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Charter School

CUST 8378
Summer, 2009
Charles Hall
PS # - 0879248
chhall@kleinisd.net
832-797-4732
Assignment 3
There are many people who would like to say that today’s academic climate is similar to that of our nation’s economic climate. Bill Gates reveals that research is showing that as a nation there is a 30% dropout rate (50% among minorities). In other words, it is faltering, and if individual schools can not turn things around then the government will step in and “bail them out.” The amount of government influence in the public school system has been growing and growing the last few decades. Two major influences as a result of the increased involvement in public schools is the creation and growth of charter schools and merit pay. They have been discussed on T.V., debated in political circles, written about in books and article. On such book is Tested by Linda Pearlstein and shows a qualitative look at the impacts both programs have on teachers and the school they work in. Both programs appear to be positive institutions but have nonetheless impacted our schools in impacted of academic world in both positive and negative ways.
In 1991 Minnesota passed the first charter school law, with California following suit in 1992. By 1995, 19 states had signed laws allowing for the creation of charter schools, and by 2003 that number increased to 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Charter schools are one of the fastest growing innovations in education policy, enjoying broad bipartisan support from governors, state legislators, and past and present secretaries of education. In his 1997 State of the Union Address, former President Clinton called for the creation of 3,000 charter schools by the year 2002. In 2002, President Bush called for $200 million to support charter schools. His proposed budget called for another $100 million for a new Credit Enhancement for Charter Schools Facilities Program. Since 1994, the U.S. Department of Education has...