Oak Meadow question

[Michelle My Bell]

Is Oak Meadow used as a curriculum in any state funded online charter schools?

[kewb]

I don't think so.

[gaillardia]

That's an interesting question. Is there a specific curricula used by charter schools? Are they using the usual texts from public schools? I do not know anything about it. Is it really just another money maker?

[Michelle My Bell]

Yes, I know some charter schools in Ohio use Calvert for instance. It also looks like Sonlight is gearing up to be used this way with their new secular Sonlight. 

[gaillardia]

I don't pay enough attention to what's going on with charter schools. I know a couple of teenagers in my area who used charter; out of curiosity I looked into it and thought it just was not what I would want my kids to use. Calvert has a long and excellent reputation but I would be surprised if a charter were to use Oak Meadow. I guess I don't understand charter schools. Some kids go to a school and others use on-line stuff and it is still called charter.

[justasque]

I don't pay enough attention to what's going on with charter schools. I know a couple of teenagers in my area who used charter; out of curiosity I looked into it and thought it just was not what I would want my kids to use. Calvert has a long and excellent reputation but I would be surprised if a charter were to use Oak Meadow. I guess I don't understand charter schools. Some kids go to a school and others use on-line stuff and it is still called charter.

Charter isn't about the curriculum, it's about how the school is funded and who runs it.  Generally speaking, charters are not run by the local school district, but are funded by a per-student tuition fee paid by the local district.  Some charters are run by for-profit companies; others are run by non-profits.  A charter generally needs to meet the state educational standards (and follow other public school rules; they are public schools) but they do not have to use the same curricula as the local public school.  Public cyber-charter schools are online (or in some cases a blend of online and bricks-and-mortar), whereas regular charter schools are bricks-and-mortar like traditional schools.  Some public cyber-charter schools offer a choice of curricula, often including K-12, Calvert, etc.  Since folks like Calvert have been successfully doing secular distance education (as correspondence schools) for decades (and many public cyber-charter students have some roots in the homeschooling world) it makes sense for start-up public cyber-charters to use their materials.

[shinyhappypeople]

If a charter lets you pick your own curriculum... maybe.  Oak Meadow was an approved vendor with our former homeschool/charter program.  So parents could purchase OM products with their funding.