Interesting article re: charter vs public school (Newark/Wilmington, DE)
http://udreview.com/2014/05/12/with-emergence-of-charter-schools-data-points-out-resegregation-in-state-schools/
"According to data from the Delaware Department of Education, the newly-created ninth
grade class at Newark Charter School consists of 15 percent Hispanic and African-American students, with representation of low-income students also at 15 percent.
This contrasts starkly with the freshman class at Newark High School which is composed of 64 percent African American and Hispanic students and 70 percent low-income students."
Our whole family are NHS alumnus! Son starts there next year and we love their programs and the wealth of extracurricular activities and clubs available. The kids in all but the very basic classes are challenged and the teachers are willing to help the students, even setting up conference hours after school
Daughter graduated from there in 2011 and did very well. I talk it up when I get a chance to friends or people who I know have appropriate aged kids, but most people say they're afraid to send their kids there. They don't even give it a chance. When I go there for meetings, I see parents (Black, White, Asian, Indian, Saudi Arabian, etc) who are engaged and dedicated to what their kids are doing. I see kids who win awards right/left for improvements and accomplishements.
IMO and others, Christina doesn't comply with the Neighborhood Schools Act (NSA), but nobody says much about that. We're split by an hour ride on I-95, so some of those kids are on a bus at least 2 hrs a day (longer if traffic is bad).
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/gmaps/
Sorry for ranting, but I knew somebody here would understand.