After researching and learning about Charter Schools, I feel that if they are run by the right people with good philosophies then they can be amazing.
However, one crucial downfall of Charter Schools is that the money income is based on the success outcome. This leads to warped priorities in terms of children's needs and the sponsors-pocket needs. At Larchmont Charter elementary school, volunteering parents in hope of getting their children on the school role "would be asked not only for their time but also for money." After the school discovered a $2,500 gap per child, they not-so-subtly conveyed that that was the contribution expected of these parents. The article reads on to quote "Larchmont is a public school, but it was behaving more like a private academy."
In the end, I think that money will always be an issue when it comes to Charter Schools. If a school is not working for the good of the students attending, then there isn't much hope at all.
This cartoon almost completely sums up what the facts show about the majority of Charter Schools.
My final decision is no, I do not think that Charter Schools should be encouraged in New Zealand, at least not in the way that they have been seemingly run in America; for the profit. Money is an important part of life, but it often obscures clear and moral thinking when it becomes the most important thing.
"Money is a good servant but a bad master" - French Proverb
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