Charter schools in Riverside County (homes, school district, to live in)

[HarajukuLover]

Hi, I am looking for some general information on the Charter school availability in Riverside County. Mainly I want to know if they are hard to get into (ie; difficult/long application process, waiting list etc.), and do you have to live in the same district as the school to send your children there or do you just have to be a resident of the county? Any and all input would be helpful!

[lrmsd]

I am not familiar with specific charter schools in riverside, but I can tell you, from lots of familiarity with them in san diego and northern CA, that you do not need to be a resident of said district. In fact, charter schools are funded by the state of CA, not the district [though the district sponsors the school so that it may be located there, and the charter school would pay the district for a building location-which is why it's so hard for charters to get a permanent, safe, viable location-the districts by and large make it difficult for them to exist, in most cases].

Anyway, the charters are open to any student in the state of CA.

However, a charter school can list enrollment preferences, which are usually something like:
Children of employees, followed by children with siblings already in the school, children of the said school district, children of said county, adjacent county etc.

This is usually done with charters having a long waiting list.
Some charters require orientation meeting prior to submitting a lottery application, etc.

Hopefully, someone will give you specific recommendations; also, you could be more specific as well: Which cities in riverside are you interested in? and what type of program? Charter schools come in all flavors, from homeschooling to montessori, waldorf, classical, back to basics, uniforms, no uniforms....and a charter school is not a guarantee of a good school.

You should be able to google a list of charters in riverside county; then go through each one and check their websites. Honestly, you'll be able to nix some off the list right away, for example, if it's for high risk urban kids and that's not your child's need. Or you don't homeschool, so homeschool charters are out. Usually, each school's website will indicate if they have long waiting lists. Or, call the school, when you find a website you really jive with....

And, of course, the greatschools dot org website will list t hem with parent reviews and test score ratings, as well.

Good luck!

[Gandalara]

Go to GreatSchools Search
under location put Riverside County, CA
under school type, click public charter and private
Then you can at least investigate the grades and areas you're thinking about.