The Mission Statement of Excalibur Charter Schools is to provide a safe environment where a partnership between student, parents and school addresses individual needs, encourages and enables students to achieve academic excellence, and helps them develop the habits and traits of self-motivation, leadership, service, integrity, and respect for the law and for other members of society.
Are charter schools private or public schools?
Charter schools are independent public schools that are privately owned. Like most public schools, the state pays the charter school for each student who enrolls and attends. Since the school is paid with public funds, the school must obey all of the rules regarding open admission, disability, separation of church and state, state standards and testing, etc. that regular public schools must obey.
What makes a charter school different from a regular public school?
The primary differences between a regular public school and a charter school are size, vision and leadership. First of all most charter schools are significantly smaller that their public counter parts. With smaller schools, less children are inclined to fall through the cracks and schools are more inclined to adjust to their population's needs. Smaller schools also tend to specialize more, which brings us to vision and leadership. Unlike large public schools which tend to be generically churned out, each charter school starts with a particular vision. The founder of each school develops their concept of the ideal school and seeks to create it. As such charter schools tend to have a different approach than larger, more generic public schools. This applies both in the approach to teaching as well as the content of the material taught. Charter schools tend towards unique and innovative methods and ideas. Decisions regarding the school and students are also made at the school level rather than the district level. The goal of charter schools is not to replace the regular public school system but rather provide options to students and their parents.
For more information about charter schools, I would invite you to visit the Arizona Foundation for Educational Choice website.
If you have children, take the step up to a charter school! Contact one of ours near you today.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Parker, Superintendent, Excalibur Charter Schools, Inc.