[blindkid] Charter School

[oandemom .]

This charter school is non-profit, the board is not compensated so that
gives me a good insight into their priorities.  At the informational
meeting they said they had to abide by the IEP by law, which we all know,
but doesn't always get done.  :)

Charter schools receive state funding, but not any support from the county,
they have to find their own teachers, etc for the school, they even have to
pay for their own school buses if they choose too, this one will not, which
is fine for me, I wouldn't allow my kids to ride a bus these days.   Some
don't even have cafeteria's, kids have to bring their lunches.  They
generally have one EC teacher, but finding one that knows braille, etc is
probably impossible.  They would have to pay for a TVI, O&M, etc, which
could be expensive, but I have talked with one of our braillist and she had
some good ideas too.

Thanks all!
Traci





On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 8:53 PM, Erin Teply <eteply at cfl.rr.com> wrote:

> I am no expert in this area at all, but we recently had a charter school
> open very near us and I was also very interested.  No one really knew much
> about the company running the charter school, but I remembered they are
> typically *for profit*, meaning they will run as lean as they can to make
> money.  When I approached our TVI and mobility teacher on this, they were
> very quick to discourage me to go any further.  Basically, they said that
> Charter schools can be worse than private schools because they have less
> reasons to abide by the IEP, etc.  That was enough for me to keep my son in
> his current home school, which was going great anyway.  Now, knowing more
> than I did because of friends that have kids at that school
> (normal/sighted), I know I made the right decision as it hasn't been
> stellar.  All that being said, I think you have to do research on the
> company owning the charter school, speak to the principal/vice principal
> and see what their feelings are because if they are on board, likely
> everything will be great!  I'd speak to the TVI's and mobility teachers
> that will be working with your child and see how they feel.  If all are
> open and willing, things should be great.  I really don't know the answer
> to this, but is it really an added expense to the school?  The TVI/mobility
> instruction is covered by the school district regardless if the child is in
> a public, private or charter school?  Again, I may be wrong on this as my
> son goes to our home public elementary school.  Best of luck, these
> decisions are tough :)
>
>
> On Feb 17, 2014, at 12:36 PM, oandemom . <traci.mwd at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello all!  I was curious if anyone had their child/children in a charter
> > school.  We have a new science charter school opening in our area and
> went
> > to the information meeting and was really excited about it.  I know they
> > are required to meet the requirements of the IEP, but I have heard of
> other
> > charter schools, where they don't provide a braillists, one doesn't even
> > get TVI services any longer, etc.  I don't know the full stories behind
> > these issue's, but I was wondering if others had any experiences and any
> > suggestions to share if we were accepted via the lottery, which is the
> > first hurdle.
> >
> > I know all the requirements for a VI child (except I have two!) is a huge
> > expense for any school and I don't want their to be a sense of resentment
> > that my children are costing them the most but the idea of a 18 child
> > classroom, project  based and theme based instruction is very exci
> > t
> > ing
> >
> > and I can see a VI child excelling in this environment.  I just want to
> go
> > in with both eye's open and know what I'm getting into!
> >
> > Thanks much,
> > Traci (
> > mom to
> > Olivia & Evan, LCA)
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