General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Some charter schools don't feed their students free lunches. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is cool with that. [View all]wildeyed
(11,243 posts)based on the difference between his IQ and his achievement. Reading achievement was (then) low average but his IQ scores were so much higher, I was able to convince them that it was painful to him to have such a big gulf between what he understood and what he could do. His math has always been way off the charts, so at the same time the reading/writing IEP was going on, he got a two year skip for math. I am certain that this would not have happened at a regular public. He would either be learning disabled OR gifted, but it would bend their minds too much to try to see both in the same child. As a reward for the school's flexibility, he is 99% in the standardized tests across the board last year, so he gave them a good bump for their NCLB end of year scores (which are admittedly mediocre overall). And, what is really important, he is happy and engaged.
This year I am on the BOD of the charter school. I want to help people see how much better this flexible ability grouping and focus on the individual child can be so maybe we can get some of the policies we use adopted by the wider public school community. IMO, this is how charter schools are supposed to be. Not for profit, ever. Started by parents and educators with ideas and goals that can't be accomplished in the more rigid public system and then taking what is successful and applying it to the larger community. And as you and I know, not all kids are the same. It makes sense that some would thrive where others would fail. Charters can be a way to provide that opportunity for divergent learners.