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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Charter schools have smaller classes, higher test scores — but what are the drawbacks? - Lodi News-Sentinel: News

Charter schools have smaller classes, higher test scores — but what are the drawbacks? - Lodi News-Sentinel: News:


Charter schools have smaller classes, higher test scores — but what are the drawbacks?





This spring, hundreds of students' names will go into a bucket. They are from families seeking one of 66 spots available at Aspire's Vincent Shalvey Academy, housed in a former Sibbs grocery store in Morada.
At Shalvey, the competition for enrollment is keen, test scores are high, and parents are generally engaged and satisfied.
Shalvey is just one example of a dramatic trend in education: the rise of the charters.
In Lodi Unified School District, there are now five charters with 1,800 students enrolled. In 1992, there were none. Charter schools are rising steadily, drawing praise — and stirring controversy. Some hail charters as prototypes of the future, where teachers can innovate faster and better, and students excel