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The Charter Blog
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
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A Moment of Truth for the No Excuses Public Charter Schools
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An article by Robert Pondiscio in the Spring edition of Education Next looks at “no excuses” public charter school networks (CMOs) at a critical juncture. These networks stake their reputation on college-prep coursework and college acceptance rates, but is their focus actually translating into college completion? Now is the “put up, or shut up” moment for networks like KIPP, who has 1,000 former students in college in the 2012-13 school year. The number will surge to 10,000 KIPP graduates in colleges in just three academic years.
Schools like KIPP and YES Prep, who tout their graduates’ college acceptance rates, are also transparent about their struggle to boost college completion rates. The six-year college completion rate for KIPP middle school graduates is 33 percent. Despite YES Prep’s 100 percent college acceptance rate, their six-year college completion rate is 41 percent.
But true to their no excuses credo, these networks are aggressively forging ahead with ways to support their graduates through the uphill battle to a college degree. Besides academic preparedness, there are many obstacles to college success, ranging from difficulty completing financial aid forms to the myriad distractions that come with campus life. To address these issues, KIPP and other no excuses charter networks are forming partnerships with colleges which aim to demystify college life and create meaningful support networks for minority and first-generation college attendees. Additionally, character education emphasizing “grit” and perseverance is increasingly being incorporated into the charter school cultures. Even with the odds against them—only one out of every 12 low-income black and Hispanic students who are accepted to college earns a bachelor’s degree—the no excuses schools are sticking to their mantra.
KIPP classroom. San Francisco, California. © Allison V. Smith
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Posted by:
Nora Kern, Senior Manager for Research and Analysis
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
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What You Need to Know about the Sequester
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The Sequester: What You Need to Know
The sequester (across-the-board spending cuts) is scheduled to go into effect on Friday, March 1st. As authorized in the Budget Control Act of 2011, it requires $85.3 billion in cuts, evenly split between defense and discretionary programs. At this time, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that education programs will be cut by 5.1 percent.
Impact on Federal Education Funding
Since most federal education programs are forward-funded, the U.S. Department of Education does not expect these cuts to impact this school year (2012-2013). Any cuts would go into effect in July 2013, impacting the 2013-2014 school year. The one exception is the Impact Aid program, which compensates school districts that are located on land owned by the federal government. This program will face immediate cuts.
Will the Sequester Impact the CSP, Title I, Title III and IDEA funding?
Yes. Nearly all formula, new awards and continuation grants will be impacted. Only a handful of education and safety net programs that are exempt from the sequester, including:
- Child Nutrition Programs: School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Food
- State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Pell Grants
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
What’s Next?
On March 27th, the Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the federal government expires, and the CR must be renewed through the end of the fiscal year. If there are any proposals to “fix” the sequester, they will be rolled into the CR negotiations.
For a one-page summary of the sequester, please click here.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Friday, February 22, 2013
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Commissions Highlights need for Equitable Public Charter School Funding
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The Equity and Excellence Commission, established by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, was charged with collecting data, analyzing issues and obtaining broad public input regarding how the federal government can increase educational opportunity by improving school funding equity. The report For Each and Every Child was released on February 19th, and it highlighted the value of public charter schools in providing a high-quality education for all children, particularly those from low-income communities.
We agree with a number of the Commission’s key findings, particularly its call for public charter schools, and all public schools of choice, to receive equitable funding. The most recent study on charter school finances suggests that charter schools receive approximately 20 percent less funding than their traditional public school counterparts.
We are also pleased the Commission acknowledges that public charter schools have succeeded in providing choice to families, and serve a high number of students in low-income communities and communities of color. As we have previously noted, public charter schools across the nation enroll a greater percentage of low-income students than traditional public schools (46 percent versus 41 percent), black and Latino students (27 percent versus 15 percent and 26 percent versus 22 percent, respectively), and students who perform lower on standardized tests before transferring to public charter schools.
The Commission notes that some of the best schools for disadvantaged students are charter schools, but raises concerns about the inconsistency of student performance across all charter schools. The quality of charter schools is improving, and we expect student performance will continue to rise. The latest research shows that students in charter schools are increasingly outperforming their traditional public school peers. This is not because charter schools skim the best and the brightest from public schools. In fact, the highest quality research shows that students in charters outperform their peers who applied to a charter but were not chosen in the randomized lottery.
NAPCS will continue to advocate for the growth of high-quality charter schools, and for equitable federal, state, and local funding for all schools.
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Posted by:
Gina Mahony, Senior Vice President of Government Relations
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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NAPCS President Responds to SOTU Address
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Though President Obama's State of the Union (SOTU) Address did not focus on charter schools, he highlighted two initiatives that stand to greatly benefit public charter schools: a partnership with states to encourage access to high-quality preschool and a Race to the Top program aimed at upgrading the quality of high school curricula by focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The benefits of high-quality early-childhood education are indisputable. A study by the Federal Reserve shows that high-quality early childhood education can generate a total benefit cost-ratio of $17 for every dollar invested. No education program shows such a significant return on investment.
During his campaign for President in 2008, Obama proposed a $10 billion, 10-year investment in high-quality early-childhood education. But other than his Early Learning Challenge grant initiative (which is a fraction of this amount), the Administration has not been able to find the funds to support this effort. Public charter schools such as the Apple Tree Institute for Early Learning in Washington, D.C. provide examples of the innovations that the charter school movement can unleash when offered the funds to start Pre-K instruction (D.C. is one of the few states that offers universal access to Pre-K). The sooner students are exposed to a robust early care and education program, the greater their chances are to start school ready to learn. In fact, I hope that the Administration will start to talk about school readiness with the same sense of urgency as its call for college and career readiness.
As for his high school initiative, public charter schools have been at the forefront of developing partnerships with colleges and employers and many, like BASIS charter schools from Arizona, are specifically designed to introduce students to the field of STEM (starting in elementary school). These are welcome efforts, but to bring the focus on STEM to life, the Administration needs to promote a more comprehensive digital initiative aimed at giving students access to high-quality STEM education through technology. Otherwise, it is not clear where we will be able to find the teachers to support this initiative. Here again, online charter schools, such as Connections Academy, provide examples of cost-effective ways to offer high-quality content to thousands of students. These programs help students gain the necessary skills for the future.
The public charter school sector looks forward to working with the Administration to amplify both of these initiatives in the coming years.
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Posted by:
Nina Rees, President & CEO
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Friday, February 01, 2013
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National School Choice Week Whistle Stops: Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, New York
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This week, the Charter Blog will follow the National School Choice Week whistle stop tour—profiling public charter school facts along the tour route (see previous stops Topeka/Kansas City, Chicago, Indianapolis/Milwaukee, and Toledo/Cleveland).
Today’s stops on the National School Choice Week (NSCW) whistle stop tour are Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, New York. New York has top-notch charter legislation, ranked 8th (out of 43) on our model law. New York also has a thriving charter sector. Albany is tied for the 7th largest market share, while New York City has the 2nd largest charter school student enrollment and is tied for the 7th largest growth in the number of public charter schools in the nation.
Strong parental demand for public charter schools in New York City (there are over 50,000 students on waiting lists to attend charter schools in the city) is not surprising given that several studies have demonstrated positive academic performance gains for students who attend public charter schools (see Hoxby, CREDO, Dobby & Fryer, and Supovitz).
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Friday, February 01, 2013
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Public Charter Schools for Montana
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Montana is one of the eight states that still does not allow public charter schools, but we've been working to change that. On January 30th, legislation to establish public charter schools had a fair and tough hearing in House Education Committee. Thanks to one of the bill's sponsors, Senator John Windy Boy, from the Chippewa Nation, for testifying on how charter schools could help children from the tribe learn their native language.
Pictured: Lisa Grover, NAPCS Sr. Director of State Advocacy, and Montana Senator John Windy Boy
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Posted by:
Lisa Grover, Senior Director of State Advocacy
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