Why a Charter School?
While the term "Charter School" is often
heard, especially in discussions regarding the virtues of
public schools versus private schools, the term is also
often not well understood. At
FOCUS Learning Academy we believe that Charter Schools offer
an unprecedented opportunity for many children to receive a
superior education in a superior environment while providing
parents with superior financial value.
How is this possible?
Charter Schools in many respects combine the most favorable
attributes of both private and public schools. Like a
private school a Charter School is able to provide a
customized learning environment that is tailored to specific
educational needs. In fact, to earn a "Charter" -
which is an approval by the State to operate a Charter
School for the public, the school must demonstrate that it
is addressing an otherwise unmet need in the educational
market. In the State of Texas the process of applying
for and receiving a Charter is rigorous and generally
requires months if not years of preparation. Only
after diligent review and approval by the State is a school
awarded a Charter which specifies the role the school will
play in the educational market and the maximum size of the
school's enrollment.
In the State of Texas, once a Charter has
been granted by the State a Charter School must then operate
according to State of Texas Charter School rules and
regulations. While the process of earning a Charter
requires considerable diligence the result is that the
students attending the Charter School then can benefit from
a customized educational environment and have the added
benefit that the State of Texas effectively pays for each
student's tuition. With a Charter School students and
their families have an opportunity to receive the best of
both worlds - a customized education in the manner of a
private school but paid for with tax dollars in the same
manner as students attending a traditional public school.
Who is eligible to attend FOCUS Learning
Academy?
Under the Charter granted by the State of
Texas, any Pre-K thru 8th grade child living in the State of Texas is
eligible to attend FOCUS Learning Academy up to the limit of
the school's Charter for a maximum enrollment of 1,000
students.
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AP Photo/Pablo
Martinez Monsivais
President Barack
Obama and first lady
Michelle Obama visited
Washington D.C.'s
Capital City Public
Charter School to read
to a group of
second-graders.
The White House sent out
a partial transcript of
the President's remarks:
"You're excellent
listeners. And the
reason we came to
visit, A, we wanted
to get out of the
White House; B, we
wanted to see you
guys; but C, the
other thing we
wanted to tell
everybody is that
this kind of
innovative school,
the outstanding work
that's being done
here by the entire
staff, and the
parents who are so
active and involved,
is an example of how
all our schools
should be."
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