Hooray for Innovative Charter Schools!

[WJSimon]

I was lucky enough to homeschool my daughter for more than four years but circumstances made that no longer an option this year.

But I am thrilled to have found a very small, lovely charter school for her and she's very happy there. The curriculum is the International Baccalaureate rather than the traditional high school curriculum. There are a total of 125 kids enrolled in four grades.

It got me thinking that this whole innovation in school choice may be less than 10 years old. Before, you went to the school you were assigned to, case closed. Now, we did have to participate in a lottery for my child to get into this school (luck be a lady tonight...) but just having the opportunity is a great thing.

I know there are the doomsayers of education, the dumbing down of the country and all of that, but I think this increase in school choice is a great thing.

For you parents out there (or not) what are some of the things you think our schools are doing right?

My list for my daughter in her current school (in no particular order!)

1. Lunch! The school serves a fabulous vegetarian lunch.
2. Global awareness. More than 10 percent of the students are international exchange kids and foreign languages, international history and culture are emphasized
3. The arts! All the kids participate in drama, art and music.
4. Great parents. The parents I've met so far are very involved in the school and in the emphasis on building community.
5. No football! (OK, my own personal bias is showing!)

[iris lily]

I was lucky enough to homeschool my daughter for more than four years but circumstances made that no longer an option this year.

But I am thrilled to have found a very small, lovely charter school for her and she's very happy there. The curriculum is the International Baccalaureate rather than the traditional high school curriculum. There are a total of 125 kids enrolled in four grades.

It got me thinking that this whole innovation in school choice may be less than 10 years old. Before, you went to the school you were assigned to, case closed. Now, we did have to participate in a lottery for my child to get into this school (luck be a lady tonight...) but just having the opportunity is a great thing.

I know there are the doomsayers of education, the dumbing down of the country and all of that, but I think this increase in school choice is a great thing.

For you parents out there (or not) what are some of the things you think our schools are doing right?

My list for my daughter in her current school (in no particular order!)

1. Lunch! The school serves a fabulous vegetarian lunch.
2. Global awareness. More than 10 percent of the students are international exchange kids and foreign languages, international history and culture are emphasized
3. The arts! All the kids participate in drama, art and music.
4. Great parents. The parents I've met so far are very involved in the school and in the emphasis on building community.
5. No football! (OK, my own personal bias is showing!)

WJ Simon, great to see you here! Really great!

I don't have kids but the public school sitch here is pretty horrific. I'm not sure that the Charters are any better, but for the moment they are giving people hope.

[Bastelmutti]

YAY, WJSimon!! So glad to see you again!! And that school sounds awesome.

What we like about our (public, non-charter) school, also in no particular order:
* Art and music groups/clubs
* School garden
* Spanish program
* Really great teachers

[Zoebird]

schools in NZ are different, and I can't get my head around it. but, here is what i like about the schools i'm considering for DS when his education starts:

1. maori immersion school -- on a marae, only maori spoken on the grounds, we would be required to learn maori as well. they also learn the traditional arts, dances, music, traditions, etc of this amazing indigenous culture. google "haka" and see what comes up. it's beautiful. otherwise, it's a pretty "typical" education -- basics of everything, and english is taught as well, though most of the children speak english at home as well as maori. within walking distance of our house, and across the street from the beach.

2. public schools -- one is uphill (walking distance) and the other down the street on the beach (a couple of blocks past the maori school). I love the idea of schools in the neighborhood. great schools -- both rival US private schools as far as quality of education. not really student-driven education, but great, diverse programs, and most of the curricula is based in outdoor experience. EG, a lot of their sciences are -- planting gardens and caring for gardens (veggies, etc), beach-related biology and what not, etc etc. Almost everything is "applied" learning as opposed to simply book learning. THey also have an extensive arts program. It's really a great school.

3. steiner education -- while overall this is my first choice for education because of how it meets the "whole child" needs -- and they see this whole process as a spiritual development in stages -- the fact is that it's on the other side of town. it's a commuter school, and kids come from a wide range of areas. many people move to the neighborhood where the school is (suburbia! which we left behind!!!), so that their kids can live and school in the same area. we do not want to move to suburbia. but, otherwise, the school is affordable, beautiful, and a high quality, hands-on education.

I'm considering a combination of sending him to school (in our town which is technically a suburb of the city) and doing steiner at home, which is entirely possible and relatively easy to do. But, i would need to be more organized in planning our seasonal celebrations and inviting other families to join us.

so yeah.

[Anne Lee]

Sounds like a great fit!

[Learp]

Zoebird, do you live in Seatoun? If you do, there are a lot of great choice where you are. We are back in the U.S. and oddly enough have been very pleased with our local public school.

[Zoebird]

Learp -- yup!