Public School Education vs. Charter School Education

Charter school or public school? It is a question many people have. A lot of students in Boston are trying to choose between charter and public schools, but don’t actually know the differences between them. Everyone knows about public schools, whether they are at one or they know someone who goes to one. In order to go to a public school you need to be in the same area code as the school. Public schools normally have a larger population at their schools because they don’t require you to have to be put on a waitlist and they accept the majority of people that are in their area code. A lot of public schools tend to have many classes with a lot of students in them. Typically public schools are a lot less flexible when it comes to curriculum and the policies they have for their schools. 

To go to a charter school you might have to enter a lottery in order to be placed into one, depending on how many applicants there are. A charter school lottery is unbiased and undiscriminatory because if you apply to be placed into a charter school you will get to go there eventually, it just might be next year, you’re put on a waitlist while you wait for space to open up. Parents and guardians have to enter their students’ full name, their name, and possibly proof of residency in the Boston area. Charter schools typically have a certain thematic focus like STEM, Language, or even the Arts. Charter schools have certain criteria that you have to follow unlike public schools. While charter schools are funded somewhat similar to public schools, using taxpayer money, they provide more stability to not only the students but also the parents. Charter schools, unlike public schools, tend to focus on the one-on-one relationship between students and teachers in order to get them the help they need.

In an interview with a teacher who had taught at a public school but is now a teacher at a charter school, some very insightful thoughts about this topic were shared. Her name is Rebecca Corcoran and she teaches AP US History and World History 2 at Excel Academy Charter High School in East Boston. She believes that while there are a couple of main differences between the two types of schools there are definitely similarities and that neither type of school is better than the other. When asked if she believed if there was a difference between the course load and resources she said, “The standard subjects are similar, however at Excel they offer a post secondary class where they focus on what you want to do after high school whether that is college or a different path. So because of that, charter schools have one less elective than public schools but with this course it allows high schoolers to think about what type of future they would want to pursue.” This allows for students to be greatly helped during their junior and senior year because they are getting help to figure out what they want to do and aren’t doing the post-high school planning process alone. She also said that for English learners, “Classes are relatively the same, however depending on the student’s knowledge they could be pulled out and be helped to understand more from teachers who have more knowledge to help.”

When asked if school policies were different she stated that, “Yes they are, because the charter schools are able to create rule systems that are easier and more specific like merit to merit,” meaning that teachers are giving students in 9th and 10th grade multiple chances to correct their behavior with demerits and also reward the students that are doing well with merits. Charter schools have deans that create their own policies like restricting cell phone use and making students wear uniforms, and then teachers enforce these rules. Almost every charter school has a uniform and some kind of phone policy but public schools don’t. Most public schools don’t have a dean’s office that handles school policies. This is because charter schools don’t have to go through the city, everything is created by just the school officials. This is a big difference because charter schools create their own policies and rules depending on what kind of school they are. Additionally, no charter school teachers are in the union. 

In a different interview with a teacher from a Boston Public school provided some different insights on the differences. Her name is Emily Silas, and she teaches at the English High School. Half the time she teaches  U.S. history to English learners and the other half AP Government and Politics to general learners. When asked how her school helps English learners she said, “All teachers here have their Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) endorsement. Meaning they have the bare minimum [skills] to work with English learners, [and] most have a history license, and have an ESL license, they have multiple licences to teach a diverse amount of students… Most BPS schools have this requirement. We have always welcomed immigrants, and we serve many ESL students.” While she couldn’t offer what was different between the two types of schools her insight on how they treat English learners is different from charter schools because all of the teachers at her school have special licences in order to be able to have the ability to teach students who speak different languages than them. 

When she was also asked if school policies were different she stated that, “from my students that left charter schools, many times the environment is restrictive, and has rigid expectations with uniform and grades… [Public schools have] Different types of rules where students can feel they can express themselves freely, more freedom with expressing themselves academically and physically.” This is important because she is connecting with students who left charter schools and learning their perspective on how they felt at a different school.

When both teachers were asked what they believed to be the biggest difference, Rebecca Corcoran said that, “Excel gives teachers more time to prepare.” She used to have to teach 5 classes a day and here she has to teach 3, which leads her to feeling like she is a better teacher because she is able to focus more and pay attention to what her students need. While this isn’t true at all charter schools, “Excel Academy allows teachers to be able to focus more on the students and also be able to be completely prepared and not have to teach all day with little to no preparation time.” Emily Silas however said that the main difference was that, “Public school takes all students no matter what, they take them at all times of the year. They serve a wider variety of students because they take everyone. No matter who the student is, the staff will go through the training to accommodate them in order to show them that they matter.” These differences stand out because while they both teach at schools in Boston their experience is somewhat different because they have different policies at their school, that creates a different type of experience for them to teach in. 

While there are definitely differences between the two schools there are also similarities like when it comes to the culture of schools and also how the academics showcase the students strengths.