When my family and I moved to the great state of Iowa in 1967, we were in owe of the excellent public education that the state offered to K-12 students and the outstanding higher education of the three public universities, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
Unfortunately, today and for some time, Iowa public education ranking and quality has dipped significantly from its heyday. There are several reasons behind that decline. One principle reason is the ongoing reduction by the Legislature of necessary funds supporting public education of both K-12 and higher education.
According to the Iowa Department of Education's annual Condition of Education Report, the review of Iowa's budget history shows the state spent more money on education than ever before. It actually rose from $1.9 billion in 2000 to nearly $3.2 billion in 2017-18. That is an increase of $1.3 billion.
The Iowa Legislature passed the state's charter school law in 2002. There is now no cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in the state.
At the organizational level, critics believe that charter schools harm the wider public school district, due to funding and transparency concerns. “I'm opposed to publicly funded charter schools that are run privately,” said Joseph Roy, superintendent of schools at the school district in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2022. Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws.
National teacher unions do not support charters because they give parents the option to flee failing schools or look for a better fit for their children. One possible reason may be due to traditional public schools falling short , which is an embarrassment and could be due to unions' failures.
Charter schools have unique freedom and flexibility not found in public school districts, and their freedom from the red tape of public education often allows them to dedicate increased resources and energy and supporting students in excelling at academic standards. On the other hand, charter schools have a higher teacher turnover rate and lose significantly more teachers each year than public schools. In the United States, charter schools lose 24% of their teachers each year, which is double that of traditional public schools.
It may be of interest to readers and IA voters to raise their awareness on the pros and cons of charter schools.
Unfortunately, today and for some time, Iowa public education ranking and quality has dipped significantly from its heyday. There are several reasons behind that decline. One principle reason is the ongoing reduction by the Legislature of necessary funds supporting public education of both K-12 and higher education.
According to the Iowa Department of Education's annual Condition of Education Report, the review of Iowa's budget history shows the state spent more money on education than ever before. It actually rose from $1.9 billion in 2000 to nearly $3.2 billion in 2017-18. That is an increase of $1.3 billion.
The Iowa Legislature passed the state's charter school law in 2002. There is now no cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in the state.
At the organizational level, critics believe that charter schools harm the wider public school district, due to funding and transparency concerns. “I'm opposed to publicly funded charter schools that are run privately,” said Joseph Roy, superintendent of schools at the school district in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2022. Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws.
National teacher unions do not support charters because they give parents the option to flee failing schools or look for a better fit for their children. One possible reason may be due to traditional public schools falling short , which is an embarrassment and could be due to unions' failures.
Charter schools have unique freedom and flexibility not found in public school districts, and their freedom from the red tape of public education often allows them to dedicate increased resources and energy and supporting students in excelling at academic standards. On the other hand, charter schools have a higher teacher turnover rate and lose significantly more teachers each year than public schools. In the United States, charter schools lose 24% of their teachers each year, which is double that of traditional public schools.
It may be of interest to readers and IA voters to raise their awareness on the pros and cons of charter schools.
Guest column: My family has watched the decline of Iowa public education
Opinion: Iowa's education systems are far from what they were when my husband and I arrived in 1967, writes Shams Ghoneim.
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