Sad News...

I don't know about you but the closing of any type of school is sad to me.  We all acknowledge that education is not an easy line of work.  There are many districts that struggle each day to instruct difficult populations.  What happens when a charter school closes? Aren't charter  schools are supposed to be the solution.  Recently a charter school located blocks from where I work closed.  So what went wrong?  I know the teachers, parents, and the administrators wanted the best for their students. The kids; well we know they can't be to blame.

All to often it seems that many charter schools like public schools start off with the best intentions.  So what goes wrong? I think that while charter schools have a amazing amount of autonomy; they often waste time trying to reinvent the wheel. In particular when it comes to school management and finance.  Charter schools and public schools share similar leadership models. So why does it seem that what puts many charter schools out of commission is administrative and finance problems.  Is it a question of certification ? While public schools would never think of filling school leadership  positions with non certified personnel; charter schools don't follow this same trains of thought always.

While I don't want to turn this into a "my teams better than your team" issue.  I think charter schools need to be careful of who they let hold the reins. It take more than charisma and enthusiasm to run a school.  Charter schools must remember the role they have taken on in some of the nation's most challenging districts.  We need to become established  parts of these communities; not another broken promise in  areas where they have seen so many.