Some Charter Schools Can Select Their Students

The Feb. 6 article, “Charter Schools a Beacon of Hope,” left out the important caveat that some of these schools may be able to choose their students, whereas a mainstream public school must accept whoever shows up. If regular public schools were allowed to simply send troublesome and underperforming students somewhere else, the average academic scores and the parent satisfaction percentages would soar.

Would that your writers gave more coverage to the burdens that public schools face since the implementation of Proposition 13 of ever-expanding responsibilities and expectations coupled with ever-diminishing resources. This historic, ongoing gutting of our public schools by a group of shortsighted individuals and craven corporations, and our elected officials’ ongoing failure to stand up for what’s right for those least able to defend themselves in our society, is the big story.

Trumpeting charter schools as a beacon of hope without mentioning our great state’s tumbling to the position of 47th out of 50 on per pupil spending in the United States plays into the hands of those who would gleefully continue to choke off essential funding to our less fortunate citizens and those who serve them simply to achieve their own cruel ideological ends.

Jack Casey

Los Angeles

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My son goes to Valley Community Charter School in North Hills. This school was truly a beacon of hope for our family. Not only does this school look after his academic development, but also other aspects of his life. Valley Community doesn’t “teach to the test,” it teaches kids to think critically and for themselves, and with each other. It looks at the emotional and social development as just as important as academics. I wish I could have gone to this school. It makes learning fun.

Families are an integral part of this picture as well. The school has a minimal amount of homework because it realizes that children have interests outside of school. This school is a wonderful alternative if the traditional model is not working for you. I cannot tell you how happy I am that our family found it.

Melanie Wester

Woodland Hills