While you were doing #1, 2, and 3, children, who learn at vastly different rates, weren't getting the job done. The job is to learn, and be exposed to ideas, to memorize a lot of stuff.
The charter schools are horrible ideas because it allows the public system to erode further by sucking energy, mindshare, community, and especially funds away.
Is it a good idea to have specialized schools? Sure! But charter schools don't serve this purpose. Instead, they allow pseudo-self identification for parents, and also harken back to the days of segregation.
Certainly safety is important, but many of the public schools I've seen are more 7-4pm babysitters. Parents, trying to hold it together working two jobs (esp single moms) can't give their children the time that they need with parents to overcome obstacles. Obstacles get big, and you open the opportunities for gang activities, lack of community involvement, and the ability to excel.