From a reader and a teacher
I recently chatted with a mom of a 2 year old who was a working professional and zoned for a beach school. She said to me "I thought charter schools were better." It baffles me how some higher income parents have the perception that charter schools are better in Duval. I also spoke with a friend who is a working professional and is considering enrolling her child in Duval Charter instead of a strong Mandarin area elementary school.
I am shocked at the lack of knowledge the general parent population has about charter schools and the frequent corruption that is involved. Less experienced teachers would be my number one concern, followed by weak instruction/curriculum. As a teacher, students coming to my 3rd grade class from faithbased or charter schools were often reading below grade level. A friend used to work for Duval Charter as a PE teacher and told me some horror stories regarding class sizes and lack of planning time.
Dr. Vitti and trickling down to principals need to stop seeing teachers as the enemy. Happy teachers will lead to happy workplaces. Strong neighborhood community schools are the ideal that parents want. DCPS can deliver a better education than nearly all charter schools and many private schools but the first step is uniting teachers with principals and the district office.
-DCPS Educator of 9 years
I recently chatted with a mom of a 2 year old who was a working professional and zoned for a beach school. She said to me "I thought charter schools were better." It baffles me how some higher income parents have the perception that charter schools are better in Duval. I also spoke with a friend who is a working professional and is considering enrolling her child in Duval Charter instead of a strong Mandarin area elementary school.
I am shocked at the lack of knowledge the general parent population has about charter schools and the frequent corruption that is involved. Less experienced teachers would be my number one concern, followed by weak instruction/curriculum. As a teacher, students coming to my 3rd grade class from faithbased or charter schools were often reading below grade level. A friend used to work for Duval Charter as a PE teacher and told me some horror stories regarding class sizes and lack of planning time.
Dr. Vitti and trickling down to principals need to stop seeing teachers as the enemy. Happy teachers will lead to happy workplaces. Strong neighborhood community schools are the ideal that parents want. DCPS can deliver a better education than nearly all charter schools and many private schools but the first step is uniting teachers with principals and the district office.
-DCPS Educator of 9 years
KIPP defies every piece of this. Go visit. Talk to someone that works at KIPP.
ReplyDeleteA lot of charters suck, especially "for profits", but KIPP is the only high-performing charter network in the area and they deserve a closer look. Talk to the teachers at the KIPP school here; they are some of the happiest in the KIPP network.