During my daughter's first grade year, several disturbing revelations concerning her early education precipitated what has since developed into an extended personal exploration of American education reform. I came to realize that our neighborhood public schools, whose primary function I believed should be the academic achievement of its students, had become subject to ideological experimentation and philosophical indoctrination. Earth Day was explored for a week, while Columbus Day was ignored. Competition in any form was treated as negative and competitive students had been referred to counseling. In-service days were spent not in professional development, but in shopping for culturally sensitive art supplies. In addition, theses events occurred at a time when the school district was scoring well below national averages in every tested academic area, and our school was scoring in the thirtieth percentile at every grade level, even when compared only to within-district scores. When confronted with these facts and subsequent questions regarding the school's educational priorities, the administrator was less than reassuring, and my family was encouraged to explore other educational opportunities for our children.
             This incident precipitated further investigation on my part into elementary curricula, delivery methods and philosophies, and specific academic testing scores within our school district. My discoveries were disconcerting, at best, and as my involvement grew, my welcome at PTA meetings, the school administration building, and the hallways of the neighborhood school quickly wore out. During the ensuing search, I investigated homeschooling, religious and private schools, and the top-performing public and alternative schools. I also drafted a letter of intent for a kind of school that was new to Colorado, known as a charter school.
             Charter schools are taxpayer-funded public schools, operated by parents, educators, or community...