since they have been very much in the news recently, not necessarily for the best of reasons.
I write from the perspective of one who spent most of his career in public schools, but is for the second time in a charter school serving by and large high-needs children. We are a middle school with 70% of our students receiving Free and Reduced Meals (my first charter, at which I taught November 2012-January 2013 until my wife was diagnosed with her cancer, was 93% Free and Reduced Meals).
Our students wear uniform shirts (either red or blue), and one of two colors of trousers, shorts, skirts.
We line them up before they can come into our classroom.
We have sound educational reasons for both, which I will explain.
But we are not as rigid as some of the horror stories I have read.
We have a longer school day, and we require Saturday school for students doing poorly academically.
I might note I am not the only teacher with an undergraduate background from an elite college - my team leader (who teaches Math) comes out of Dartmouth after having done his junior and senior years of high school at a progressive school here in DC.
Please keep reading as I explain our rationale.