How Do Charter Schools Impact the Public School System?
Charter schools provide a variety of services to children that arguably place healthy pressure on the district to provide equal or better services. In 2001 the U.S. Department of Education released a major study called The Impact of Charter Schools on School Districts. They reported that more than half of traditional districts created new educational programs in response to charter schools. Proponents maintain that charters schools also increase accountability in many districts.
Charter schools provide a variety of services to children that places healthy pressure on the district to provide equal or better services. For example, 5,000 students attend 20 charter schools within the boundaries of the Mesa School District, AZ (one of the better districts in Arizona). In response, the district purchased an ad in the local paper touting their services and academic accomplishments. It may purchase bus advertisements and billboards next year in an effort to keep pace with charter school innovation. As the focus continues to shift from the needs of the system to the needs of children and parents, the children of Arizona are better served. Its public education in the finest sense of the word: it serves the public, not the bureaucracy, says Lisa Keegan, the state superintendent of education. In the struggle to provide school choice to Detroit parents, the Detroit Public Schools Superintendent David Snead said, “We’re finding the charter idea is helping encourage other sc
