By Andrew Pillow

In the coming years, people will hear more and more about “charter schools.”  Some people will say one thing about them; other people may say the exact opposite. We need to develop a common language around the concept.

Claudio Sanchez over at NPR has done a good job of getting to the bottom of charter schools:

“The term “charter” really refers to the decision by states to turn public education into a two-sector system. One is a traditional school district, centrally managed. The other, charter schools, are independent, not owned by a central school board. Both are public, but they’re organized in radically different ways.

People have to understand, chartering laws don’t create schools. It is enabling legislation that sets up a process for people to create schools. The charter sector was supposed to encourage innovation — pedagogical laboratories that would push new ways to teach, even if it was disruptive.”

Read more and see interviews from 3 charter school experts here. (via: NPR)