How does being a charter school support the teacher?

Hi Bobbi. Do you work in a charter school? I am currently starting my second year at a charter school in Oregon. This school has been operating for about eight years. I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love the enormous amount of parental support, and I love being a vital part of the school. I feel like everyday I contribute to what this school will become. Last year my students didn't have access to a school library because we didn't have one. Several colleagues and I got together over the summer and "created" a library. We used a corner of our gym, collapsible walls, hand built and painted shelves, Dollar Tree posters, and bought and donated books. This school year all of the classes go there for "library time". The way I felt when I walked by and saw first graders thumbing through the shelves excited about what they might find, was incredible. We all work long hours, attend many board and staff meetings, but what we get in return is the autonomy to teach our students to meet their individual needs, not to meet the needs of state standards.

I taught in a regular public middle school for 12 years and have been teaching in a charter middle school for almost 15. There is no comparison. I have never worked harder and been so proud of the work I do. The collaboration with colleagues is energizing. We have the freedom to deliver the state frameworks in an innovative way but the responsibility is on us to ensure that our students learn the necessary skills and concepts to be successful.

What a great summation of the possibilities of charter schools, Pam - thank you for sharing your experience with us!

What is your charter's mission? What are some of the innovative ways you've found to deliver your state's curriculum?

All the best,
C

I love what you shared. I feel the same way about the charter school that I have been at for ten years. I appreciate feeling like my voice is heard when sharing new ideas for change. I love the ability to be creative and innovative with how a state standard is taught to students, in order to facilitate learning in a variety of ways.

Pam and Donelle - I agree. It's great to have the freedom to cause change that frees up kids in pursuit of learning.

How do your schools share out what they do with traditional public schools in your division? I've been thinking a lot lately about how to share the discoveries our freedoms grant us with folks in more traditional settings. Any advice for me?

All the best,
C

Chad,
We have found after 15 years, teachers in the district schools are eager to hear about what and how we are doing. The administration however is NOT usually interested and have fiercely contested any formal collaboration. They continue to perpetuate the myth that charter schools are unfairly taking their money! We have been very successful with grant writing to effectuate dissemination, since it is part of our mission as stated in the Massachusetts Charter School Law. We will talk/help/assist anyone who wants to listen...this is how much we believe in the work we are doing with kids.

Thank you, Pam -

While our school is only two years old, our division has a conversion-charter high school that is twenty years old. I often wonder why more of its philosophies and practices haven't made it into our other high schools.

We're hoping to win an art-infused curriculum dissemination grant this month. I will update the group on how that goes and how we try to share-out what we're developing.

All the best,
C

I taught in the Public School system for 8 years, private schools for 15 and now at a Charter School in inner city Detroit for 6 years. There is no comparison to the networking with partnerships like "Greening of Detroit" and the "Eastern Market Coalition" that impact our school and students. The involvement of parents, the support of administration (you can see our superintendent out in the middle of street directing traffic in the mornings, speaking on-on-one to various students giving them encouragement if they have had behavior issues as well as on T.V. being an advocate of our school and its mission) and the collegial functioning of the team philosophy of our departments. I have never worked so hard and gotten such gratification from my work as an educator. Charter Schools work for those students "at-risk' in our population because "together we make a difference in education."

I am retired from teaching in a public school. After the first few years I was always able to innovate and collaborate with my fellow teachers. The administration was always at least supportive and often helpful. We kept administrators and parents informed and invited participation. I have never really seen the need for a special category of school where these things can be done. As far as I know, innovation can happen anywhere.