Charter schools are more for the adults who start the school rather than the children. I grew up in a state that had charter school mania, and it was always something like, some weird guy with a master's degree had a boner for Medieval Literature and his interpretation of the Origins of the University, so he'd start a charter school focused on Rhetoric, Sums and Figures, Swordsmanship, and Court Jesting (NO JOKE.). Or, some muslim elders from Somalia would start a somalian school catering to the special needs of somalian students, while simultaneously catering to the special employment needs of the school administrator's family who just arrived from Mogadishu. Or, a guy in the midwest who couldn't get a job as a final cut pro editor (no kidding?) so he'd start the "Media Sciences" charter school, etc etc. The actual kids attending these schools were a total afterthought.