Public Charter Schools versus Traditional Public Schools- What’s The Difference?

by Jessica Leach

Are public charter schools any different from traditional public schools?

Wyoming's top five performing schools, according to the Wyoming Department of Education State Growth and Achievement Report form the 2016-2017 school year are as follows:

1. Snowy Range Academy, public charter school (Albany County #1): 87% proficiency in math and reading
2. Gilchrist Elementary (Laramie #1): 87% proficiency in math and reading
3. Glenn Livingston Elementary (Park #6): 86% proficiency in math and reading
4. PODER Academy, public charter school (Laramie #1): 84% proficiency in math and reading
5. Kelly Elementary (Teton #1): 84% proficiency in math and reading

Public charter schools and traditional public schools receive the same amount of funding per pupil from the same source, and tuition is not required for attendance. Both are required to incorporate Wyoming's state content and performance standards into their curricula, and are compared using the same state tests. Both are required to hire only state certified teachers and staff. If this is the case, are public charter schools really any different from traditional public schools?

Public charter schools in Cheyenne and Laramie far outperform their traditional public school counterparts. If per-pupil expenditures are consistent between public charter and traditional public schools, what accounts for the difference in student proficiency?

Public charter schools can choose their own curriculum

While public charter schools utilize the same state content and performance standards as traditional public schools, they are free to create and implement their own curriculum. On the contrary, traditional public schools are mandated to follow curriculum set by the school district. A lack of standardization and more freedom to determine what students learn ultimately improves student outcomes and learning, allowing public charter schools a greater level of flexibility in the delivery of content to students. More time can be dedicated to a topic, or faster progression through a topic can occur. In traditional public schools, teachers are forced to cover a predetermined number of topics regardless of class proficiency. In a public charter school, teachers are free to choose how long to spend on one topic, how to deliver the content, and at what level the content is delivered. This freedom to choose a curriculum and deliver it the way each teacher finds to be best results in better educational outcomes for students. Fifth grade students at Snowy Range Academy in Laramie learn the same content, world governments, as seventh graders at a traditional public school in Casper. Students in the eighth grade at Golden View Classical Academy, a public charter school in Colorado, begin to learn about statistics and probability. Students in traditional public schools are not introduced to statistics until late high school.

Public charter schools have more leeway to create an effective culture of learning

PODER Academy and Snowy Range Academy both require students to wear uniforms- before the arguments against uniforms, such as "what about student self-expression" arise, the rationale behind the uniforms must be taken into consideration. For parents who choose to send their children to these charter schools (and many others who practice the same uniform rules), charters express to parents that uniforms help convey to students the true purpose of schooling: to learn. Uniforms help students to place an emphasis on their own education, rather than outward appearances. Charter schools also have more flexibility in their scheduling practices. For example, many charters operate on non-traditional or extended schedules. PODER Academy releases students at 5:00 p.m. in order to accommodate for parent work schedules and to utilize the often wasted two hours between 3:00 and 5:00. During this time students receive additional instruction, engage in extra-curricular activities, or receive tutoring. PODER Academy also requires that students who are behind, either current or transfer, receive tutoring either after school or during the summer. Simply put, charter schools have more freedom to make education the true priority of schooling.

Public charter schools put parents back in control

Because public charter schools are free of tuition, they offer another viable choice to parents. In many charter schools, parents are encouraged to be highly involved in the classroom. PODER Academy, for example, utilizes frequent feedback from parents in order to consistently mold schedules, teaching practices, and extra-curricular activities. This contrasts with the practices of traditional public schools: one Cheyenne mother notes that "…at a certain point in public school, we had been told that parents were not necessary as volunteers in the school anymore". At PODER Academy and Snowy Range Academy, this simply isn't the case.

What do you get when you combine less regulation, allow good teachers the freedom to teach, and give parents their rightful place at the education roundtable? Schools that are rightfully centered around the child, and students who achieve more and become lifelong learners.

It's obvious that this model benefits students, so why are there so few charter schools in Wyoming? Besides the obvious nod to Wyoming's small population, a major roadblock exists in the way of establishing charter schools: state statute. Wyoming's charter school application process is lengthy. The application clocks in at over fifty pages long, and that's before the applicant fills out numerous questionnaires and writes several essays describing a variety of things including employment procedures, school visions, demographic projections, and teaching philosophy. While these same requirements exist in charter school applications in the state of Arizona, which boasts over 550 charter schools, one major difference exists between Wyoming and the Grand Canyon State: Arizona has, along with its state school board, a state board for charter schools. This streamlines the application process, allowing charter schools be formed without the oft-found scrutiny of the traditional public school sector.

If Wyoming families want more charter schools like PODER and Snowy Range Academies, a change in the fabric of the state education system is needed. If it came, students would have an advantage.