Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became law, educators have faced challenges trying to protect the common good of a public education while, at the same time, developing and/or reviewing proposals to provide for the school choice option of NCLB. In the debate over market-driven education versus traditional public education, many times, the ideologies behind each approach come into direct conflict. Educators and legislators need to be able to identify when privileged interests are at the core of reforms or if the education of each student is the primary interest being served. This project provides a real life portrait of the performance of a charter school and a traditional school situated in the sprawling metro Atlanta area. Additionally, the denial of two charter petitions was evaluated. The denials revealed educators who could recognize charter petitions that, as a result of class privilege, might compromise the educational choice of less privileged students. Furthermore, the review of these denials could inform educators of the red flags that might arise from conflicting interests. The study indicates that only by placing students first in the debate between charter schools versus traditional public schools can there be assurance that public educational goals are equitably met among the two.