The recently-released PDK/Gallup poll shows that the general public believes that Professor Dumbledore teachers at charter schools, according to an unusually funny post by AFT John over at the union's blog.

His point, which is supported by the poll results, is that while the public is increasingly supportive of charter schools (42% approval for public charter schools in 2000 to a clear majority 53% approval in 2006) additional questioning shows respondents have no idea what they are talking about. They think charter schools are private, charge tuition, screen for students, etc.

Is this something that everyone working in (and sending your children to) charter schools should be working on in their own communities? Even Charter Chuck?

This level of "charter cluelessness" is not new, and it's one of the reasons that the Alliance for Public Charter Schools changed its name last year from the Charter School Leadership Council (to deal with the problem that people believed they aren't public schools.)

To help deal with all the confusion, the folks at the invaluable nonprofit Advocates for Children in NYC have put together this handy charter school primer, along with their parent-friendly write-ups of most of the public schools in the city.

UPDATE: Mike Antonucci takes the issue one step further, pointing out that the public doesn't know an awful lot about anything about which it is asked to opine in the PDK/Gallup poll. He even blames the poll itself for mixing people up on the issue of teacher turnover.