Charter School Reviews Anyone??? (Atlanta: credit, how much, home)

[Vlias]

Hi all,

I am interested to know of people's feedback on the charter schools here in Georgia? Would love to hear from anyone with experience with them.

Particularly, the one's in South Atlanta, South Fulton area like KIPP South Fulton, Main Street Academy, Atlanta Preparatory Academy. Been trying to find reviews and I'm coming up empty.

Thanks.

[lastminutemom]

Keep in mind that unless it is state chartered or commissioned chartered school, enrollment is limited to students who live in the district that issued the charter. Even some of the commission charter schools have defined attendance zones.

I have heard great things about the founding board of Main Street Academy.

[Vlias]

Hey lastminutemom.

Thx for the info. And I have learned about the "districting" or "zoning" surrounding charter schools. I guess what I'm looking for now is what the appeal is to charters. My personal preference is a Christian school but I am having a hard time justifying in my own mind the expense of it all.

But I live in South Fulton which is 1 of the poorest performing districts in a #48 - #50 state in a country that ranks between 25 - 30 out of 30 so I am *not* excited about the public school option at all.

Trying to understand what makes each charter different... like, what's their hook or appeal? How do they do things differently from regular public schools?

I know that most of them don't seem to have a TAG program which is a negative for me. And most of them seem to start off in church buildings and don't have the playground area/space that my local public has and of course fewer after-school offerings. Nevertheless, people are flocking to them and I'm interested in knowing why.

What have you heard about Main Street? That's the charter school that's in my area. I went to a PTO meeting they had earlier this month just to get a peak. There's another one - Math and Science Prep Academy - that's supposed to be coming to S. Fulton next year.

[skip21al]

have you tried out [url=http://www.mykidsschool.net?]Parent Reviews of Charter Schools[/url] they offer parent reviews of charter schools. It is new but seems to be pretty simple and straightforward.

[residinghere2007]

My son goes to a charter - The Kindezi School. This upcoming school year will only be our second at the school. I decided to enroll my son at this school because they teach by the tutorial method and there is a 6:1 ratio of students to teacher for 4 our of the 5 school day week. One day a week they have a large class where the ratio is 24:1 but really that is comparable to most elementary schools every day of the school week. My son is above average and I felt at his previous school he did not get much attention due to the fact that the teachers were more focused on getting below average kids up to par to pass the CRCT. I didn't feel that he was seen as the great kid that he is so I moved him. It was a difficult decision because I have not heard good things about charters and I didn't know if I should trust Kindezi for my son's 3rd grade year as it is a critical one IMO where school starts to get tougher academically. The school really lived up to and exceeded my expectations and I am happy that we got in.

They have recess everyday. Our lunches are catered and are much healthier than the previous school he went to. They do not offer the kids sugary milk for example and they allow vegetarian and vegan options for children. The faculty are wonderful so far with the kids and I actually get teary eyed with happiness at how lucky we were to get into this school and how much my son loves going there and his relationships with his teachers and principal whom he adores.

I have friends who have children who attend KIPP WAYS and they love the quality of the educational programs and the fact that the classrooms are under control. There is not a lot of disrespect or yelling out in class, which you can find in more mainstream classrooms. My aunt was considering sending my cousin there because of the ruckus that goes on in his current middle school and he is in the gifted program so you would figure the kids would behave better, but she sat in on a class and felt they were very out of control. She didn't like the extended day at KIPP, I don't either, as since her son is gifted, she didn't think that he was in need of such a long school day or Saturday school, though I have heard they are cutting Saturday school this year at KIPP WAYS, so she is looking at putting him in a private Christian school.

ETA: I also love about all Charters that they are run by their own board and not entirely by the school board of whatever district they are in, which gives them some lee-way in creating their own unique programs and instruction methods and not having to deal with the scandals that school boards can endure, such as the recent APS happenings. Our school is in APS district but I was informed that we have a seperate accreditation than the school district and can have more than one so if APS loses accreditation, it will not negatively affect us like it would a traditional public school. I also like that parents have more input in the academic programs. Our school is currently in an unused APS school building across from a park and has a track and football field near it. It will not be our permanent home though as KIPP will be having a high school there in the future. But not all charters are in churches and many utilize unused school buildings in that particular district.

[atlantagreg30127]

Have you browsed through the schools ratings thread we already have set up at the top of the forum first, as well?

Link: https://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...st-school.html