North Carolina - Marlene Barbee became concerned that the classes in the local public schools that her two children attended were too large. ''It made it difficult for the teachers to get to know all the children, and they did not always seem to be in control,'' she said.
Classes are small, and the school is like a family setting.
Over the last seven years, the number of charters has grown from a single school in St. Paul, Minnesota, to nearly 800 in 25 states earlier this year, according to the Center for Education Reform in Washington. Hundreds more are in the works. Give them the same amount of operating money that a regular school would receive for each pupil, but exempt them from most bureaucratic regulations. Then, having freed them up to be bold and innovative, hold them accountable for student achievement. The Clinton administration has joined the charter school bandwagon.