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The Charter Blog
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Sunday, September 30, 2012
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NAPCS: Your Source for all (public charter school related) ESEA Waiver News
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Last week, I blogged earlier about the specific impacts the ESEA waivers on State educator evaluation systems are having on charter schools. If you are still hungry for more waiver news–check out our snap shot look at the ESEA waiver impacts on charter schools in each state. Notice a trend? Curious about how a particular section is playing out for charters across the states? Let me know, and we will get on the case! We will continue to monitor the few remaining states. We have already seen the first Amendment request and approval come in, so we will stay on top of those as well!
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Posted by:
Kristin Yochum, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
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6:00 AM
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Friday, September 28, 2012
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Media Round Up
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NAPCS in the News
News to Know
- “Parsing Fact from Fiction in 'Won't Back Down,” NPR, Sept. 28
- Denver’s Best Public Charter Schools Provide a Model, Denver Post, Sept. 27
- ”Del. Officials Unveil Charter Standards,” Associated Press, Sept. 26
- “D.C. officials change policy on charter schools’ occupation of surplus buildings,” Washington Post, Sept. 25
- “Teachers United backs charter school initiative,” Seattle Times, Sept. 24
Audience Favorites
Facebook— A new study adds to the mounting evidence for the scalability of the KIPP public charter school model. Our Research Director walks you through the research findings--especially the conclusion that KIPP's impact on student performance is not due to harder to educate students leaving for other schools--on the Charter Blog.
Twitter— @charteralliance In HuffPost Education, teacher Carl Finer describes his move from a traditional public school to a public 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.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Friday, September 21, 2012
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News Round Up
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NAPCS in the News
- “National Charter Leaders: With Strong Law, Indiana Must Show Results,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) is featured speaker at Indiana Public Charter Schools Association conference, WIBC.com, 20 Sept. 2012
- “Segregation Prominent in Schools, Study Finds,” Todd Ziebarth (VP State Advocacy) quoted in New York Times, 19 Sept. 2012
- “Lessons Learned” op-ed by Nina Rees on Chicago Teachers Union strike, National Journal Education Expert Blog, 19 Sept. 2012
- “Charter Group Making (Bipartisan) Hires,” article features NAPCS recent hires of Gina Mahony as senior VP for federal affairs and David Hoff as VP for communications and marketing, Education Week Charters & Choice Blog, 19 Sept. 2012
News to Know
- “Chicago teachers to continue strike into a 2nd week in nation’s 3rd largest district,” Washington Post, Sept. 17
- "Nashville Schools to Lose $3 Million over Rejection of Charter School,” Tennessean, Sept. 18
- "D.C. Charter School Struggles with Enrollment Swings Thanks to Waitlist Shuffle,” Washington Post, Sept. 19
- "In Georgia, Support for Charter School Amendment Holds Steady at 58 Percent,” Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Political Insider blog, Sept. 20
- “New Hampshire Board of Education Puts Moratorium on New Charter Schools,” Union Leader, Sept. 21
Audience Favorites
Facebook—Check out this infographic on public charter school attendance that uses data from the NAPCS Dashboard. Graphic by Face The Facts USA via The Huffington Post
Twitter— @GovernorMarkell: 1 of the most important investments we can make is in our public #education system. @DECharterNetwrk @charteralliance
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.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
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Lessons Learned
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The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike hit an unexpected milestone when it continued into its second week. Public charter schools have also hit a milestone this year, marking their 20th anniversary nationally, and 15th in Illinois. As we look at these milestones, it is hard not to draw some contrasts between the two public school models operating in the Windy City. While the strike leaves 350,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system out of school—a collective loss of over five million learning hours in the first week alone—the 52,000 students served by public charter schools remained in the classroom.
Chicago is the fifth largest district in the nation by number of public charter school students served. While charter schools make up nine percent of the Chicago public school market, they are only 2.9 percent of public schools statewide. The relatively high concentration of public charter schools in Chicago brings to head the operational differences between charter and traditional public schools.
One key difference is choice: parents have the ability to choose a charter school with a culture and curricular focus and that fits their child’s needs. Teachers too can opt to work at a school thatnor appeals to their educational philosophy. And the ability to make this choice may be a huge component of job satisfaction. While teachers in their first three years on the job earn comparable salaries in both CPS and charter schools, with increased experience the gap widens—with CPS employees earning up to $12,000 more per year.
Another difference is school design. One of the foundational principles underlying public charter schools is that they use their increased autonomy to pioneer innovations, which when proven effective, can then be shared back to the traditional public school system. Charter schools have road tested several of the innovations at the heart of the CTU negotiations: teacher evaluation methods, extended learning time, and principal control over personnel decisions.
Adoption of effective practices by the larger public school system is essential to leveraging impact. That said, collective bargaining agreements in unionized schools hinder customization of reform strategies. Specifically, charter schools are able to tailor implementation at the school- and sometimes even classroom-level. But the parameters of the CTU contract would make this school-level individualization near impossible. However, the negotiations present a great opportunity to bring tested reforms to scale. As Andrew Broy, President of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) stated, “At INCS, we want to make sure that all public schools focus on what works, including a relentless focus on teacher quality and ensuring that every school is led by a strong principal. But until adults subordinate their interests to those of our students, the unfortunate reality is that far too many people will fight for decisions that hurt students.”
As the public charter school movement enters its next decade, it’s time to maximize the lessons learned from their past 20 years by turning innovations into reality for all public schools. The resolution of the CTU strike will impact this possibility in urban centers across the country.
This blog originally ran in the National Journal Education Experts Blog on 19 Sept. 2012.
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Posted by:
Nina Rees, President & CEO
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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Start Up Expenses and Federal Cost Principles
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Congratulations! You saw the phrase “Federal cost principles” and didn’t run in fear! NAPCS stands ready to support your work throughout the reimbursement process. Successful Federal grant management rests in our ability to understand those expenses defined by the federal government in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Each Federal program has its own rules and policies, but, these principles, set in the CFR, are the basis for allowable spending of federal dollars.
In the coming weeks we will highlight different cost principles, and explain what they mean for you. Today, we start with an analysis of some of the expenses related to start up schools. For more information, read our breakdown here.
Have you experienced difficulties in your reimbursement process, now or in the past? Please let us know about them, so that we can target our efforts to better meet your needs. As always feel to contact me with questions whenever they arise.
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Posted by:
Kristin Yochum, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
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6:00 AM
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Friday, September 14, 2012
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Media Round Up
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This series features top news, blogs, and social media activity from the week.
NAPCS in the News
News to Know
Undoubtedly, the nation’s eyes were on the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike this week, as the school system shut down for the first time in 25 years. However, the city’s public charter schools remained in session during the strike, and gained heightened parental and media attention due to this fact. This week's coverage of charter schools and the CTU strike includes:
Audience Favorites
Facebook—Congratulations to the 12 public charter schools honored as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools! The program recognizes schools for their high performance and improved student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students. “Great schools don’t happen by chance. Great schools happen by design,” Secretary Arne Duncan said in a speech announcing the awards.
Twitter—@charteralliance participated in the School Choice Facts tweet chat coordinated by National School Choice Week (@schookchoicewk) on Sept. 13. Check out the feed from the discussion by searching hash tag #SchoolChoiceFacts.
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.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
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How LEA Status Impacts Public Charter Schools for Special Education Purposes
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The provision of special education services in public charter schools has been getting a lot of attention lately. For such a complex set of issues, it is startling to see how much of this focus has been rather simplistic in nature, merely comparing the percentage of special education students in public charter schools to those in traditional school districts. While such data is important to examine, it is just as critical to understand how complex federal and state policy environments impact those numbers—something rarely discussed, particularly by charter opponents.
As just one example, charter schools serve as their own local education agency (LEA) in 11 states and the District of Columbia. However, when it comes to special education delivery, four of those 11 public charter schools are not independent LEAs, and work with the LEA of the student’s residence in a variety of ways.
Connecticut law requires charter schools to be connected to each student's district of residence LEA for purposes of special education. It requires special education funds to go to the LEA of residence, which is responsible for evaluation and services. In reference to high cost, low-incident cases, the Connecticut statute provides that the LEA pays the charter school, on a quarterly basis, an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost of educating high needs students and the amount received via a formula by the charter school.
In the District of Columbia, the law requires a charter school to elect (at the time of application) whether it will be an independent LEA or part of the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) LEA for special education purposes. The law provides that charter schools that are part of the DCPS LEA for special education purposes receive evaluation services from the school district and that independent LEA charters do not. It also provides that each charter school is responsible for ensuring the provision of special education services whether or not it has elected to be an LEA for special education purposes.
For special education, New Hampshire law provides that the district in which the student resides is considered the LEA in order to determine the student’s correct placement (in a charter or elsewhere). Special education funds flow through the district LEA to the charter LEA. Although the law clearly indicates that the district is the LEA for special education purposes, it neither specifies how special education services are to be provided to charter school students, nor how low-incident, high cost services are to be handled.
New York law is not explicit about which LEA entity is responsible for providing special education services. In practice, the district of the charter student’s residence is the LEA for special education purposes. The law provides charter schools with the choice of whether to provide services directly, hire a third party to provide them, or ask the district to provide them. The law does not explicitly say whether the district must fund the provision of these services when schools opt to have the district provide services, but the district LEA does so in practice. There are provisions in the law and regulations that provide supplemental high cost aid to for high-cost services for charter schools for students with low incidence, relatively severe disabilities.
These policy environments have a great deal of impact on the degree (and how well) public charter schools serve special education students. Moving forward, such impacts need to be more frequently discussed as we tackle this complex set of issues.
If you are interested in learning more about charter LEA status by state, click here or on the image below.
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Posted by:
Kristin Yochum, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
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6:00 AM
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
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Congratulations to the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Charter Schools
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Twelve public charter schools were among 269 schools recognized as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education for demonstrating academic gains and success in closing the achievement gap. “Great schools don’t happen by chance. Great schools happen by design,” Secretary Arne Duncan said in a speech announcing the awards.
NAPCS congratulates these charter schools that are setting a high standard of excellence and using innovative charter models to bring students to greater levels of academic achievement. The 12 public charter schools that earned the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award are:
- Tongass School of Arts and Sciences—Ketchikan, Alaska
- Challenger Basic School—Gilbert, Arizona
- Summit Middle Charter School—Boulder, Colorado
- City On A Hill Charter Public School—Roxbury, Massachusetts
- Team Academy—Waseca, Minnesota
- Albany Community Charter School—Albany, New York
- Bronx Charter School for Excellence—Bronx, New York
- Success Academy Harlem 1—New York, New York
- KIPP Reach College Preparatory School—Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Infinity Charter School—Penbrook, Pennsylvania
- East Early College High School—Houston, Texas
- Project Chrysalis Middle School—Houston, Texas
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools that are high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students. The program is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s larger effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about best practices around teaching and school leadership.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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6:00 AM
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Friday, September 07, 2012
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The Public Charter School Movement Celebrates 20 Years Today
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Twenty years ago today, the first public charter school opened in St Paul, MN, forging the path for the most innovative public education reform movement in a century.
The concept of charter schools was proposed by a local Citizens League and authorized by bi-partisan legislation endorsed by a Democratic-majority legislature and a Republican governor. City Academy High School was started by two teachers and a youth recreation leader who wanted the autonomy to provide students at high risk of dropping out with the choice of a new type of public school that could better serve their needs.
Today, politicians from both sides of the aisle support charter schools, including Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Governor Romney. Legislatures in 41 states and Washington, D.C. have adopted charter school legislation. Additionally, in the last two years, 19 states strengthened their charter school laws by lifting caps restricting charter growth, providing more equitable funding and facilities support, and enacting new authorizing and accountability measures. Maine enacted its first charter school law.
And demand for public charter schools is at an all time high. More than 2,000,000 students attend approximately 5,600 charter schools, and more than 610,000 more are on waiting lists. The public nationwide supports public charter schools by a two to one margin, and the movement has been embraced by a wide swath of Americans, from business leaders Bill Gates and Craig Barrett, to organizations including the National Council of La Raza and the United Negro College Fund.
The cornerstones of the public charter school movement are bringing effective innovation into the teaching and learning process, providing parents choices that better suit their children’s personal needs, and allowing educators the autonomy they deserve to best educate their students.
Because of this, charter schools have driven many trends, including integrating and utilizing technology in effective ways; transforming how teachers and school leaders are recruited, supported, and retained; and reinventing how schools are operated and educational opportunities are provided.
After more than 200 studies on charter schools, we’ve learned that eliminating unnecessary restrictions on how education is delivered, and breaking down the barriers of who can help children learn, has enhanced how children achieve and develop. Public charter schools are demonstrating that the achievement gap can be closed and that every child, regardless of where they live or their socio-economic status, can achieve at high academic levels.
In the coming decade, leaders of the public charter school movement must concentrate their efforts on making the charter sector the source of innovative solutions to public education’s most pressing challenges and providing more high-performing schools to families and students across the nation.
This is where effective charter authorizers come in. They must find ways to create an atmosphere for new operators to enter the space – and exit swiftly when they fail. We want the charter school brand to be synonymous with academic excellence and operational integrity. The students we serve deserve no less.
Charter schools offer the promise of preserving the American ideal of a quality public education, particularly in the many communities with under-performing public schools. It is clear what charter schools can accomplish. The next challenge is to build on those accomplishments to ensure that every child can realize the benefits of a high-quality public school education.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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6:00 AM
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Wednesday, September 05, 2012
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NAPCS to Host Webinar on RTT-D Applications
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NAPCS will host a webinar on September 13th from 2–3 pm EST for those charter LEAs interested in applying for the US Department of Education’s Race to the Top – District grant. The webinar will be targeted to those charter LEAs interested in applying as a part of a consortium. Participants will review procedures for completing the application, how public charter schools can participate if they are not an LEA, special attention will be paid to creating a consortium of LEAs. Click here to register.
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Posted by:
Kristin Yochum, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
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6:00 AM
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