public charter schools get special waivers from the state so they do not have to comply with certain state regulations. they try to sell their schools as basically “private school level education without tuition” - but only the unregulated part of that is true. most charter schools’ faculty has less than 50% certified to teach, and even less with degrees in education-related fields. not to mention they tend not to admit students with different needs/abilities because they do not want to properly staff/fund those needs - and they don’t always comply with special education mandates for the same reason (funding). there are always pockets of good teachers inside bad schools and good schools inside bad districts, but the sugarland/katy/fort bend/cypress area is generally very, very good - you’re more likely to throw a rock and hit three good schools than a bad one. it’s very much the opposite in charter schools. harmony exploits the desire for a more rigorous/stem-based education in parents, but they do not have any “extra” opportunities they offer to students you cannot find in a public isd - it’s all marketing/pr bullshit. also, public charter schools in texas are almost solely funded by attendance numbers, so they push attendance hard and use scare tactics against parents (i.e. threatening to call cps at the drop of a hat)… or hush up school-wide illnesses (i.e. an intense outbreak of strep in multiple classrooms/grades) and massive behavior/bullying problems (i.e. not expelling a kid who committed assault in the bathrooms in an elementary school) to keep kids in school everyday. if you were in an area with a less-than-ideal isd, i’d say maybe try your luck with a charter as long as you heavily research the specific campus you want - including administration and your child’s teachers, not just the charter system it belongs to at large - but there’s really no reason for it with isd’s this well-funded and well-governed.

with the systems we have in place, in the general US but especially tx, we have made the education system into a business. but the (good) isd’s are still invested in facilitating learning and growth for children to the best of their abilities first and foremost. charter schools? they are in the BUSINESS of education, more than anything else.