Most teachers consider the charter structure either essential or valuable to their changed practices. Although their primary responsibility is to teach, they also deal with parents, clean up classrooms, create the curriculum, buy their own materials, function as social workers, and play a variety of other roles. There is less red tape, a minimum of pointless paperwork, and much more autonomy in charter schools. Teachers can write their own curriculum or adapt one to fit their students' needs. Teachers and students are learning together.
Classes are typically smaller, and many teachers have genuine team-teaching responsibilities.
The small size of the school means that everyone knows everyone else. Every decision in the school is focused on what will help students learn to higher standards rather than on tradition, regulatory compliance, or union demands. Teachers have more control over decisions and resources, and there is a high degree of parental and administrative support for teachers' classroom goals and efforts. Charter staffs, though new, appear more committed and less transient. They are in this particular school for a reason, not just because they happened to get assigned there.