Avoiding Mistakes and Cliches in Story-Writing

4: Stereotypes - Types of Schools

As bad as school might be, there has to be at least one school out there looking out for the welfare of their students and staff. Just because there are bad people, doesn't mean that good people don't exist.

Not all high schools are boarding schools or public schools, here are a list of schools you can find nearly everywhere (Credit: http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-schools/)

Types of Public School

"Public Schools are operated by local, state, and federal government funds," says Emily Brown of . The proportions and sources of funding can vary from state to state, according to the , but only up to 9 percent of traditional public education funding comes from the federal government.

1. Traditional public schools need to abide by certain standards. Teachers must have the appropriate licensure to work at a public school, which is usually mandated by state in which they are located. Students attend a public school based on where they live and aren't required to pay tuition. The schools themselves must adhere to rules of curriculum, policy and governance, most of which is decided at the state and local level according to the . A comparison of public school performance and standards by state can be found

2. "Charter schools offer an institutional hybrid," writes . "Like traditional public schools, charter schools are free... . However, parents must usually submit a separate application to enroll a child in a charter school, and like private schools, spaces are often limited."

Any company, organization or individual can apply for a charter to open a charter school. If the state grants their charter, the school will receive a certain amount of funding for a limited period of time — typically 3-5 years. If the school fails to meet performance expectations, their charter is not renewed, and it closes.

"Chartering allows the school to run autonomously of the existing public school system," says the Public School Review. "Many offer a unique learning environment, such as a school whose science classes are conducted in the field, or a specialization in arts education." Charter schools often choose a specialization or mission statement that meets a need of their community.

Teachers and administrators at charter schools have more authority to make decisions than most traditional public schools, and the cost of that freedom is a constant pressure to perform. A new charter school could fail to impress the legislature in its first few years and lose funding. On the bright side, this means a charter school that has been around for a while has proven its worth in achievement several times over.

3. Magnet schools specialize in certain areas such as technology, science or the arts. They are free public schools operated by school districts or a group of districts.

Magnet Education reports that some magnet schools admit students based on achievement, often called "talented & gifted" schools. "They are highly competitive and highly selective," Brown says, adding that students typically go through rigorous testing and applications to attend. Other magnet schools enroll using a random lottery and will admit any student who desires to attend.

Magnet schools tend to be very intentional about maintaining a diverse student population and are likely to have a waitlist of students trying to enroll. "As a result, they promote higher level cognitive and social learning," Magnet Education writes. "Magnet schools make the extra effort to create a sense of classroom and school community ... curriculum is also clear and transparent for families so they can more fully engage in the learning of their students."

Many public school districts are creating more options for their students by opening virtual options. This can be confusing since there are also virtual private schools, online classes that can supplement a traditional brick-and-mortar education, and virtual classes connected to homeschooling.