Another Reason Kids Leave

I was just reminded of another reason kids leave charter schools. To go to other charter schools!

Sometime, parents like the idea of charter schools but the fit isn't perfect. I know kids who have been pulled out to go to other charter schools because of behavior policy issues (uniforms, detentions, etc.), because of retention, or because their kid gets into one of the higher achieving schools. (By the way, proof that parents don't use academic achievement as their only criteria of for picking a school, I know of parents at my school who have chosen to pull their kids from a high achieving charter to send them to Uphams Corner, and vice versa).

Here's a second reason I can think of: since there isn't a single charter school in Boston (proper, that is - Prospect Hill in Cambridge/Somerville is K-12) that serves all grades, in many cases parents need to find another place for their kids to go next. If parents like charter schools, but the school doesn't have a middle school or high school, they will pull their kid out of the original school to go to the school that will take them further along in grades, even if that means leaving before the school finishes. With waiting list spots so hard to come by, parents often feel they can't give up a chance to get in as soon as they are offered a spot. Here are some examples, kids being pulled from Boston Renaissance (K-6) to go to Excel (5-8) so their kids are guaranteed a spot through 8th grade, kids being pulled from Edward Brooke (K-8) to go to Boston Collegiate (5-12), MATCH (7-12) or Boston Prep (6-12), so their kid is guaranteed a spot in a charter high school.