Squirming to get out of a zoned Houston Independent School District school that doesn’t meet your kids’ needs, or failed to get into the magnet of your choice for the next school year?
Maybe one of the greater Houston area’s 170 charter schools (according to the Texas Education Agency) will be a better fit.
The Feb. 10 deadline is approaching to apply for a number of Houston-area charter schools. Here’s what you need to know about Houston’s charters, and if they’re right for your student.
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are public K-12 schools that are run by groups authorized under city, county or state education officials. While the vast majority of funds come out of taxpayer money, charter schools are managed by private groups. Donations account for a small part of their revenue.
All adhere to state standards for education, ensuring that they get a well-rounded education in English, math, history/social studies, science and other subjects comparable to a HISD school. Many offer resources to catch up students who failed out of a traditional school district, or have fallen behind grade-level.
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I’m Gwendolyn Wu, and I’m writing “Houston How To,” a series on how to navigate the city and its complexities. Humans have an innate drive to improve themselves, and we’re always striving to live better, smarter and more efficiently by throwing countless dollars and hours at our problems. The Houston Chronicle wants to simplify that for you.
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Some charter schools have negative reputations — financial exploitation by corrupt leaders, lacking in opportunities for special education students. But there are still charter schools with high graduation and college attendance rates that provide a good education to kids without squandering taxpayer money.
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Accountability ratings from TEA are also crucial to understanding how well students are doing. Long-established charter school systems like YES Prep, KIPP Texas and Harmony Public Schools saw high marks during the 2018-2019 school year for providing a solid education for students.
What are the pros and cons of picking one over a traditional school?
Some students might need more one-on-one attention in school or a more robust menu of classes than is available at their current campuses.
“Charter schools are one option for parents who have kids struggling to succeed in their zoned school,” said Ayla Dehghanpoor, a spokesperson for Families Empowered, a Houston nonprofit that helps parents choose schools for their children. “Some charter schools offer the benefit of an extended day, a longer school year, or a unique curriculum such as a Classical or Montessori model.”
That means thoughtfully tackling issues like bullying and falling behind in class with the goal of improving students’ attitudes and work ethics.
“Parents will tell you that the experience they have in charters is much more personalized,” said Cheryl Lawson, executive director of The Lawson Academy in Third Ward.
Charter schools are smaller than many traditional schools. Some of the largest charter schools in the Houston area have around 1,000 students spread over grades 6 through 12, according to TEA data.
For comparison, the combined 2018-2019 enrollment at Lamar High School in River Oaks, which serves students in grades 9-12, and Pershing Middle School in Braeswood Place, which serves grades 6-8, is 5,078 students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data
Charter school advocates say that schools can do a better job addressing all the needs of a young student.
“It’s important for parents to be able to trust that when they send their child to school that their needs be met in many ways,” said Michelle LaFlure, the principal of YES Prep North Central Elementary School.
There is a risk that the charter school your child attends will close — look for numbers on declining enrollment, if there have been any sanctions recently (Houston Chronicle education reporters Jacob Carpenter and Shelby Webb do plenty of reporting on the shortcomings of some school systems) and at performance reports to see if schools are meeting state standards. In the U.S., roughly 200 charter schools close every year, according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
But there is renewed federal support for charter school expansion; U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has pushed for more funding for charter grants in recent years.
How does the application process work?
Many Houston charter schools use one common application: applyhouston.org. Some use their own lottery websites; check each school’s website to see how to participate in their application process.
On the ApplyHouston website, the process is straightforward. The system asks for basic contact information, information about your child and what grade you plan to enroll them in, before taking you to a directory of schools within their grade level. ApplyHouston includes information about how far a school is from your home address, links to their websites and in some cases, school-submitted information about amenities like transportation and extracurriculars.
“It’s free to parents and allows them to have a single place to submit multiple applications all aligned with the same dates and committed to improving equity and access for the lowest income Houstonians,” Dehghanpoor said.
Families Empowered recomments applying to three schools to increase acceptance chances. (You can apply to as many as you’d like, though.)
Parents can visit or call the nonprofit to for help filling out applications.
“We inform parents about all of their options and equip them with the rules of a game that, in many cases, they didn't even know they were playing,” Dehghanpoor said.
Once the app is submitted, schools will host a lottery and notify families by phone call, email or mail about acceptance or waitlist statuses.
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While Feb. 10 is just around the corner, some charters still accept applications after the priority deadline. And some don’t have a deadline, meaning you’ll need to call and find out if they’re still accepting students for the school year you plan to enroll them.
How do I pick the right charter school for my kid?
Like any other school, you’ll consider whether the school accepts students of certain grades and is within walking or reasonable driving distance from your home.
Before committing to a charter school, take a tour of the campus or attend an open house to meet school officials and students.
Charter school leaders like LaFlure and Lawson say parents should keep an eye on staff turnover rate, classes offered and how a school can go beyond what is offered at a traditional ISD campus.
“Families should really look holistically to see how are schools performing academically, what supports are there for students in terms of social and emotional learning, what kind of culture is established at the school,” LaFlure said.
Lawson said it’s key for parents to ask a school about their successes and failures.
“Only the school will remember and know when you ask ‘what are you good at and what will you continue working on?’” she said.
gwendolyn.wu@chron.com
Twitter: @gwendolynawu
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