The Bigger Picture: What Charter Schools mean for Early Childhood

One thing I am constantly reminded of is the fact that Charter Schools stay open as long as the grades of the students stay up. 

So what might this mean for Early Childhood teachers?

If grades are the thing keeping the school open and funded, I wouldn't be surprised if they introduced a test for new entrance children straight out of Kindergarten.

After researching further, I found that it is against the law to to have a new entrance exam. However, I did find a very interesting article on a Charter School in Bronx who were accepting children based on their academic tests. Generally, a lottery is drawn to discover what children will be attending the Charter School if there are not enough spaces available.

I was actually shocked to read the following:

"This year, parents entered their children's names in the school's lottery just as they would for any other charter school, and Academic Leadership then held a lottery. The process deviated, however, after the school sent out letters with the results of the lottery... The parents interviewed said that they were told to bring report cards and children's work from other schools. At the school, children were taken to a classroom with a reacher and asked to read a passage and do math problems... Parents said that after the tests, their children were either offered a seat at the school or the parents were told that the school would call them if something opened up."

This one example could be the start of, not only behind the scenes, but possibly upfront testing of children before accepting them into the school. For Early Childhood teachers, this could mean having the added responsibility and expectation to prepare the children to get into these schools.

If parents are wanting their child to make it into a Charter School that starts testing before accepting students, the pressure of meeting those standards will fall back on the teachers.

Is this what the future of Charter Schools looks like? Possible exams for children as young as five years just to get into a school? An unrealistic expectation for Early Childhood teachers to have children 'school ready' before they are actually 'ready for school'?

My final blog entry will discuss the conclusion I have come to in terms of being for or against Charter Schools in New Zealand.