Good. Keep the whacko parents out of the normal schools.

Idaho will soon learn, as states like Florida and Michigan did, that the charter movement is full of fraud and the people running these schools do so to make money from taxpayers; they aren't doing this to give kids a better education. Ordinary kids from ordinary parents go to charters and pretend like they're upper class in private schools when they go to Target to buy their uniforms. Like the article said, all the charter schools have done is divide communities, not make kids more intelligent or give them better education.

There are obviously great charter schools out there, otherwise they would not exist. Some parents do not believe the traditional public schools are just not doing their job. Charter schools give traditional public schools a break as far as reducing class size, which is a big deal. It's not just about money. Those who complain about charter schools taking away money from the traditional public schools, well guess what? Charter schools are PUBLIC schools. Parents who send their children to charter schools pay taxes as well. They should have a choice when it comes to their children's education.

This article only touches the tip of the iceberg. "Competition" is hardly the right word to describe what we saw happen to the Idaho Leadership Academy (ILA) - "enmity" is a more apt term. The Snake River School District did everything in their power to shut that school down, including getting legislators to pass laws aimed specifically at ILA. After six years, Snake River succeeded in creating enough legislative "barbed wire" that the school closed.

Why was ILA seen as such a threat? Because the students were really learning, particularly about things such as our Founding Fathers, the Constitution, true leadership, classic literature, and so forth. The majority of the students loved learning at their own pace, and being challenged to reach their fullest potential by their well-educated mentors. Our oldest attending teen read 30 of the great classics - Dante (Divine Comedy), Jane Eyre, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Euclid (Geometry), John Adams, etc. And the students loved it - and they learned to think for themselves (versus the brainwashing of "No Child Left Behind").

So if your area opens a really good charter school, expect LOTS of strong opposition.

I need to correct an omission: Our oldest teen read 30 of the great classics - in his FIRST YEAR at ILA. Talk about encouraging students to rise to their potential!

Charter Schools offer so much more than what the Districts do, do it by spending less tax payer money, that we really need to look at converting our District schools into Charters asap. What I like the most about Charters is that students are pushed to succeed in the elementary years more so than Districts, to work on their own level of material. Too many bright kids are ignored outside of Charters. The same is true of the Special ed. kids. Charters are a tremendous asset.

A system that has higher standards and expectations than another system will produce better results. That is why many parents flock to Charter schools. It is high time the District schools raise the bar and do things better too.