Five myths about charter schools

They're in demand among parents who say traditional public schools have failed — but they're not always successful. Their intense rate of growth has fueled an equally intense debate about the role they'll play in the future of U.S. education. Advocates see their expansion as evidence that parents have a huge appetite for school choice. Critics see the beginning of the end of public education, with systems of neighborhood schools replaced by independent, privately run companies without the same obligation to teach the toughest students. A great deal of confusion surrounds charter schools. Here are some of the myths.

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Wisconsin Virtual Academy Students Making News!

Their fans know John and Korey Cooper of Kenosha as two members of the high energy Christian rock band Skillet — make that Christian 

hard rock

band.

But beyond their show biz personas, the Coopers, married 19 years, share the same kinds of concerns other parents do for their children. For them, that includes making sure Alexandria, 12, and Xavier, 11, who have toured with the band since infancy, get a good education.

“With Skillet, we travel all the time. We do 220 days a year,” said Korey. “You never imagined a band would go for 20 years, and that we’d be taking our kids on the road with us.”

Korey said she home schooled Alexandria and Xavier until Alexandria turned 7 and was about to enter third grade. 

By then, Korey said, “It got to be too much of a stress for me to choose a curriculum. I started wondering whether I might be missing something in their education.”

Continue reading here.

Virtual learning keeps Christian rock family from Kenosha in the know

Their fans know John and Korey Cooper of Kenosha as two members of the high energy Christian rock band Skillet — make that Christian 

hard rock

band.

But beyond their show biz personas, the Coopers, married 19 years, share the same kinds of concerns other parents do for their children. For them, that includes making sure Alexandria, 12, and Xavier, 11, who have toured with the band since infancy, get a good education.

“With Skillet, we travel all the time. We do 220 days a year,” said Korey. “You never imagined a band would go for 20 years, and that we’d be taking our kids on the road with us.”

Korey said she home schooled Alexandria and Xavier until Alexandria turned 7 and was about to enter third grade. 

By then, Korey said, “It got to be too much of a stress for me to choose a curriculum. I started wondering whether I might be missing something in their education.”

Keep reading here. 

A Guide to Fight for School Choice

The Institute for Justice (IJ) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) issued a jointly-published guide on how lawmakers and activists can push for more school choice in their home states. In their second edition of the “School Choice and State Constituencies: A Guide to Designing School Choice Programs,” authors Richard Komer and Olivia Grady explain the legal hurdles to school choice, due to the Blaine Amendments.

Continue reading here. 

New National Survey Finds Americans Have Dim Outlook on K-12 Education, Want School Choice

(NAPSI)—The majority of Americans of all ages are pessimistic about the direction in which K-12 education is heading today, and most are supportive of expanding school choice options, according to an annual survey conducted by EdChoice and Braun Research, Inc. The 2016 Schooling in America Survey measures the nation’s public opinion and awareness on a range of K-12 education topics and policies, such as school performance, schooling preferences, educational choice reforms and more.

Click here to see what the survey had to say.