Charter School System - KCMO (Kansas City, Hale: how much, neighborhoods, school district)

[BTSB2KC]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some insight into how the charter schools in KCMO work.

I hope to be able to live in KCMO now and when I have school-age children. Obviously, the public school issues are well documented. The private schools seem to be fine, but they also cost quite a bit.

I know someone who teaches at Gordon Parks, and I know people who volunteer at Hope Learning, and I've heard great stuff about both of them. Tell me if I'm wrong, but from what I can see, charter schools kind of operate like private schools in that there are uniforms, strict codes of conduct and discipline issues can get your kid booted, etc., but they act as public schools in that there's no tuition. How does that work? Do the kids have to test into a charter school? Is there any sort of fee a parent pays for the kids to attend charter schools? Who actually runs the charter schools?

I've also seen that most of the charter schools seem to be in specific neighborhoods, almost kind of like a school ran by neighborhood associations, and they mostly are for K-middle school. Are University Academy and Hogan Prep the only ones serving high school-age students?

I guess what I'm asking is just in general can someone explain how the charter school system works, and for people with kids who live in KCMO, is that where you plan to and/or are currently sending your children to? Or on the other end of that, are public elementary schools in KCMO good enough and then after that you'll send to charter or private? I'd love to hear people who really know about KCMO's charter school, public school and private school system and if they plan on having/do currently have kids in these schools.

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

From Academie Lafayette's website:

CHARTER SCHOOLS

What is a Charter School?
Charter Schools are autonomous public schools, which receive the same funding from the same sources as other public schools. Charter schools are not private schools. Charter schools do not charge tuition. Charter schools are operated by teachers, parents and community groups, and are able to make site based decisions concerning their curriculum, structure and emphasis. Charter schools are non-sectarian, non religious and do not discriminate in their admissions policies.

Who can enroll in a Charter School?
Any student in the Kansas City Missouri School District may attend Académie Lafayette. Charter Schools are choice schools, which means that parents and students choose which school they would like to attend and are limited only by space availability.

How much does it cost?
As a public school, there is no cost for residents in the Kansas City, Missouri school district.

Are Charter Schools subject to state and federal laws?
A Charter School is subject to all federal and state laws and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion and ancestry. Académie Lafayette has spelled out this nondiscrimination policy in its Charter Application.

What are the advantages of a Charter School?
Charter Schools are operated by teachers, parents and community groups and are able to make site-based decisions concerning their curriculum structure and emphasis. Because they do not have large administrative organizations, charter schools are able to, and can be held accountable, for the achievement of their students.

Charter schools are all run independently. They are all sponsored by universities, but I'm not sure what roles they play. For example Gordon Parks and Academie Lafayette are sponsored by the University of Central Missouri, University Academy is sponsored by UMKC.

Here is a full list of KCMO charter schools:
Kansas City Charter Public School Directory | Missouri Charter Public School Association

I don't have kids yet, but it will probably happen fairly soon. So I am likely at least 6-7 years away from making a decision, but as of now, Acadamie Lafayette would probably be my top choice. There are also some good non-charter public options I would consider, such as Border Star, Foreign Language Academy, and Hale Cook (if you live in the boundaries).