What Should I Know About Charter Schools: A Parent’s Firsthand Look
Last Tuesday, I stood in the drizzle outside my son’s charter school parking lot, crumpling a grocery list in one hand and balancing a leaking soccer bag against my calf, when another parent named Mia wandered over. She’d just toured the school for her 7-year-old, who was drowning in a 31-person first grade class at their zoned traditional public school, and she got right to the point: “Everyone’s telling me different things. What should I actually know about charter schools before we apply?”
Three years ago, I was asking the exact same question. My oldest son Javi has ADHD, and his second grade class at our neighborhood public had 32 kids. His teacher was stretched so thin she could barely respond to my emails, and Javi was coming home every day saying he was “the bad kid” because he couldn’t sit still for whole group reading. We put his name in the lottery for the local K-8 charter on a whim, not really knowing what we were getting into.
Most people I talk to still think all charter schools are private, exclusive, or for kids who test into fancy out-of-district programs. That’s not true for most charters in our area. The one Javi attends is free, public, and can’t turn away applicants based on grades, behavior, or disability. When we had more applications than spots, it was a totally random lottery draw—we just got lucky. But that doesn’t mean it’s the same as a traditional public school, and the key differences aren’t always front and center on the website.
The first big difference I noticed was class size. Javi’s third grade class had 17 kids. His teacher called me every other week for 10 minutes just to check in, not just when there was a problem. That’s the big win for us: Javi gets the small adjustments he needs, like extra movement breaks and a quiet spot to take tests, without me having to fight for it every month. But that smaller size comes with real trade-offs. The school doesn’t have a full-time nurse, only a part-time one who comes in three days a week. Last winter, when Javi had an asthma attack after recess, the office had to wait 20 minutes for her to drive in from her other job, and I ended up leaving work an hour early to take him to the doctor. They also don’t have an adapted sports team for kids with fine motor needs, so I drive 45 minutes every Saturday to get Javi to his league practice at the district high school.
I heard before we applied that charters push out struggling kids to keep their test scores up, and that’s not just a myth. I know a mom here whose daughter has severe behavioral needs that require a full-time one-on-one aid. The charter didn’t have the budget to hire that, so they helped her transfer back to the district school that could accommodate her. It wasn’t malicious, but it was still a huge disruption for her family. A few years back, the school also had a strict rule that three tardies counted as an unexcused absence, and 10 unexcused absences meant you didn’t get re-enrolled for the next year. They changed it after a group of parents pushed back, but that’s the kind of rule you won’t see on the welcome page.
When I gave Mia advice, I didn’t give her the “they’re great/they’re terrible” take. I gave her three specific things to check before she applies. First, ask about transportation. Most charters don’t run school buses, so if you work full time and can’t carve out 20 minutes twice a day for drop off and pick up, or you don’t have a carpool lined up, it’s not going to work. I didn’t check that first, and I had to swap weekend shifts with my sister for six months just to cover drop offs before I found a group of parents to split driving with. Second, if your kid has an IEP or any ongoing learning or health need, ask how many full-time (not contracted) special ed and health staff are on campus, and ask how many students with that specific need they currently serve. Don’t just take “we accommodate all needs” for an answer. Third, ask to see the current re-enrollment and attendance policy. Look for fine print around tardies and unexcused absences, because that’s where a lot of families get caught off guard.
By that point, Javi came sprinting out of the building, his hood soaked through, holding a crumpled paper diorama of a beehive he’d made that week. That’s another thing no one tells you: charters can set their own curriculum, so the school’s focus matters a lot. This one is focused on project based environmental science, which is perfect for Javi, who’d rather dig in the dirt than do worksheets. If your kid thrives on structured, traditional learning, this same school would be a terrible fit.
I told Mia there’s no perfect answer. For our family, charter school was the right call—Javi’s grades are up, he doesn’t come home calling himself the bad kid anymore, and he actually looks forward to school most days. But it’s not a perfect system. I still pay full property taxes that go to our local traditional public schools, and I know the loss of students and funding to charters has left that school even more stretched than it was when we left. That’s a trade-off I think about every parent night, and there’s no easy way around it.
Mia wrote the three questions down in her notes app, said she was going to tour the school again next week and ask them. I waved as she got in her minivan, then herded Javi toward our car, the leaking soccer ball rolling around the backseat as he asked for chocolate ice cream for after school. I don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer for anyone asking about charters. I just know what worked for us, and what I wish someone had told me to check before I sent in that first application.
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