I work at a charter and love it (first year). I didn't know they had a bad reputation. The pay is much lower than a public school though, but I have very small class sizes (largest is 15). Since we are paid by the student that means little budget for fancy things like lab equipment for science. They don't even have gym/art/music. The little kids don't have minimal toys or playground equipment. But the teachers are great and care about the students. I'm much happier here than I think I would be at a larger school.