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The Charter Blog
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
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National School Choice Week Whistle Stops: Toledo and Cleveland, OH
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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, and Indianapolis/Milwaukee).
Today’s stops on the National School Choice Week (NSCW) whistle stop tour are Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio is ranked 27th (out of 43) on our model law, a one-place increase from 2012. A blog by the Ohio Gadfly gives further context about what the model law ranking means for Ohio. Several Ohio cities rank on our market share report as well: Cleveland is 6th, Dayton at 7th, and Toledo and Youngstown are part of a tie for 8th largest public charter school market shares in the country.
In terms of charter school policy, the Ohio Association of Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) has been a force behind creating more collaboration between traditional and charter public schools. OAPCS President Bill Sims calls collaboration “a force multiplier when it comes to innovation.” In that spirit, OAPCS, NAPCS and other charter organizations joined together to host the second National Best Cooperative Practices between Charter & Traditional Public Schools Conference.
The Cleveland Plan will be a major test of complete collaboration between the district and charters to revitalize public education in Cleveland. Now the Columbus City Schools are exploring ways for the district and charters to work together. It is about building relationships of trust, but when the goal is the best outcomes and opportunities for kids, these collaborations seem to take hold.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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National School Choice Week Whistle Stops: Indianapolis & Milwaukee
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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 Kansas/Missouri and Chicago).
Today’s stops on the National School Choice Week (NSCW) whistle stop tour are South Bend, Indiana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Indiana has one of the top 10 best public charter school laws (9th out of 43) according to our model law rankings. It also has a growing charter school market, with Gary tied for the fifth largest market share in the country, and Indianapolis tied for the eight largest market share. Additionally, Indiana charter schools are showing performance results. The findings of a recent CREDO report titled Charter Performance in Indiana show that “compared to the educational gains that charter students would have had in a traditional public school, the analysis shows that the typical charter school student in Indiana makes larger learning gains in both reading and mathematics.” This report is part of a decidedly upward trend in research on charter school performance.
The charter school picture in Wisconsin is a bit less sunny. Wisconsin’s charter law ranks 37th out of 43 according to our model law rankings and “needs a major overhaul in several areas.” Milwaukee is tied for the tenth largest national market share. A recent study examined whether the presence of charter schools in Milwaukee had an impact on student performance in traditional public schools and found that charter schools authorized by a non-school district entity appeared to positively impact student performance in traditional public schools.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
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NAPCS Releases Annual National Rankings of Charter School Laws
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The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) today announced the release of our annual rankings of state charter school laws across the country. The report, and the NAPCS model charter school law it is based upon, is designed to support the creation of high-quality public charter schools, particularly for those students most in need of better public school options. States with stronger laws have strong foundations for better schools, and so these rankings have major implications for everyone involved in the charter movement.
The biggest takeaway from this year’s rankings report is that the public charter school movement continues to build on 20 years of success. States with weak or no charter laws are basing new legislation on the experiences of states with stronger laws. And some states fell in the rankings simply because other states enacted stronger laws.
We’re delighted to see states build upon the legislative gains they’ve made over the past several years, particularly in strengthening quality and accountability, but our work is far from finished. In fact, at this year’s National Charter Schools Conference in Washington, DC, we will be leading advocacy trainings to better arm you with the tools to campaign for better charter school policies. Make sure you take part in this training by attending the conference.
16 States Make Improvements
From the ballot initiative in Georgia to the lifting of caps across the country, 16 states made great improvements to their laws. Here are the three states that had the biggest gains:
In Need of Improvement
Some states have spent several of years at the bottom of our rankings, including Mississippi, Virginia and Maryland. However a charter bill has been considered in each chamber of the Mississippi legislature, and we hope that it leads to a great law being passed.
8 States Still Have No Law
Eight states have failed to enact a charter school law: Alabama, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia. We’re working hard on the ground in several of these states to get laws passed.
The Best Laws
We’re especially happy to welcome Washington to the fold. We worked closely with advocates in the state to align the new law with our model legislation, and are glad to see voters welcoming more education options.
You can read the entire report and find the press release on our website. We hope this report can be used by charter school supporters to help them push for laws that support the creation of high-quality public charter schools, particularly for those students most in need of a better public school option. Please learn more about how you can help us in our efforts by registering for the conference and visiting the NAPCS website.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
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National School Choice Week Whistle Stop: Chicago, Ill.
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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 Kansas/Missouri here).
Chicago is one of 14 stops along the National School Choice Week’s (NSCW) coast-to-coast, whistle-stop train tour to promote school choice. The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) is hosting an event today to celebrate NSCW and kick off the Same Student | Same Funding campaign, which aims to correct the unequal "per pupil" funding ratios in Illinois. You can follow the conversation on twitter through hash tag #samefunding.
Chicago has been a central focus point for charter school policy the past year. A two-week long strike by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) in September left 350,000 students in the traditional Chicago Public Schools out of school. During that time, Chicago public charter schools continued to operate, serving 52,000 students. Chicago has the fifth largest public charter school student enrollment according to our 2012 annual market share report. The strike, combined with Illinois charter school performance, increased the demand for more public charter schools. Illinois ranks 27th out of 43 on our 2013 model law rankings.
The strike brought the importance of choice—both for parents in selecting a school with a culture and curricular focus and that fits their child’s needs, and for teachers’ ability to opt to work at a school that appeals to their educational philosophy—to the forefront of policy and political discussions. The power of choice continues to take center stage in the Windy City celebrations of NSCW.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Monday, January 28, 2013
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National School Choice Week Kicks Off
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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.
National School Choice Week, which brings together awareness and advocacy activities based on the belief that parents should be empowered to choose the best educational environments for their children, kicked off a whistle stop tour last Friday. Today, the tour is stopping in Topeka, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas ranked 39th (out of 42) on our 2012 model law rankings (check here tomorrow for new 2013 rankings), which find its public charter school legislation could use improvements across the board. However, the Walton Rural Life Center, located 30 miles north of Wichita, is cited as a strong example of using the public charter school model to serve rural populations.
While there are not very many public charter schools in Kansas, when you cross the border to Missouri, Kansas City is #3 on the top market share list, and St. Louis is tied for the #5 spot. Missouri was ranked 18th out of 42 on our 2012 model law. At the time of the 2012 rankings release, Missouri charter law only allowed public charter schools in the Kansas City and St. Louis school districts. During the 2012 legislative session, SB 576—a bill expanding public charter schools—was passed. Check here tomorrow to see how SB 576 impacted Missouri’s 2013 model law ranking.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
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Mississippi House Passes Charter Schools Bill
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The Mississippi House passed a bill early Thursday morning that would expand public charter schools in the state. The 64-55 vote came after more than seven hours of debate. The House bill would allow start-up charters in the state (it currently only allows conversions), create a new independent statewide entity to be the authorizer, and provide a solid balance of autonomy and accountability. The Senate passed a broader charter schools bill last week. The House and Senate must now agree on a version to send to Governor Phil Bryant, who during his State of the State address Tuesday reiterated his desire to sign an expanded charter schools law. We’ve been working to get a stronger law passed in Mississippi for many years, and this is an important step forward. However, as Rep. Charles Busby noted after the House vote, "I'm proud we could deliver this for Mississippi children, but we've still got a long way to go."
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Friday, January 11, 2013
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Va. Governor Calls for Better Climate for Public Charter Schools in State of Commonwealth Speech
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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell called for an expansion of public charter schools in his State of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday. In his speech, Governor McDonnell stated:
“We still have one of the weakest public charter schools laws in the country. The best public charter school operators in the nation will not come here because we make it nearly impossible for them. We need new charter school laws that demand excellence, set clear standards, and welcome the best charter schools into our communities.”
McDonnell asked lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment to allow the state Board of Education to authorize charter applicants. He also asked that lawmakers eliminate the requirement that local school boards apply for authorization from the state Board of Education before opening a charter school. “These ideas will make it much easier for proven charter schools to open up,” he said.
Only four public charter schools currently operate in in Virginia, and the Commonwealth ranks 37th out of 42 states and the District of Columbia on our 2012 Model Law report. On the plus side, Virginia’s law is cap-free. However, aside from an absence of formal restrictions on growth, Virginia’s law needs improvement across the board. Most notably, the Virginia charter law could improve by providing additional authorizing options for charter applicants, ensuring authorizer accountability, providing adequate authorizer funding, beefing up the law in relation to the model law’s four quality control components (components six through nine), increasing operational autonomy, and ensuring equitable operational funding and equitable access to capital funding and facilities.
Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell delivers the State of the Commonwealth address before the General Assembly at the State Capitol in Richmond, Va. on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. (Bob Brown | AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch)
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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Wednesday, January 09, 2013
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Kentucky Introduces Legislation to Establish Public Charter Schools
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Yesterday, Kentucky House Representative Brad Montell introduced legislation to establish charter schools. The 2013 legislative session marks the third year in a row that supporters have pursued a law to allow public charter schools in the Bluegrass State.
Kentucky is one of only eight states without a law authorizing public charter schools. In 1992, public charter schools started as a small movement and have grown into a proven and effective model for education that respond to parents’ demands and addresses the unique learning needs of students. Today, more than two million students attend these innovative public schools. But Kentucky’s parents and students don’t have the option of attending a public charter school.
In a state with as much diversity as Kentucky, public charter schools can meet the needs of racial, ethnic, and economic groups demanding different curricular approaches. For example, charter schools specialize in several education models, such as bilingual education, arts, vocational instruction, or programs for gifted or at-risk students. Over the past 20 years, charter schools have demonstrated that they can succeed serving children often overlooked by traditional school systems. Indeed, many charter school leaders explicitly state that satisfying the educational needs of a target student group is central to their mission.
Rep. Montell’s legislation is based on examples of laws in states where public charter schools are making the biggest impact on student achievement. With it, Kentucky will have the chance to open new high-quality schools in the public education sector.
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Posted by:
Lisa Grover, Senior Director of State Advocacy
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
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Our Hopes for the New Year
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Washington is kicking into high gear in 2013. The new Congress is being sworn in today, and the inaugural events are just a few weeks away. As our federal legislators begin a new Congressional session, we’ll share some of our hopes for the public charter school sector.
In these last few months, we’ve seen more evidence that public charter schools are being recognized as leaders of innovation in public education. Three charter networks received Race to the Top-District Awards from the U.S. Department of Education. Although charters are only 6 percent of all public schools, they received nearly 18 percent of award dollars. And, the latest round of Gates District-Charter Collaboration Compact grants demonstrated that an increasing number of forward-thinking mayors and superintendents are embracing charters as partners in educating the children in their communities. Building on this recognition, NAPCS will work to provide children access to quality public charter schools. Our top goal is to secure increased funding from Congress and the U.S. Department of Education that supports the expansion of quality public charter schools.
We understand that we have to be vigilant about quality. Our President and CEO Nina Rees has endorsed the work of our colleagues at NACSA and their One Million Lives campaign. We know that underperforming charter schools need to close and we need to ensure that new, higher-quality ones are there to take their place. Indeed, our model charter law includes policies to improve school and authorizer accountability.
NAPCS looks forward to advocating for stronger charter laws and related accountability measures in states and here in Washington.
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Posted by:
NAPCS Pressroom
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