Nearly 20 Percent of the Top 100 U.S. Public High-Schools are Charters

The Washington Post on Monday released a list of the highest-performing public high schools in the nation based upon a special index that measures how effective a school prepares its students for college. The “High School Challenge” index named the top 1900 public high schools in the nation—we’re proud to announce 18 public charter schools were among the top 100:

Read how the Post used academic indicators such as AP-course enrollment and graduation rates to compile the list. Congratulations to all of the school leaders, teachers, administrators, families and students that are affiliated with these public charter high schools.

Be sure to notify us of any press you garner so we can share news of your media spotlight in our social network spaces and advocacy e-blasts. Please send us pictures of any recognition ceremonies you may coordinate as well: NAPCSpressroom@publiccharters.org.

What Works in U.S. Charter Schools Translates Across the Pond

Former head of the New York City Charter Schools Office Michael T. Duffy, recently wrote an article comparing similarities between the models and challenges faced by British Free Schools and U.S. charter schools. Free Schools, a policy centerpiece of the Conservative-Liberal coalition in the UK, enable parents, teachers, charities and businesses to set up schools in England. The first free schools are slated to open in September 2011. These schools will be taxpayer funded, free to attend and have open enrollment, but are not administered by local authorities.

Sound familiar? The UK Department for Education has been doing its homework on U.S. charter schools, especially on the quality front. Its webpage about applying to open a free school states, “We want to ensure only high-quality applications are approved. We know from the United States that the best charter schools are in states with a rigorous approval process.”

Drawing upon his extensive experience as a charter school leader, Duffy offers lessons learned from the U.S. charter school movement that can apply to the Free Schools model.

He observes:

1. 1)      Parental choice, properly harnessed, is a driver for change and better schools
2. 2)      Given effective schools, children from poorer communities can succeed academically
3. 3)      Those that benefit from the status-quo will be fierce in defending it
4. 4)      Developing suitable premises is a challenge: be adaptive and recognize the spill-over effects
5. 5)      Newly formed schools can be laboratories of innovation

As the free schools movement begins in the UK, time will tell if the U.S. charter model can be successfully adapted to the British context or gets lost in translation.

Happy National Charter Schools Week

Activities for National Charter Schools Week 2011 are well underway! In Washington we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 2011 Champions for Charters and meeting with the largest group of charter school advocates from schools and charter support organizations ever assembled for this week. On Tuesday May 3rd, we will be conducting an Online Advocacy Day. We will be urging people throughout the day via Facebook, Twitter and SMS text to contact their senators and representatives with a personal message about the difference high-quality public charter schools are making in the lives of kids.

We’ll also be collecting stories from National Charter Schools Week events nationwide and sharing them here on the Charter Blog. Here is a glimpse of some ongoing events:

Arizona: The Arizona Charter Schools Association hosts its Annual Business Conference this Thursday and Friday. They will honor business leaders for supporting high-quality charter schools while helping school leaders to improve business operations.

District of Columbia:

• DC Association of Chartered Public Schools recognizes their 2011 Stars, recognizing top performers from among the District of Columbia's charter school students and leaders, with a tribute event on Thursday evening.
• DC Public Charter Schools Board will host several activities throughout the week including visits to City Hall, school tours, an evening reception and forum with local stakeholders and an online chat with board members.
• FOCUS, City Bridge Foundation, and Charter Board Partners will be hosting Charter First Fridays at Capital City Charter School.

Georgia:
Georgia Charter Schools Association kicked off National Charter Schools Week with “Charter Schools Rock,” an informational session, on Sunday. It was a terrific opportunity to put the charter school community front and center and build awareness for our movement.

South Carolina:
River Charter School in Beufort is celebrating all week long by hosting a Waitinf for Superman screening and conducting school tours all week long.

Texas:
On Wednesday, May 4, Texas will have more than 2,000 charter school parents rallying at the State Capitol in Austin. The Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA) has helped coordinate parents from Houston, the Valley, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin as well as students and families from KIPP Houston and Austin will have a strong showing, as will YES Prep, IDEA in the Valley and Uplift in Dallas.  

Tell us about your Charter Schools Week activities and we’ll highlight them here!
E-mail pressroom@pubiccharters.org