NAPCS Monthly Newsletter

Dear Friends,

With June marking the kickoff for this year’s National Charter Schools Conference, we are excited to see many of you in person in our nation’s capital very soon! The largest gathering of the year for the public charter school movement, this year’s conference runs from June 30-July 3 and will feature more than 4,000 attendees as well as fantastic speakers, panels and sessions.

To stay updated on all of our activities and happenings in the public charter school sector, follow me on Twitter along with @charteralliance and #NCSC13 for conference tweets, subscribe to The Charter Blog, and make sure to sign up for our mailings—including news clips, press releases and other important announcements.

Best regards,

Nina Rees
President and CEO
@Ninacharters

Conference Update—Welcoming Pitbull
As a sign of the broad reach and resonance of the public charter school movement, worldwide music superstar Mr. Armando “Pitbull” Pérez will kick off this year’s National Charter Schools Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A globally successful musician, performer, business entrepreneur, fashion icon and actor whose career sales exceed five million albums and 40 million singles worldwide, Mr. Pérez will join us to talk about his decision to open a charter school this fall in Miami called SLAM (Sports Leadership and Management) Charter School.

First, many of the Administration’s most effective programs—such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation Funds (i3) and the Charter School Replication and Expansion Grants—are not etched into law yet. If ESEA is not reauthorized, these programs may fall by the wayside, which would mean that countless future charter schools may never come to pass.

Second, we have seen overwhelming bipartisan agreement on a host of ESEA reforms,such as strengthening the Charter Schools Program, which passed the House with strong majority. Despite disagreement over some other key aspects of reauthorization, because the House and Senate have already been through this reauthorization exercise twice, putting together a strategy that would get a bill to the finish line would be challenging, but would be well within reach.

Finally, if media attention around the Common Core is any indication, America may be ready to have a more substantive discussion about education policy. You can read more here.

To learn more about ESEA reauthorization, read the National Alliance white paper: Free to Succeed: Public Charter Schools & the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

ESEA—Tests taken, lessons learned through NCLB Sanctions
This past month, the National Alliance participated in a forum held by the American Enterprise Institute which explored a new analysis from Duke University that indicates certain NCLB sanctions have proven more effective than others. Specifically, this analysis found that the threat of significant school restructuring raised student achievement in underperforming schools. You can watch the forum in its entirety here.

ESEA Legislation
The Senate HELP Committee approved the Strengthening America’s Schools Act; and on June 19, the House Education and Workforce Committee started its consideration of H.R. 5, The Student Success Act. Both bills would make changes to the federal Charter Schools Program. In particular, both would increase the number of entities eligible to apply for grants from the Department of Education. We are analyzing the bills very closely on a number of important issues related to charter school quality, growth and innovation. We are working with Congressional staff in the Senate and House, and we’ll continue to keep you apprised of what’s going on in Washington, D.C. as these bills advance.

Click hereto view a chart that compares select provisions from the ESEA bills introduced by Senator Harkin, Senator Alexander and Chairman Kline against current law and ESEA Waivers.

STEM
According to the responses to our recent national survey, over 20 percent of public charter schools indicated a STEM or math/science instructional focus. Given the prominence of a STEM-focus in public charter schools, the National Alliance was recently invited to join two important dialogues on STEM Education – POLITICO’s Pro Technology team discussion on the current state of STEM education and U.S. News’ STEM Solutions conference.

At the POLITICO forum, I had the pleasure of joining Tom Kalil, White House deputy director for technology and innovation, Becky Pringle, NEA secretary-treasurer, and Eric Schwarz, co-founder and CEO of Citizen Schools, for a conversation focused on the implications of STEM on the American workforce as well as what to expect for STEM policy in the year to come. 

POLITICO's Jessica Meyers (left) and Tony Romm (right) are joined by Eric Schwarz (second from left), Nina Rees (third from left), Becky Pringle (third from right) and Tom Kalil (second from right).

I also joined a fantastic team at the STEM Solutions conference, which included Maria Klawe, Harvey Mudd College president, Arthur Levine, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation president, Camsie A. McAdams, U.S. Department of Education Senior Advisor on STEM Education, Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education, and Richard Middleton, regional vice president of the southwestern region at the College Board, to address the question: 'Are we moving too slowly?'

About the National Alliance
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector.

NCSC Countdown: What Sessions Do You Plan to Attend?

Department of Education Announces New Charter School Grants

Media Round Up

• “Tech, education leaders talk STEM challenges,” Nina Rees (President & CEO) quoted in POLITICO, June 12
• “Most Charters Don't Have Sufficient Room to Grow, Study Says,” NAPCS survey report cited in Education Week Charters & Choice Blog, June 10

News to Know

• “Newark Proposes New Charter Admissions Policy,” Wall Street Journal’s Metropolis blog, June 14
• “State District to Run Struggling Schools in Virginia,” Education Week, June 13
• “Illinois Virtual Charter School Withdraws Appeal,” Daily Herald, June 12
• “Maine Senate Approves Charter School Bill,” Morning Sentinel, June 11
• “Education Pioneers Comes to Memphis,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 10

Audience Favorites

Facebook— Friday Fact: In the past five years, the growth of public charter school student enrollment has increased nearly 80%, and the number of schools has grown by 40%. Given this demand, the ability to access and finance adequate facilities is a critical part of public charter school growth. http://www.publiccharters.org/Blog/Default.aspx?id=432

Twitter— @educationweek Half of charter schools will outgrow their current facility over the next 5 years, @charteralliance survey finds: blogs.edweek.org/edweek/charter

You can stay up to date on all the developments in the public charter school sector by subscribing to our regular news updates…Sign up here.

NAPCS CEO is a Panelist in POLITICO’s STEM Policy Discussion

Trends in Public Charter Schools’ Instructional Delivery and Focus

During the spring of 2012, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) conducted its first national public charter school survey. The survey asked public charter school leaders to respond to questions on school waitlists, curriculum, facilities and a variety of other operational elements. A primary goal of the survey was to collect information that would help to better understand the wide range of instructional strategies public charter schools use.

With 6,000 autonomous charter schools operating nationwide, the responses to our first national survey demonstrate that public charter schools are a varied bunch. Our new report analyzes the survey responses to provide new details about emerging trends and differences in the instructional delivery strategies and focus of public charter schools. Top trends identified by the survey include:

• Almost three-quarters (71.8 percent) of the respondents use a combination of off-the-shelf and customized curriculum;
• Over half (57.7 percent) of respondents from charter schools that enroll students in grades 9 through 12 described their schools as having a “college-prep” instructional focus;
• Half (49.3 percent) of the respondents indicated an extended school day to increase instructional learning time; and
• Nearly half (48.8 percent) of the respondents from charter schools that enroll students in grades 9 through 12 said their students take classes at local universities or colleges.

The survey asked public charter schools to select their instructional focus from a list of 44 options, including a write-in option, and two out of five public charter schools (40.5 percent) respondents indicated a college-prep instructional focus. Based on the many approaches that schools use to implement a “college-prep” instructional focus, we asked charter school leaders tell us in their own words how they use different instructional methods to achieve their school’s mission. For example, The Intergenerational School in Cleveland, Ohio, pairs students with adult and senior citizen mentors to let the generations learn from each other, while the Paulo Freire Freedom School, a charter middle school in Tucson, Arizona, adopted project-based learning to impart knowledge through experiences that are authentic and engaging. These are just two of the many innovative approaches that public charter schools use to make a difference in the lives of children. You can also check out blogs from a virtual school in Hawaii, a Japanese immersion charter in Oregon, a wellness-focused charter in New York, and a service-learning school in Pennsylvania.

Whether through a customized curriculum or extended learning time, public charter schools are innovating to meet their students’ needs. Charter schools use their autonomy to select instructional focuses that run the gamut: from career-based to vocational and from traditional to project-based learning.

U.S. House Majority Leader Tours Virginia Public Charter School

U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA-07) toured the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts (PHSSA) and held an education roundtable with school leaders and parents last Friday, June 7th. PHSSA is a public charter school in Richmond, Virginia that is dedicated to educating and inspiring their students through active community involvement. PHSSA is one of four public charter schools in Virginia and serves 210 elementary aged students.

Virginia is ranked 38 out of 43 by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) Model Law ranking. At PHSSA, 84 percent of the students passed the statewide English exam. However, only 48 percent of the students passed the Mathematics exam, much lower than the 68 percent statewide passing rate. Despite these results, parents and community members truly value the education their children are receiving at PHSSA. In fact, as stakeholders in their children’s education, parents and teachers stood up to the Richmond school board to renew the schools charter in March.

Stories like this confirm the impact public charter schools can have on families and highlight the importance of school choice. NAPCS applauds Congressman Cantor on his support for public charter schools.

Image via @GOPLeader on twitter (June 7, 2013). "Great visit to Patrick Henry elementary school in #RVA. #SchoolChoice pic.twitter.com/QgiOPWTjVL"

Behind the Mic: Armando Pérez, 2013 National Charter Schools Conference Speaker

Media Round Up

NAPCS in the News

• “State charter schools leader takes national job,” NAPCS’s hire of Russ Simnick cited by Indianapolis Business Journal, the Post-Tribune and Inside Indiana Business, June 4
• “3-Minute Interview: Linda Moore, charter schools Hall of Famer,” NAPCS Hall of Fame inductee Linda Moore interviewed in Washington Examiner, June 2

News to Know

• “Illinois Bill Would Guarantee Military Families 33 Percent of Charter Seats,” Lake County Journal, June 7
• “Public Charter Schools Help Turn Dropouts into Graduates,” Education Week series, June 6
• “Maine Charter School Commission Considers Moratorium on New Charter School Applications,” Kennebec Journal, June 5
• “North Carolina Public Charter Schools Association Opposes Separate Charter Board,” News & Observer’s Under the Dome blog, June 4
• “Newark Charter Schools Receive $10 Million,” Newark Patch, June 3

Audience Favorites

Facebook— During Good Morning America’s 2013 Summer Concert Series, Armando Pérez, aka Pitbull, talked about SLAM (Sports Leadership & Management), the public charter school he's opening in Miami. Register now for the National Charter Schools Conference to see Pitbull speak on July 1st! http://gma.yahoo.com/video/mr-worldwide-im-only-legal-143636528.html

Twitter— @charteralliance: NEW NAPCS Report and Infographic on public charter school facilities bit.ly/112559n

You can stay up to date on all the developments in the public charter school sector by subscribing to our regular news updates…Sign up here.

Public Charter School Facilities Trends