I got the question today...

..."What is the difference between charter schools and public schools?"

Skipping the "charter schools are public schools" response, I said:

There are three things that set charters apart:

• Charters have no boundaries. Therefore, no families are ever assigned to attend. Every family that sends a child to a charter school has made a choice, and therefore an investment, in the school. That makes a tremendous difference in the attitude, support, and outlook of families and students at charters.
• Charters are free from union and state employment rules. They can let bad teachers go.
• Charters have a one-to-one governance model, where a board and superintendent are responsible for and responsive to a single school.

The other differences between a charter and a local district school flow from these three. Do they have a different math curriculum? Any district could implement any math program (consistent with state core standards) in any school. Does a charter have smaller classes? Aides in the classrooms? That's nothing different than anything a school district could do if it chose.

In short, charters have three real advantages: choice, some critical bureaucratic exemptions, and local control. I hope that these advantages are spread throughout the system. That parents are given more choice, that schools and their leaders have more local control, and that they have more autonomy to implement innovative practices in employment, curriculum, and policy.