Not in anyway giving anyone permission to plagiarize or copy this and also not verifying the authenticity of any of the information. Also note that there are probably no sources listed and I am not one myself, so don't quote me. This is just some of my homework; thought it might be interesting to someone:
Watch Video "A Tour of a Charter School” -
What are the pros and cons of magnet, charter and virtual schools, open enrollment and vouchers?
A charter school is a privately managed and operated school that uses a charter, or legal contract, from a school board. The charter school is created by an individual or group of individuals that have control over the school’s budget, curriculum, and faculty. Unlike private schools, charter schools typically do not have strict admissions standards and receive their funding based on the number of enrolled students. Some of the advantages of charter schools are that they can be more or less traditional based on the founders’ preferences, classes are typically smaller, schedules and curriculums can be adjusted as desired, and teachers can earn higher salaries. Some disadvantages to charter schools are that funding for materials may be limited without a financial supporter, results of student achievement show little difference from public schools, and many view charter schools as taking needed funds from public schools.
The system of vouchers enables students and their parents to essentially receive the government funding that would have been applied to the student in a public school and apply it to the school of their choice. Using vouchers, students who may have only been able to attend a public school in a poor area can use their educational funds to go to any public or private school of their choice. Advantages to the voucher system are that it allows parents and students more choices in what schools students attend, it is believed by some to positively increase competition among schools, and it increases diversity among public schools. Many people are also opposed to vouchers because, like charter schools, they take money from public schools, and they are believed by some to be putting government funds allocated for education into religious institutions.
Magnet schools were created to offer specialized schools and programs for talented students in urban areas. This concept was later adapted in hopes of “voluntarily racially [desegregating] schools.” The biggest advantage to magnet schools is probably that students with special interests and talents can be educated and encouraged in those areas. Additionally, magnet school students have not only been shown to outperform students from other types of schools in some studies, but magnet students are also potentially less likely to be involved in troubles like drinking or fighting. Some disadvantages of magnet schools are that they are more expensive than public schools, can suffer from underfunding and lack of transportation, and that they may require students to commute to school, taking them out of their community.
Open enrollment is not actually a type of school, but rather a policy or strategy for school enrollment across a district. Open enrollment allows parents to enroll their students at any available school within a district, rather than just at the school with the closest physical proximity. As we discussed in class, open enrollment is actually pretty common now, with the book stating that over forty states allow it. While the primary goal of open enrollment was probably desegregation originally, it serves more now as a means of choice for parents and as a means of prevention for intentional or unintentional community-based segregation. The advantages to open enrollment are listed above: it allows many more school choices for students and parents and increases their ability to overcome issues of segregation or disproportionate funding. The only disadvantages to open enrollment schooling might be increased transportation times and costs and issues that would arise from taking a student out of their community.
Virtual schools allow students to complete all or part of their education online at “virtual high schools.” These schools are often managed and organized in the same way as public schools, with students having specific teachers, administrators, counselors, etc. In full-time virtual schools, the school is often a combination of charter school and virtual high school. There are great advantages to virtual schools for students with special needs (like physical or learning disabilities) and students with special interests or talents, because of the potential for a more individualized student curriculum. Virtual schools can also present some strong disadvantages. One study I read online stated that, for Michigan, virtual schools can cost almost twice as much as traditional public schools and have been found to be largely ineffective schooling methods. In other states, reports of costs for virtual schooling are often roughly equal when compared with traditional schooling. Regardless of costs, many people still disagree with virtual schools for the lack of social interaction and questionable effectiveness.
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