🚀 go-pugleaf

>I understand that for many of it's own reasons, the BCTF membership does
>not supportthe charter schools concept.  It's likely why they do not
>attend.
>
>=====================================================================
>George Johansen - johansen@portal.ca  or  repressed@eworld.com

Charter Schools, or site based management can take many forms.  The common
denominator is that funding goes directly to the school and the school
decides how it is to be spent under strict guidelines that are set up by the
government.

Each school usually has an elected (and often volunteer) "board of
directors" and this board sets policy for the school.  The board is very
similar to the district school boards that we have in B.C., except that
there is one at every school. Parents often run for these boards, just as
they do for our school district boards.  The professional administrators
and the teachers RUN the school (so much for the BCTF claims that parents
will be running schools)

These schools are very cost efficient.  With the same money, they are able
to do much more ie. longer school days, smaller class size etc.

Charters are only given to schools that meet very high standards.  In many
places it is the universities that are charged with determining if a charter
will be granted.

Charter schools cannot choose their students.  The choice is all in the
other direction.

There are many, many ways to include charter type schools in a system.

The great thing about Charter Schools is that with the freedom of site-based
management there is a built-in accountability that is not present in our
present system.

The Charter School conference was essentially an 'information'
opportunity...a chance to be further educated on the issue regardless of
your position.  The BCTF chose not avail themselves of that information and
at the same time made it very difficult, if not impossible, for public
school teachers to attend.  They also wielded their influence with the
provincial government and asked the Canadian Teachers Federation rep who had
agreed to speak to withdraw.

Pretty sad.

Katherine