If you have a young child at home and you want to enroll them in school for education, you naturally want the best for them. Up until recently, parents only had the options to either send their child to one of the thousands of public schools in the country or enroll in a private school in their area. Around two decades ago, a new initiative was made by educationists, parents, and teachers to start a new type of schools called Charter schools. Many people believe that these charter schools are much better than public schools, yet the fact remains that out of the total students, nearly 90% still attend public schools for their studies from Kindergarten to class 12. This article aims to find out the differences between public schools and charter schools to help readers in this regard.
Public Schools are labeled as such because they are dependent upon state and financial aid to survive. These schools also receive a significant amount of local aid. In return for this aid, these schools are required to admit all kids living in their district who desire education in their school. There are close to a hundred thousand public schools in the U.S. Public schools have traditionally been the mainstay of the education system for an extended period.
Charter Schools
Charter schools are a special type of public schools as they are more autonomous than public schools. These unique schools provide parents an option other than public schools to get their child an education. These schools are especially popular in areas where public schools have been highlighted as requiring corrective steps and restructuring of sorts to improve the standards of education. Charter schools also receive state funding and, in this regard, they are just like public schools. Charter schools have more flexibility in running their affairs than public schools, although they are also accountable to show good results.
Charter schools are founded by parents, teachers, and leading community members as an alternative to public schools. The first charter school was opened in Minnesota in 1992, and today there are nearly 4000 such schools in different states, with nearly a million kids receiving education in these schools. As these schools are fewer in number, sometimes a lottery system is resorted to when the number of applying students is higher than the number of seats available.
Key Takeaways
- Charter schools are a special type of public schools, which have more autonomy than public schools.
- Both public schools and charter schools receive funding from local, state, and federal authorities.
- Charter schools are an initiative of teachers, parents, and educationists to provide an alternative to public schools.
