Charter School

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SER-Niños Charter School

Charter schools in the USA are privately owned schools whose construction and operation are financed by the state. They do not charge any school fees and are part of the public school system. Charter schools enjoy great autonomy, which means that they determine their own curricula, choose their teachers and can even increase the number of lessons. Their operation is based on a contract (“charter”) between the school authority and the school authority (“school district”). They offer elementary education, comparable to the primary level ( elementary school ) in Germany, and the advanced secondary education. Whether these schools are better than conventional public schools is a matter of dispute in the USA.

Basics

Charter schools are founded by different actors. According to the daily newspaper Die Welt , online edition, these include “private individuals, billionaires, corporations, non-profit organizations, universities and research institutions”. The support of the school are as a rule non-profit recognized ( "non-profit"). A good third of all charter schools are run by a management organization. The first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992 . Today there are around 7,000 of these schools in the United States with around 3.2 million students. For comparison: 47.5 million students study at conventional public schools, 5.9 million students at private schools .

Per arguments

Proponents explain: Charter schools are more flexible and innovative than traditional public schools. You can tailor the curriculum and lessons precisely to a target group and their needs. There are charter schools that are specifically aimed at African-Americans , Native Americans or Greek immigrant children. Other charter schools are specifically founded in parts of the city where many poor and unemployed people live. The establishment of charter schools also ensures that parents do not have to send their children to the nearest public school, but rather have school choice. This creates competition among schools, which leads to a higher quality of education.

Contra arguments

Critics say: A number of charter school sponsors are anti-union and have a “hire and fire” personnel policy . This is one of the reasons why the turnover of teachers at charter schools is high, and students have to get used to new teachers again and again. In contrast to other public schools, charter schools have the option of at least indirectly selecting their students. There are charter schools that only offer their forms in English, which is a hurdle for immigrant families. Other schools only accept children who have good preliminary grades in mathematics. A 2018 study concludes that students with disabilities are generally underrepresented at charter schools. The high salaries that some Charter School managers receive have also met with criticism. According to the charter school skeptics, the establishment and operation of charter schools do not lead to higher quality in education. Charter schools withdraw funds from the state that are lacking for conventional public schools.

Sponsor

Charter schools and their associations are funded by major US foundations and billionaires. These include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (construction, insurance) and the Walton Family Foundation (“Walmart”). US Presidents George W. Bush , Bill Clinton and Barack Obama supported charter schools. US President Donald Trump is also one of the supporters.

Quality studies

Scientific studies come to different results. A 2009 study by Stanford University found that students in charter schools did worse in math and reading than students in traditional public schools. A 2014 study by the University of California , San Diego showed that charter schools produce “higher academic gains in math” than traditional public schools. On the other hand, there are “no significant differences” when reading. According to a 2017 study by Stanford University, charter schools run by commercial companies perform worse than charter schools run by non-profit institutions. Two studies from 2016 selected how high the income of school graduates is as a characteristic for school quality. Again, the results do not give a uniform picture: The study by Georgia State University , Vanderbilt University and Mathematic Policy Research looked at school graduates in Florida and came to the conclusion: Those who have attended a charter school earn higher incomes than those who have a traditional public school. A study by Harvard University and Princeton University came to a different conclusion . She studied graduates in Texas and found that charter school graduates earn less.

Corruption and mismanagement

The US education researcher Diane Ravitch reported in 2013 about a chain of charter schools in Arizona that ordered textbooks for one million US dollars - from a company that was owned by a member of the charter school board of directors. The operator of another chain of charter schools was also the owner of a company that supplied the charter schools with goods and services. In 2004 the California Charter Academy (CCA) filed for bankruptcy, and 6,000 students stood in front of closed doors after the summer vacation. In 2007 two former CCA officials were charged. They were suspected of having embezzled millions of euros in public funds. Until September 2017, however, there was never a lawsuit.

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  1. ^ National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; accessed on January 19, 2019; https://www.publiccharters.org/about-charter-schools/charter-school-faq
  2. ↑ Charter School KIPP carrier; accessed on January 19, 2019; https://www.kipp.org/faq/
  3. ↑ Arianna Prothero, What are Charter Schools ?, in: Education Week, online edition, August 9, 2018; accessed on January 19, 2019; https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/charter-schools/
  4. ^ Robin Alexander: Charter Schools. The latest version of the American dream . October 31, 2014 ( welt.de [accessed April 19, 2019]).
  5. ^ Joseph Oluwole, Bruce D. Baker, Preston Green: Are Charter Schools the Second Coming of Enron ?: An Examination of the Gatekeepers That Protect against Dangerous Related-Party Transactions in the Charter School Sector . ID 2924886. Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY February 27, 2017 ( ssrn.com [accessed April 19, 2019]).
  6. ^ National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: The National Alliance Data Dashboard. Accessed April 19, 2019 .
  7. ^ The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics). Accessed April 19, 2019 .
  8. ^ Diane Ravitch: The Death and Life of the Great American School System . Basic Books, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-465-01491-0 , pp. 126 .
  9. ^ Robin Alexander: Charter Schools. The latest version of the American dream . October 31, 2014 ( welt.de [accessed April 19, 2019]).
  10. ↑ EdChoice (formerly Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice): school choice in America. Accessed April 19, 2019 .
  11. ^ Diane Ravitch: The Death and Life of the Great American School System . Basic Books, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-465-01491-0 , pp. 124 .
  12. ^ Diane Ravitch: The Death and Life of the Great American School System . Basic Books, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-465-01491-0 , pp. 124 .
  13. ↑ Kevin G. Welner: The Dirty Dozen: How Charter Schools Influence Student Enrollment. April 2013, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Julie F. Mead / Suzanne E. Eckes: How School Privatization Opens the Door for Discrimination. (PDF) December 2018, accessed on April 19, 2019 (English).
  15. ↑ Melissa Klein: Charter school CEOs get massive paychecks thanks to private donners. in: New York Times, online edition, July 14, 2018, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  16. ^ Diane Ravitch: The Death and Life of the Great American School System . Basic Books, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-465-01491-0 , pp. 195 .
  17. ↑ Eliza Shapiro: With Democratic Wins, Charter Schools Face a Backlash in NY and Other States ,. in: New York Times, online edition, November 9, 2018, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  18. ^ Arianna Prothero: What are Charter Schools? in: Education Week, online edition, August 9, 2018, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  19. ^ Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), Stanford University: Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States. (PDF) 2009, accessed on April 19, 2019 (English).
  20. ^ Julian R. Betts / Y. Emily Tang: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature on the Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement. Working paper. (PDF) August 2014, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), Stanford University: Charter Management Organizations 2017. (PDF) Retrieved on April 19, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Tim R. Sass / Ron W. Zimmer / Brian P. Gill / T. Kevin Booker: Charter High School's Effects on Long-Term Attainment and Earnings. (PDF) in: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol.00, No.0, 1-24, 2016, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  23. ^ Will S. Dobbie / Roland G. Fryer Jr .: Charter Schools And Labor Market Outcomes. (PDF) National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 2016, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  24. ^ Diane Ravitch: Reign of Error. The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools . Alfred A. Knopf, New York 2013, ISBN 978-0-385-35088-4 , pp. 172 .
  25. ^ Diane Ravitch: Reign of Error. The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools . Alfred A. Knopf, New York 2013, ISBN 978-0-385-35088-4 , pp. 172 .
  26. ↑ Sam Dillon: Collapse of 60 Charter Schools Leaves Californians Scrambling. in: New York Times, online edition, September 17, 2004, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Beau Yarbrogh: California Charter Academy fraud case may be 'close' to a resolution, says chief assistant district attorney. in: The Sun, online edition, September 29, 2017, accessed April 19, 2019 .