### social organization | institution | school | public school:

Charter school
* Many charter schools are niche schools that serve a particular interest group
  - small, where staff members know every child by name
* Many charter schools use student achievement tests to measure performance
  - thematic approaches to ignite children's interest in school and learning
* Most charter schools are in urban areas where the needs, and minority students, are greatest
  - newly-created, small schools
* Some charter schools are regular public schools that seceded and became self-governing
  - focus on values and strict discipline
* Some charter schools require parents to sign contracts that spell out expectations for families
  - volunteer a minimum number of hours
* allow communities to work together to improve education
  - groups of parents, teachers and community members to from new public schools
* are a new form of public school
  - movement that seeks a different kind of authority
  - about hope, about people believing they can make a difference
  - accountable schools
* are an emerging innovative method of providing an education for children
  - exchange of greater autonomy for increased accountability
  - important innovation in American public education
  - another way to educate and change public education
  - businesses, plain and simple
  - by definition schools of choice
  - communities for educators as well
  - free public schools of choice
  - havens for children who had bad educational experiences elsewhere
  - illegal in some states
* are independent public schools operating under a charter
  - with their own governing authorities
  - independent, public schools free from many state and union regulations
  - independently managed public schools
  - independently-operated public schools
  - innovative public schools organized by teachers, parents, and the community
* are just one way that parents can exercise choice in their children's education
  - public schools on a slightly longer leash
  - mostly about teaching, learning and educational results
  - new public schools operated by independent groups
  - new, unproven organizations, with limited resources
* are one of the fastest growing innovations in education
  - reforms in education
  - public institutions run by independent entities
* are public schools aimed at providing parents with more school choices
  - created and run by teachers and staff
  - established by contract with a public sponsor
  - funded with state dollars
  - granted significant discretion in school management
* are public schools in every sense
  - which any student can enroll based on a lottery
  - open to all students
* are public schools operated by parents, teachers or community members
  - private individuals
* are public schools run by private groups of parents, teachers and businesses
  - with exemptions from most state laws and regulations
  - so their students take the tests
* are public schools that are exempt from state and local laws, rules and regulations
  - free from school district bureaucracy
  - publicly funded and independent of school districts
  - relatively free of state or district oversight
  - operate free of much bureaucracy and red tape
* are public schools that operate independently of public school systems
  - of traditional public school systems
  - outside the education establishment
  - under contract with a governing body
  - with a great deal of autonomy
  - receive operational funding from the state
  - usually operate independently of local districts
  - which receive public funding
* are public schools, and subject to the same federal laws as other public schools
  - funded with public money
  - offered to parents as one choice for their children s education
* are public schools, open and free to all Michigan children
  - to all children
  - to any student who applies
  - operated with public money, and open to all students
  - paid for with public money
  - which means they get a fair share of tax dollars
  - with a twist
* are publicly funded schools freed from many restrictive state and local regulations
  - that are privately administered
  - publicly-sponsored autonomous schools
* are schools of choice
  - that create a mission for themselves
  - secular, tuition-free public schools
  - semi-autonomous public schools financed with tax dollars
  - state-funded public schools with permission to use alternative curricula
* are the equivalent of perestroika , of socialized education to reform itself
  - next generation of public schools
  - only truly public schools
  - tuition-free, privately run public schools
* are, after all, government schools.
* can have a major impact on school district budgets
  - revitalize interest in public schools and catalyze change
* employ a higher proportion of minority teachers than do public schools.
* encourage people to create their own curriculums and assessments.
* give parents input into their children s education
  - public schools the opportunity to show themselves at their innovative best
* lead to balkanization as groups create schools to reflect their special interests.
* provide parents a choice in the public education of their children.
* represent one of the newest forms of educational reform.
* tend to be niche schools, responding to specific needs and interests.
* vary widely in their ability to generate private sources of revenue.