My kids really lucked out. We are in AZ in a very red county (Mohave County) and they go to a fantastic charter school. In fact my daughter is in 3rd grade and reads at a 6th grade reading level, she probably reads better than I do! One of my daughters good friends goes to public school and her mom is a teacher and she can not read nearly as well as my daughter, her friend is a smart girl too. I still don’t completely understand how charter schools work but I can say Telesis in Lake Havasu is exceptional. It probably has a lot to do with the administrator is a very good teacher. Not sure where she stands politically though. I guess what I am trying to say and as you did, they can be very good schools if run by a good admin.