instruction for a nominal participation fee. This allows the home-school students to play in a larger ensemble, while also complementing the parochial band program.

Philip Steinbacher is a music educator at Island School, a private school in Lihu'e, Hawaii, and has previously worked in public schools in Chicago and elsewhere. Although he was originally hired to teach English, his responsibilities expanded, and over the course of several years he has built a healthy and varied music program with strong participation among the student body. "When Glee first came on," he says, "there was a pilot one spring and then the show. I'm the pilot -- I'm like the Spanish teacher who started the music program. This truly is my life -- trying to make something out of nothing. If you build it, they will come."”

Poliniak continues to speak of the many differences between the music programs at each school, and I agree with all of her statements. Schools are not always classified correctly, and some are given the “magnet” classification to simply look better. Lastly, the article also discusses the funding, parental involvement, and administrative support involving music departments in each type of school.

Works Cited

 

POLINIAK, SUSAN. "Public Private (And Beyond)." Teaching Music 19.5 (2012): 36-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013

 

 

 

School Organizations

As you all know, I have been researching the differences private, public, and charter schools in the U.S. as well as the availability of each in areas around the country. One organization I have come across is greatschools.org, a non-profit whose mission is to “help millions of parents get a great education for their children.” They do this and much more, including helping parents find schools in their area provide parenting tips, give homework help, and educating parents on how to get involved in their child’s education experience. I believe this organization is not only doing a great job assisting families in finding the right school for their children, but also helping parents be active in their children’s lives.

Greatschools.org also has strategy of “Leveraging the power of digital media to inspire and support parents to solve education-related problems, raise expectations for their children's learning, develop education-related parenting skills, and access helpful resources online and in their community,” and does a great job of incorporating technology into the lives of children across the country. In my opinion, as our world is becoming more and more obsessed with technology, this statement becomes more important. Student today are surrounded by technology, and are beginning to learn more about how to text and play games than how to properly type or use computer programs for schoolwork. Organizations like this help bridge the gap between the past and what our world has grown to today.

 

If you would like to learn more about this organization, you can find them online at www.greatschools.org.

Partner Blog- Kelly

Private school isn't as private as it may seem. After speaking with Sarah about her blog topic, I gained more insight to the education realm. Prior to talking with Sarah, I had never given much thought about private versus' public school. As I'm sure you have already read from her post, Sarah attended private school and told me that she did enjoy her experience because of the smaller class sizes which allowed for more one-on-one time with her teachers and she also became close friends with everyone she went to school with. When asked if she enjoyed attending a private school, Sarah said that "The sports were more competitive because we played against other private schools that were closer in size. However, the curriculum was almost more difficult because teachers could focus more on individual students and get more material covered due to the small amount of students he/she was responsible for".


I proceeded to ask Sarah if she wished she had gone to public school and she informed me that based on the area that she lives in, that she would not because of the danger and academic ratings of the public school system of her area. However, Sarah did reveal that if the Decatur public school systems was safer and had a better academic reputation, that she would have liked to see what it would have been like to attend a public school and to experience the differences.


Sarah said that while she liked attending private school that "because of the small amount of students that attended my school, there was more drama because things got around quickly".


I look forward to seeing what information Sarah finds from her research and what she decides is a better school to attend.

"Study Examines Public, Private Schools" By Nancy Zuckerbrod

Another popular debate topic about private and public schools was discussed by Nancy Zuckerbrod of The Associated Press News Service, where she compared standard test scores from both types of schools. “Students at independent private schools and most parochial schools scored the same on 12th-grade achievement tests in core academic subjects as those in traditional public high schools when income and other family characteristics were taken into account, according to the study by the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy,” says Zuckerbrod. She performed this study in Washington state, but many cities across the country may differ. One example is Decatur, Illionis. In Decatur,  ACT scores for private school students are higher on average than those attending public schools, different than the results Zuckerbrod received from her study.

In my opinion, going to a private school doesn’t always mean earning higher test scores, but the curriculum is usually more challenging, preparing the student more to take these important exams. Public schools often have an atmosphere where learning can be put on hold while teachers deal with misbehaving students and fights, causing teachers to fall behind in their lesson plans, which in turn hurts the ability of the students to perform well on tests. At the end of the day, if students are not learning the material teachers have planned, their test scores will show, whether they attend private or public school.

Resources

Zuckerbrod, Nancy. "Study Examines Public, Private Schools." The Associated Press News Service [Washington] 10 Oct. 2007: n. pag. Print. 1 February 2013

Public and Private School Sports

As everyone knows, one of the biggest parts of high school is going to sporting events, but some schools are saying private schools have the advantage with their athletic teams. Public schools are made up of districts, and students can only attend school and play sports at the school in their district unless they play a hefty fee. Private schools, on the other hand, are allowed to recruit students from anywhere, without having to worry about where they might live. Now this doesn’t seem fair, does it? On the other hand, private schools do require students to pay tuition each year, which may discourage athletes from going there and instead attend the public school in their district. A school’s athletic program can make or break the school’s reputation, and the best players go where they can be a winner.

There have also been similar debates on which school can better prepare students for the pressures of college, athletically and academically. Many parents say private schools offer more intense training because there is a smaller student to teacher/coach ratio, giving athletes more time to improve their skills. Public school students claim they are exposed to stronger competition and are offered better equipment to use, as well as the finances they need to maintain a gym and new uniforms when needed.

In my opinion, both types of schools have equal opportunities to recruit great athletes, and both have the ability to train their athletes to be winners. Coming from a private school, I know how difficult it can be to get student to come to your school for sports, mostly because tuition can be a burden on families. No matter where a student attends school, athletes can always find a team to play for.

Resources

Parks, Brad. "A Public Debate - The Shifting Balance of Power between Public and Private - High Schools Has Turned Competition into Pure Contention." The Star Ledger [Newark, NJ] 16 July 2012: n. pag. Print. 1 February 2013