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“Cooperation-Makes-it-Happen”-for-District-and-Charter-Public-Schools

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Cooperation seems to be this week’s theme in the charter sector, with two major deadlines! First, the Department of Education’s Collaboration Awards competition (CFDA 84.282P) is coming to an end this week. The purpose of this competition is to encourage high quality public charter schools to partner with non-chartered public schools and non-chartered LEAs to share and transfer best educational and operation practices, and to disseminate information about such practices. The deadline for applications is August 29th, so you should be making sure your grants.gov account is up and running TODAY! Have any last minute questions? Ask me!

Are you curious about how you can effectively partner with the traditional public schools in your community, and can’t wait for the best practices dissemination phase of the Collaboration Awards? Check out the National Best Cooperative Practices between Charter and Traditional Public Schools Conference (NBCP). The early-bird registration ends August 31st. And be sure to check out the directory of participants and practices too!

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A-Growing-Movement:-America’s-Largest-Charter-School-Communities-%287th-Edition%29

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Today we released the seventh edition of our annual market share report, A Growing Movement: America’s Largest School Communities. This year marks unprecedented nationwide growth for public charter schools. For the first time ever, 110 school districts have 10 percent of their students enrolled in public charter schools in the 2011-2012 academic year (96 in 2010-2011). A record 25 school districts have more than 20 percent of students enrolled in charter schools, and seven school districts enroll at least 30 percent of public school students in charter schools. Back in 2006, when we first released the report, there were six school districts with more than 20 percent and only one district with more than 30 percent of students enrolled in charter schools.

There wasn’t any movement in the top spots for market share and total charter enrollment: New Orleans remains number one with 76 percent of students enrolled in charter schools and Los Angeles keeps the top spot with nearly 100,000 students attending charter schools. Clark County rocketed to the top of the list of high growth with 64 percent more students attending charter schools in 2011-2012 than in the previous academic year.

The map below presents data from the three lists of school districts with the highest charter school market share, enrollment, and growth. The geographic display of the data shows that school districts with high concentrations of students enrolled in charter schools are more likely to be located in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the country (the green bubbles). In contrast, a large portion of the districts with high growth in the number of charter school students are located in the South and West regions (the orange bubbles). School districts with large numbers of students enrolled in charter schools are spread out across the nation (the blue bubbles).

Enrollment in charter schools is on the rise because they are demonstrating that success is possible even in neighborhoods where some schools have been failing for generations.

Click here for a higher resolution version of the map below.

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A-Moment-of-Truth-for-the-No-Excuses-Public-Charter-Schools

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Actual-Autonomy

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In advance of the release of our 2012 rankings of state charter school laws against our model law, we are going to chronicle some of the most critical aspects of the model law currently playing across the country. The second installment focuses on charter school autonomy.

To truly be an “independent” public charter school, there are three key components of autonomy measured in the NAPCS Model Public Charter Law:

Charter schools must be fiscally and legally independent entities, with independent governing boards that have most powers granted to other traditional public school district boards.
Charter schools must receive automatic exemptions from many state and district laws and regulations, except for those covering health, safety, civil rights, student accountability, employee criminal history checks, open meetings, freedom of information requirements, and generally accepted accounting principles.
Charter schools must be exempted from any outside collective bargaining agreements, while not interfering with laws and other applicable rules protecting the rights of employees to organize and be free from discrimination.

When state law does not explicitly grant these autonomies to charter schools, it fails to set up public charter schools for success. In fact, it is likely setting them up for hardship, if not failure.

An example from Virginia brings this issue to head. As the Virginia law currently stands, charter school personnel are considered employees of the local school board granting the charter and are granted the same employment benefits in accordance with the district's personnel policies. In other words, a charter school has little control over one of the key factors that will determine whether it is successful or not: its employees. These provisions help make Virginia's law among the weakest in the nation for creating public charter schools with a high level of autonomy to set their own policies.

In a positive sign, the Richmond Public Schools (RPS) has joined the chorus of charter school advocates (including us) that are calling on the state legislature to change the law to allow people who work in a charter school to be employed by the school instead of the district. RPS has taken this step because of confusion over who oversees the employees at the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, a charter school authorized by RPS. Patrick Henry’s principal Pamela L. Boyd has taken three months of paid administrative leave as well as numerous personal days off amid questions about her leadership. Yet Patrick Henry is unable to take meaningful action to resolve the issue because Boyd is an employee of RPS, not the school.

When a school is not afforded the autonomy to make its personnel decisions, accountability for its performance is also compromised. Among several changes that need to be made to Virginia’s weak charter school law, NAPCS urges the state to amend its law in 2012 to strengthen charter school autonomy. These changes will not only help existing schools like Patrick Henry succeed. They will also lay a strong foundation for the growth of high-quality public charter schools in Virginia in the future.

Click here for more information.

Advocacy-Update:-Protecting-Charter-School-Teacher-Retirement-Funds

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past few months, we've been working diligently on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issue, and want to share a few key highlights:

First, in early May, attorneys at the IRS and U.S. Department of Treasury invited the National Alliance and several state-level charter support organizations to sit down and talk through our concerns. We had an open, engaging discussion. It felt incredibly productive, and afterwards the attorneys at the IRS and Treasury asked us to continue working with them to provide additional information about the charter sector. We have already begun to do so – and will continue to collaborate with the IRS in the coming months.

Second, we reviewed and indexed all the public comments filed by June 18th, 2012, the close of the public comment period. In all, 2,312 comments were filed – more than 95% from the charter sector across the country (that totals nearly 2,200 individual comments from members of the public charter school community!). Not only did we have the opportunity to spotlight this accomplishment when we testified at the public hearing (details below), but several reporters also noted this tremendous show of force (again, see below).

Third, the IRS hosted a public hearing here in D.C. on July 9th. I testified on behalf of the National Alliance and public charter school communities across the country. Plus, I was lucky and thankful to be joined by David Dunn, Executive Director of the Texas Charter Schools Association, and Jill Gottfred, Policy Manager at the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. Our individual and collective testimony was very well received. The IRS panelists engaged each of us in a robust question and answer period, inviting each of us to provide supplemental information going forward.

Lastly, there was strong media coverage of the event, including a number of print articles. Please see here and here for well-rounded summaries of the hearing and next steps.

Perhaps the most important information, though, is not new information. Rather, it’s a reminder – and one the IRS panelists made special effort to note during the July 9th public hearing – that the process of finalizing these draft proposed regulations is a long one. The currently released regulations will be reviewed; input from the public comment process will be incorporated; and, a new document will be released as the official “Notice of Proposed Regulations.” Upon the release of this document, a new public comment period will open, and the input and review process will begin again. Once this process culminates, the IRS will revisit the regulations one more time before issuing the final regulations. In all, it could be – and likely will be – a long process, one which will take many, many months (possibly years) to finalize. All to say, we’ve come a long way and we will continue to work with the IRS over the months ahead to make sure public charter school employees, both current and future, are protected. But, the regulations will not be finalized in the short-term; as such, the eligibility of charter school employees to enroll in their respective state plans also will not change in the short-term.

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Alliance's-"Charter-Law-Rankings-Report"-Gets-Nod-From-NACSA

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Yesterday in Scottsdale AZ, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers announced that How State Charter Laws Rank Against The New Model Public Charter School Law, by Todd Ziebarth and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, is the 2010 recipient of the NACSA Award for Excellence in Advancing Knowledge.

NACSA drew particular attention to the rankings’ potential impact on the craft of authorizers, who were largely overlooked in the first generation of charter laws: It is critical that state laws accelerate the movement of more authorizers toward the “best-in-class” practices exhibited by the nation’s best ones. Aligning state laws with the model law’s “quality control” provisions will move us in that direction….These new rankings not only show which state laws are making the grade, but also show how they do it: by paying attention to specific issues that are crucial to school and student success.

We’re thrilled that the Alliance and Model Law pub (with its online database) have won this recognition. It has already helped move the national conversation toward fostering great charter schools, not just lots of them. But know something else: This is just the latest instance of Todd Ziebarth's “Advancing Knowledge.” He’s been doing that for a long time now, going back to his days envisioning the shape of all-charter districts for the Education Commission of the States; through all kinds of publications rooted solidly in fact; and especially, doing what he does every day to advise movement leaders and policymakers around the country on how to ground decisions in real evidence about what works.
Although aided by a blue-ribbon task force, supported by able consultants, and cheered on by Alliance staff, Todd was the driving force behind the 2009 model state charter law, and it was he who made the rankings themselves a wonderfully substantive tool for serious policy analysis.

And he’s the best kind of colleague: He knows his stuff but lets you think you thought it up.

The charter movement is awfully lucky to have him on our side.

Comment
Submitted by Macke Raymond on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 5:42pm.

Congratulations, NAPCS and Todd! Recognition well-deserved!!

Click here for more information.

Analysis-of-the-Washington-State-Public-Charter-School-Ballot-Measure

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Education Week's Charters & Choice blog featured analysis of voting patterns on Washington state's narrowly approved public charter schools measure.

Central to the analysis was a county-by-county breakdown of the presidential race (below)...

...compared to the tallies for the ballot measure (below).

The results of the ballot measure defied some traditional partisan, geographic splits within the state. Check out the original Charters & Choice blog for the full analysis and commentary.
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Another-Big-Thing-Out-Of-Texas:-Public-Charter-Schools-Are-Now-Entitled-to-the-Permanent-School-Fund-%28PSF%29-Guarantee!

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT

On July 19, Governor Rick Perry signed into law Senate Bill 1, giving financially-sound public charter schools access to the state’s Permanent School Fund (PSF) bond guarantee. This will help schools construct and renovate school buildings. PSF is the state’s $25 billion, AAA rated endowment. Bonds with the PSF-guarantee will be rated AAA—the highest possible credit rating—saving charter schools throughout the state millions of dollars in interest costs. This legislation is an important and symbolic victory for charter schools in Texas and nationwide.

The PSF enhancement is significant because charter schools will be able to finance growth at costs that are level with traditional public schools. Savings from the PSF enhancement will be redirected to instruction and learning costs, putting taxpayer money to more efficient use. To put these savings into perspective: the estimates of the cost-savings range from 200 to 300 basis points per bond issue. In order to qualify for the PSF guarantee, charter schools must meet the investment grade credit rating and accreditation standards. Putting up the state’s endowment to back charter school bonds, the same way it is for traditional public schools, speaks volumes about the direction of the public school choice and public education in Texas.

Kudos to the Texas constituency: the bill’s sponsor, Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, and supporters Governor Perry, the Legislature, the Texas grassroots base and charter school advocates. Texas joins the only other state, Colorado, in providing state backing for charter school bonds. The Colorado state moral obligation backing renders the subject bonds to A credit rating (by Standard and Poor's). The rating upgrade from low investment grade to AAA and A in Texas and Colorado, respectively, incites charter school bond issuance at cheaper borrowing rates.

The state's backing of charter school bonds is a step in the right direction and a critical piece of the public charter school facility financing model. Charter schools throughout the country are way behind their traditional school district counterparts that have taxing power and bonding authority to finance their facility construction projects. The NAPCS Model Charter School Law has a menu of options for consideration by state policymakers to narrow the facility funding gap between traditional public schools and public charter schools.

Click here for more information.

Another-Mid-Term-Victory

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Whatever your thoughts about the mid-term elections, it’s clear we will have many new faces in state capitols, governors’ mansions and at the U.S. Capitol. The vast majority of these newly-elected people were not voted in purely on an education platform. However, many of them ran in part as education reformers, and on a night where seemingly everyone was concerned about red and blue, it was the color purple that surprised me most. Candidates from both parties who are supporters of substantive education reform in general, and charter schools in particular, were elected from every region of the country.

Some notable examples include Janet Barresi, the new Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction who helped found two charter schools in Oklahoma City and Delaware’s new U.S. Senator, Chris Coons also knows his way around education reform issues. John Hickenlooper, governor-elect from my home state of Colorado, and Joe Walsh, a newly-elected U.S. Representative from Illinois are also friends of education reform.

While it’s too early to say exactly how these new players will affect key education issues, it is another indication of the growing support for high-quality education from both parties. Who can say whether we’ll see the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a third round of Race to the Top funding, or improvements to weak charter laws in several states? It’s anyone’s guess. But, I do know that if there’s one issue everyone can agree to work on, it’s education.

Voters had a lot on their minds this election season, and school reform was admittedly a few notches down from hot-button issues like jobs and the economy. Yet, buoyed by the release of “Waiting for Superman,” the attention of Oprah Winfrey and a solid two months of news coverage on the issue, education reform has dominated political discourse like never before. While it still falls shy of being a deciding issue for voters, more and more people are holding their elected officials accountable for improving public education for all students.

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Are-You-Walking-Away-from-a-Chance-for-Funds003F

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

It’s well-established charter schools get less public funding than their district counterparts. But charters may also be ignoring some competitive-funding opportunities.

So said the Government Accountability Office in a report issued last December. GAO identified 47 federal discretionary grant programs for which charter schools are eligible, but found a lot of confusion among charter operators and advocates about who could apply for what. Very few charter schools that are part of district-LEAs have stepped up, apparently believing the district itself had to apply. Yet two-thirds of the federal programs explicitly specify public schools or non-profit organizations are eligible.

Adding to that confusion is a real catch-22: Among the charter respondents, 44 percent said they didn’t apply for federal grants because they lacked the resources. Translation: They’re too poorly-funded to hire grant writers. The good news is at least one-quarter of the charters that applied during the 2008-2009 school year received an award, which the Department of Education noted is a higher win-rate than that of average applicants.

In fact, the Department said it’s been working to make sure charter operators know their rights. In a formal response to GAO, Jim Shelton of the US Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement pointed out the Department has already put language making charter-eligibility explicit in most of the grant competitions they run, and is working with other agencies like the Justice Department and Housing and Urban Development Department to make sure they do the same. (We forget too often it’s not just “Education” that makes funding available for schools!). Also, the National Charter School Resource Center will post notices like this one on its site and is developing a direct e-capacity to get word directly to schools.

Discretionary grants won’t make up for the full gap charters experience, but let’s not make it worse by leaving available dollars on the table.

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Charter-Autonomy-and-Waivers:-Can-they-coexist003F

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Last month, Greg Richmond, President & CEO of NACSA warned us in a guest blog about the potential losses of charter autonomy that could result from the state plans offered to the Department of Education in return for the first round of NCLB waivers. Mr. Richmond wondered what might happen to low performing charter schools and the role of charter authorizers.

As we approach the second round of waivers, we continue to be concerned that charter schools could lose some of their flexibility, this time as it relates to staffing. The ability to create and manage a team is a critical element of charter autonomy. Todd Zeibarth, our VP of State Advocacy & Support stated the issue clearly in EdWeek: “Ensuring that charters preserve autonomy over teacher evaluations in the face of these statewide system overhauls has been an increasing challenge across the country…Some state policymakers... either overlook or don't care about preserving charter autonomy over these decisions in the process.” This issue has come up outside of the waiver process (see here in Virginia where charter employees are considered district employees), and it has had an impact on charter growth.

Whether value-added-type measures proposed by some states for teacher evaluation are good solutions is still an open question. But, either way, let’s make sure charters aren’t compelled to use these new state plans. On top of being a threat to autonomy, it might actually be a step backwards for charter schools. Many charters have done a really good job of figuring out how to hire, evaluate, reward and retain teachers. Check out the Teacher Talent Toolbox released by the New Teacher Project this week to see what I mean.

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Charter-Law-Rankings-Demonstrate-Significant-Progress-in-State-Policy-across-the-Country

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This week, we released the third edition of Measuring Up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws. Notwithstanding the positive response the report has received, there were two criticisms of it worth addressing.

The first came from Diane Ravitch: “This is a national advocacy group that wants more charter schools. It speaks for the charter industry,” says Diane Ravitch, a prominent education historian and critic of charters. “Asking them to judge your charter law is like asking Philip Morris whether your state is doing enough to regulate tobacco.”

We doubt Dr. Ravitch actually read the report because it hardly reflects her critique. We plead guilty to wanting more charter schools, but we also want those that open to be high quality. That’s why this ranking places significant weight on quality-control provisions such as transparent application and renewal processes as well as performance-based charter contracts, while also valuing provisions that support growth such as autonomy, funding equity, facilities provisions and no caps.

The second came from the Center for Education Reform (CER), which criticized our report for ranking Maine’s new law at the top. We acknowledge the complexity of evaluating the strengths of state charter school laws, and understand that the ranking process should undergo scrutiny. We note, for example, that CER ranks the District of Columbia’s generally good law as #1. Yet there is a 40 percent funding gap between D.C.’s traditional public schools and public charter schools – the largest such gap in the country according to this study. This hardly represents true educational justice and equality for kids, which is why Friends of Choice in Urban Schools and the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools are fighting to remedy this significant inequity (and a major reason why D.C. is ranked #11 in this year’s report). By highlighting this point, we believe this report can drive policy makers towards rectifying this inequity.

The NAPCS model law, which was developed by a broad group of individuals with deep expertise in public charter school law and is the basis of our rankings report, is grounded in two decades of experience about how good legislation supports successful charters. Maine enacted a law that is well aligned with many of the NAPCS model’s 20 components, receiving the highest scores possible on eight of the 20 components including those related to autonomy, operational and categorical funding equity, and performance-based charter contracts. Maine's law is far from perfect – it received 158 points out of a possible 208 – and we will assist state leaders in pressing ahead to strengthen it. Also, Maine’s law is brand new – which means its impact on Maine’s charter school sector needs close monitoring.

This year's rankings demonstrate the positive momentum for the movement in state capitols across the country. Sixteen states strengthened their charter laws this year, leading to an increase in their scores in our report. Nine states lifted caps, seven strengthened their authorizing environments and 10 improved support for funding and facilities. Indiana, for example, overhauled its charter school law last year, lifting its caps, allowing for multiple authorizers, providing facilities access and increasing flexibility and accountability. As a result, its overall score increased from 97 points to 132 points and its ranking catapulted from #25 to #6 – the largest leap for any state on record.

Many states based new legislation on the experiences of those with stronger laws such as California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York. Some states fell in the rankings simply because other states made positive strides by enacting stronger laws. These developments represent progress for the movement, not black eyes for any set of states.

In addition, four states saw their scores in our report drop this past year. For example, Georgia’s Supreme Court invalidated its statewide charter school authorizer, causing the state to slip from #7 to #14. This was a tremendous setback for Georgia’s charter movement, and this report serves as a reminder to Georgia’s policy makers that they need to act boldly to rectify it.

Strong laws matter. They allow good educators to create quality opportunities for more kids. Weak laws prevent these opportunities from happening. NAPCS welcomes healthy discussion about what constitutes a good charter law (and how to evaluate them) and will continue to work with charter leaders to drive positive changes in charter school laws across the country – from actually getting them on the books in states like Alabama and West Virginia to significantly improving them in states like Mississippi and Missouri.

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Charter-School-Cap-Lifted-in-TN;-Quality-Remains-the-Priority

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Tennessee is positioned to see a large expansion in the number of charter schools over the next several years. Changes in the state’s charter law, driven by the state’s Race to the Top efforts, effectively removed the artificial cap on charter schools growth, eliminated enrollment restrictions, and created an Achievement School District–which can contract with high performing charter networks for school turnaround efforts. These legislative changes that increase student access to charter schools gave Tennessee a 7 point bump in our Model Law Rankings Database.

Moreover, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean launched the Tennessee Charter Incubator to attract high performing charter school operators to the state. As a result, eleven new charters opened in Tennessee this past fall, representing 38% growth in the total number of charter schools.

Perhaps in earlier years of the charter movement, these legislative changes would have led to a massive influx of new charter schools based on the idea of letting a thousand flowers bloom. However, the response in Tennessee demonstrates that policymakers and educators are thinking carefully about expanding charter schools with an eye toward quality. (Check out this article for an engaging read on what’s going on in Tennessee charter schools.)

And Tennessee is not alone in its focus on quality for new charter schools. NACSA’s recent report on authorizer acceptance and closure rates suggests that authorizers are getting tougher on charter school applications. Authorizer approval rates have decreased from over 60% a decade ago to closer to 40%. The focus on quality by policymakers, authorizers, and educators in Tennessee reflects a shift in the charter movement and proves that charter school growth and quality can go hand in hand.

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Charter-Schools-as-a-Catalyst-for-Building-Civic-Capacity

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Civic capacity—the notion of multiple sectors of the community coming together in concerted action to address big issues—has been examined by education reformers and researchers who argue it is critical to making systemic and long lasting improvements in the public education system. It has been suggested that public charter schools do a great job of engaging parents, educators, community groups, and philanthropists in individual schools. But charter school critics raise the lingering question: is the charter school model serving the greater public good in terms of efforts to improve all public schools?

Sure, larger entities like traditional school districts or cities are positioned to engage with a wide array of public and private actors in collective commitments to reform school systems. However, despite a markedly smaller scale, charter schools are not isolated institutions with limited connections to the larger public education system. Rather, charter schools are public schools that open pathways for non-traditional groups to get involved in operating schools. And charter schools can be (and have been) used within school districts and cities to provide new opportunities to mobilize large-scale civic engagement.

In cities like New Orleans, D.C., and Philadelphia, charter schools have served as catalysts for building civic capacity through strategically engaging community leaders to operate charter schools. In New York, authorizers are actively recruiting existing organizations that provide services to high-needs students to found charter schools.

Or take Indianapolis. A new study describes in detail the way in which government officials, business leaders, local philanthropists, university scholars, and local educators identified big problems—a declining economy and dismal education outcomes—and then coalesced around charter schools to meet the needs of the community. The strategy was not about any specific charter school, but about creating a new landscape for public education where community support for public education was put into practice. (Check out this report from Bryan Hassel that lists the community organizations that founded some of the early charter schools in Indianapolis.)

These cities show that charter schools can be used to mobilize civic engagement for the greater good of the public education system. And current trends show this work is being cultivated to expand mutual impact and quality of traditional and public charter schools.

Click here for more information.

Charters-on-the-Ballot

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The public charter school movement will be a winner either way in today’s Presidential election.

Both President Obama and Governor Romney are long-time supporters of the innovative public schools that give parents options that traditional public schools do not.

But they’re not the only ones on the ballot who are supporters of public charters.

In North Carolina, gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory promises to “address the thousands of families on waiting lists for charter schools in addition to the dozens of charter schools waiting to open.”

And Rob McKenna, a candidate for governor in Washington state, supports “highly innovative public charter schools” and would draw from models that have been successful elsewhere.

In Delaware, incumbent Jack Markell signed a bill last year to improve accountability for charter schools.

And Missouri’s incumbent Jay Nixon supported a bill to strengthen accountability for charter schools and their authorizers.

And voters and Georgia and Washington state will have the chance to have their voices heard about the future of charters in their states.

In Washington, voters will have the chance to make the state the 42nd to have a charter school law – one that would create up to 40 schools in the next five years. In Georgia, voters have the chance to re-instate a state board to hear appeals from charter applicants that have been rejected by their local school board. (See more here and here.)

In Georgia, voters have the chance to amend the state’s constitution.

For more education news in the election, see Education Week’s voter guide and Whiteboard Adviser’s gubernatorial and legislative summaries.

Click here for more information.

Commissions-Highlights-need-for-Equitable-Public-Charter-School-Funding

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Conference-Focuses-on-Charter-and-District-Public-School-Collaboration

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

“Collaboration and partnerships can be powerful multipliers of innovations.”

Last week, NAPCS was proud to co-host the second National Best Cooperative Practices between Charter & Traditional Public Schools Conference (NBCP Conference) in Denver, Colorado. One of the foundational principles of the public charter school model is that charter schools use their autonomy to serve as laboratories of innovation; road testing promising practices that would then be shared with the traditional schools for maximum impact. The NBCP Conference was designed to showcase examples of cooperative practices that serve as models for replications and spark ideas for how all sectors of public education can work together.

Schools from throughout the country shared their practices during breakout sessions on topics including: curriculum and instruction; performance and accountability; college and career readiness; facilities; operations; and services. The general and breakout sessions demonstrated:

Examples of cooperation on a small scale
How charters can help fill gaps to address needs in the local public education space
Where there is strong district leadership supporting charters, there are more opportunities
Where charters are considered equal partners in educating kids, cooperation and collaboration happen naturally

Image: Keynote speaker Don Shalvey

A panel discussion on barriers to charter and traditional public school collaboration identified the following ground rules for cooperative work:

This work is inherently political
Build relationships to build trust
Educate past the myths about charter and district interests
Focus on mutual wins

Image: “Anticipating and Overcoming Obstacles to Collaboration” Panel Discussion

While nobody at the conference claimed this work is easy, there was consistent testimony by both charter leaders and school district representatives that the effort to work with traditional schools broadened their impact. Further, in several instances, cooperation with district schools was an explicit part of the charter school’s mission. This seemed particularly true for successful standalone charters that wanted to magnify their impact without replicating their school. Please visit the NBCP Conference webpage to learn more about public schools working together.

Click here for more information.

Congratulations-to-the-2012-National-Blue-Ribbon-Charter-Schools

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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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Congratulations-to-the-2012-Teacher-Incentive-Fund-Grantees

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Last week the Department of Education announced the 35 grantees that will be awarded a total of $290 million through the Teacher Incentive Fund. This competitive grant program awards funding to applicants that present compelling plans to improve pay and evaluation structures in ways that incentivize and reward great teachers. This year’s grantees together serve nearly 1,000 schools across 150 districts.

The grant program encourages “local leaders to engage teachers in influencing the future of the teaching profession.” It rewards innovative ways to support excellent instruction. Innovation is a core value of the charter school movement, and it is no surprise that many of the winning grantee plans involve teacher incentive and evaluation programs that originated in charter schools. Many proposals, developed with teacher input, set up bonus systems that compensate teachers based on effectiveness and outline district-wide evaluation systems that value student growth and professional development, among a range of other indicators.

Winning proposals from public charter schools include Aspire Public Schools in California, which plans on using its $2 million to expand its already successful performance-based compensation system. The system rewards teachers who are not only highly effective in the classroom, but volunteer for additional leadership roles throughout the school. And Breakthrough Charter Schools in Ohio will use its $3.3 million to roll out a Strategic Human Capital Improvement Plan which, among other things, improves the school’s professional development and promotion system. Other award recipients that include consortia of public charter schools are Green Dot Public Schools (CA), The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (CA), and the Center for Educational Innovation – Public Education Association (NY).

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shared the sentiment that at the center of every successful school is support for great teaching at last Thursday’s award ceremony. Congratulations to this year’s recipients, who are being rewarded for thinking outside of the box when it comes to driving and supporting great teachers.
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Creating-High-Performing-Charters-to-Transform-Lives

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Today, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) made an important statement: it’s time to focus on quality.

In its new campaign, NACSA will support authorizers as they close failing charter schools and open twice as many excellent ones. The goal is to provide an additional 1 million students an education in high-quality public charter schools.

To accomplish the goal, NACSA will urge states to improve charter school laws so that they:

1.) Set clear expectations for the performance of public charter schools;
2.) Hold authorizers accountable for the schools they oversee; and
3.) Create statewide authorizers, which are more likely to promote quality growth.

Several hundred public charter schools will need to close under this renewed focus on quality, but NACSA says that the changes are necessary to ensure the charter sector will grow successfully in the long term.

“The charter school idea is predicated on the notion that in exchange for autonomy and freedom from bureaucratic rules, schools would face closure if they fail to meet their academic goals,” said Nina S. Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “I fully support that and support the efforts of authorizers to get it right, whatever the numbers may be. I also support NACSA's efforts to promote growth and quality at the same time and to push policies that will help ensure that every charter public school is a high-quality school.”

Click here for more about the 1 million lives campaign – or follow #1millionlives on Twitter. You can find additional media coverage of the 1 million lives campaign at the Huffington Post, Education Week, and Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Image via NACSA website

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Cultivating-Leadership-in-the-Public-Charter-School-Sector

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Responding to a need for specialized, intensive training, leadership development fellowship programs have sprouted around the country. Such programs can now be found in New Orleans, Tennessee, Minneapolis and New York City, as well as nationally. Some of these programs have had great success. For example, Building Excellent Schools (BES) has effectively trained non-traditional school leaders to run close to 50 charter schools nationwide, collectively serving approximately 20,000 public school students. But, with a surging national waitlist, we also cannot expect that fellowship programs, many of which are largely funded through philanthropy, will satisfy the need for more great leaders.

How then, do we dramatically expand the pool of talented leaders in the charter sector? In the 2008 report, NAPCS suggested two solutions. First, it recommended that charter schools themselves need to create in-house training programs so teachers can learn how to become leaders. Indeed, a growing number of charter school organizations now have formal leadership training programs, including High Tech High, KIPP and Rocketship Education. These in-house programs identify teachers with leadership potential and provide a year or more of residency training alongside an existing high performing leader so that these school leaders are prepared to run schools when given the opportunity. Many are proving successful, as the quality of the schools in these networks remains high, even as they replicate.

Second, NAPCS called upon colleges and universities to create programs designed to provide students with the right mix of skills necessary to lead a charter school. Tomorrow on The Charter Blog, we’ll look at higher ed programs designed to equip future school leaders with the specific skills needed to run a public charter school.

Photo credit: Image via Building Excellent Schools website
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Debunker-Debunked

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You may have caught a recent column on the Wall Street Journal’s Smart Money site, “10 Things Charter Schools Won’t Tell You.” It’s a recurring feature and they’ve applied the same approach to landlords, gas stations and school districts. I get that it’s supposed to be snarky and provocative – but really, this one was pretty egregious. Fortunately, Chalkboard’s Peter Murphy is on the case, providing point-by-point deconstruction in a series of blogs (the lastest posted today; the priors linked). Well worth checking out...
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Delivering-on-the-Promise-in-Missouri

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The Land of Truman has a unique charter environment. State law restricts chartering to St. Louis and Kansas City, but charter schools account for major market share in both places. Where 90 percent of charter authorizers around the country are local school districts, it’s universities that oversee nearly all the charters in the Show-Me state. There are some stars but, alas, way too many charters that keep scraping the bottom year after year. Policymakers (and the state’s charter movement leaders) have grown impatient. We’ve just taken a thorough look at this situation and are calling for some tough love….

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Demand-Continues-to-Grow-for-Public-Charter-Schools

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Two years ago, NAPCS estimated a national waiting list of 420,000 students who wanted to enroll in public charter schools in the 2009-2010 academic year. That seemed like such a large number! Today NAPCS released an even larger national waiting list estimate. Based on a national survey of charter schools, NAPCS estimates that there were 610,000 students on waiting lists to attend charters in the fall of 2011.

Let’s put that number in perspective. The average charter school enrolls 350 students. That means that the waiting list could fill an additional 1,700 charter schools. Adding 610,000 charter school seats to meet the demand would grow the sector by 30 percent. The number of seats equals the number of students currently attending charter schools in two states with the highest charter school enrollment: California and Texas. And on a non-charter school note: 610,000 students would fill seven and a half Olympic Stadiums during this summer’s Olympics in London.

At the 20 year milestone, the charter school sector has matured. You would be hard pressed to find anyone advocating to open 1,700 new charter schools before the beginning of the next school year. Instead, authorizers, charter school support organizations, funders, and incubators are using 20 years of experiences to develop new high quality charter schools and expand charter schools that are proving success. This does have the consequence that many students will remain on waiting lists. Hopefully the large demand for high quality options will promote improvements throughout the entire public school system through policy changes and competitive effects (see a recent study on the impact of charters on public school system).

The Olympic Stadium in Olympic Park, London, England. Photo via Google Images.

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Did-Michelle-Rhee-Plant-this-Story003F

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Rhee just launched Students First, her new outfit that will aim at getting school systems to put kids’ best interests ahead of politics and bureaucracy. I can’t imagine a better illustration of “Students Last” than this Catalyst article. The Illinois State Board of Education has raised the bar for college students hoping to get into teacher-ed programs. They used to get in with a score of 35 percent on the math section of the Basic Skills test (yes, you read that right); now they have to score at least 75 percent. It has cut the pass rate dramatically, particularly among minority candidates, raising the predictable howl.

But as one of the commenters in a related story put it: “Would you want a surgeon to cut you open if they only had a success rate of 35 percent on their operations?”

Maybe Rhee’s new group will help persuade policymakers to worry a little more about the low-income, black and Latino kids in urban school systems, and less about adults who view said systems as jobs programs.

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Diversity-in-Public-Charter-Schools

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This week, a USA Today piece looks at a trend of white urban middle-class parents sticking with city schools. While it is noted that this trend is mostly isolated to major East Coast cities, and thus a minority of the public school population, it is still an opportunity for more racial and socioeconomic diversity to occur in urban schools. Several public charter schools have been launched with a specific school mission to serve a diverse student population. The USA Today article focuses on Brooklyn Prospect Charter School and charter school being launched in New Orleans by veteran educator Josh Densen. You can learn more about public charter schools serving diverse student bodies in our issue brief.
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DOE-Celebrates-District-and-Charter-Collaboration

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Congratulations to the first Charter School Exemplary Collaboration grant winners! Seven grantees are being awarded a total of $1.2 million to continue partnering with non-chartered public schools and non-chartered LEAs to share and broadly disseminate best educational and operation practices that “solve persistent challenges in public education.”

The specific challenges grantees are collaborating to solve range from effective data-driven instruction to bullying, encouraging student attendance to developing aligned assessments, and comprehensive support for families to low graduation rates. The Department of Education and this year’s award winners realize that we have a lot to learn from each other, and when schools work together, students will ultimately reap the benefits. To read more about the grantees and their projects, check out the U.S. ED announcement.

Want to learn more about effective partnership between charter and traditional public schools? Check out the National Best Cooperative Practices between Charter and Traditional Public Schools Conference (NBCP). Registration closes October 22nd. And be sure to check out the best collaboration practices, as well as submit your own!

Click here for more information.

Don't-Forget-the-Motor-City!!

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

At a DC symposium on Wednesday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan once again called Detroit "arguably the worst" school system in the country, and "Ground Zero" for education reform. The good news is city leaders are finally putting money and muscle into turning the situation around. Here's a specific date to watch: February 1, 2011. That's when proposals to open new high schools in the fall of 2012 are due to Michigan Future Schools, the business/education/philanthropic nonprofit that's spearheading the city's turnaround effort.

Michigan Future Schools has a straightforward approach. They want more quality high schools (defined as "students graduating ready for college without remediation"). They support one active high school and are already incubating four more, two charter and two non. They're basically agnostic about the governance question -- but they're hoping that some great charter EMO/CMO outfits apply.

We need this in other cities too. There are fewer charter high schools than elementary/middle schools, and as MFS says: “The absence of high-quality urban high schools is a national problem, not just here in Detroit. It needs fixing." But not surprisingly, the need is particularly acute in Detroit. According to MFS, "There are no open-enrollment high schools (traditional public or charter) serving Detroit students with high graduation rates, high college attendance rates and high levels of academic achievement."

Here's information on the initiative and a link to the RFP. Message to top-notch charter outfits: Go for it!

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Education-Policy-101--Lesson-1:-No-Child-Left-Behind-is-NOT-“Bush’s-education-program”

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is the second post in Kristin's "Education Policy 101" series (see the intro here), which will run on The Charter Blog this week.

Yes, Virginia, there is (still) an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Historically, the ESEA had been reauthorized every five years since its enactment in 1965, until, under President George W. Bush, the 2001 reauthorization gave the legislation a new “short title,” the No Child Left Behind Act. The 2001 ESEA reauthorization made a number of significant changes, including the addition of annual standardized tests in reading and math, which would measure the achievement of each school and set a standard by which their funding and status as a school were determined. While NCLB added a number of testing and measurement components to ESEA, that was only one element of the overall ESEA continuation. While NCLB did add requirements for accountability for teachers and students in order to receive funding, it also provides the provisions for the implementation of all programs under Title I (Improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged), Title II (Preparing, training, and recruiting high quality teachers and principals), Title III (Language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students), Title IV (21st Century schools which are the programs that provide important wrap around services, like student safety and community learning), Title V (Promoting informed parental choice and innovative programs), Title VI (Flexibility and accountability for student assessments), Title VII (Indian, native Hawaiian, and Alaska native education), and Title VII (Impact aid program).

If we “got rid” of NCLB, we’d get rid of the Title II grant that provides teachers funding for professional development, the Title III funding that supports innovative ways to provide instruction to students with limited English proficiency, and the Title V funding that supports charter school creation.

So, no, we won’t be “getting rid” of NCLB any time soon. Many in Washington, however, are working on a new and considerably delayed reauthorization of ESEA. Laws like ESEA/NCLB are reauthorized on a regular basis in order to address flaws within the law, and to reflect the needs of the current time.

Unfortunately, Washington is doing as Washington does, and is dragging its feet on reauthorization. In lieu of action on Capitol Hill, the Obama administration, through the Department of Education, has offered states an opportunity to apply for flexibility under the current ESEA law, while still ensuring high quality education for the students in the state. These “waivers” in media parlance, “flexibilities” in Department of Education parlance, must be approved by the Department of Education, and will serve as a temporary way to ensure rigorous and comprehensive plans to improve educational outcomes, until the Congress passes ESEA reauthorization.

Now, with that basic understanding, media, politicians, and people I meet at parties: feel free to debate whether or not the process of using waivers in lieu of full ESEA reauthorization is fair, legal, or effective.

Click here for more information.

Education-Policy-101--Lesson-2:-Race-to-the-Top-is-NOT-“Obama’s-version-of-No-Child-Left-Behind”

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is the third post in Kristin's "Education Policy 101" series (see the intro and lesson 1), which will run on The Charter Blog this week.

So, if NCLB is just the current name for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the “waivers” are the system the Department of Education has elected to use in order to address what are seen as shortcomings or problems with the law, what is Race to the Top (RTT) all about?

Race to the Top, while central to the reforms President Obama and his education team are trying to accomplish, is only one of the competitive grant programs the administration is using to forward their education platform, while stimulating the economy, as the initial funding for these programs was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (you may know this as the “stimulus”). Race to the Top currently has three sub programs: Race to the Top (which I almost exclusively refer to as “Original Recipe”); Race to the Top, Early Learning Challenge or RTT-ELC; the Race to the Top Assessment Program, and the recently announced Race to the Top District (RTT-D).

“Original Recipe” was initially funded, as a part of ARRA, as a way to spur innovation and keep teachers and education professionals employed through the financial crisis. Subsequent funding opportunities have provided funding in three rounds to 19 states.

Race to the Top-ELC focuses on improving early learning and development programs for young children. There are currently nine grantees under this program.

The Race to the Top Assessment Program provides funding to consortia of States to develop assessments to measure student achievement against standards designed to ensure that all students gain the knowledge and skills needed to success in college and the workplace. These assessments are intended to play a critical role in educational systems by providing administrators, educators, parents, and students with the data and information needed to continuously improve teaching and learning.

Everything else: the i3 grants, School Improvement Grants, Teacher Incentive Fund, RESPECT, and other acronyms you may have heard are all independent initiatives at the Department of Education.

Race to the Top (aka RTT, aka “Original Recipe”) was initially conceived as a way to infuse States with cash during the economic downturn. It would ensure a portion of the funds made it directly to the local school districts (each state had to set aside 50 percent of the awarded funds to be dispersed to those districts and charter LEAs who elected to participate) to help keep teachers on the job and in the classroom; while funding at the State level kept State employees on the job, and provided more contracting opportunities for education business and non-profits in the State.

The program itself makes no specific requirements of grantees, in terms of how they must accomplish their goals. In their applications, the States were asked to describe how they were currently making reforms in four areas: adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in the workplace; building data systems that measure student growth and success; recruiting developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals; and turning around the lowest achieving schools. Once awarded the competitive grant, the states set their own baselines and created their own plans to implement comprehensive reforms to improve student outcomes, in line with these four reform areas. The States have pretty wide latitude in program implementation; as long as plan changes are not deemed “substantial” the Department will review and approve changes as needed.

One of the RTT reform areas required states to show that they had adopted standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy. This reform area is the one most often translated as: ‘The Department of Education is making all of the states adopt a mandatory curriculum and adding more standardized tests for students.’ This is simply false.

First, curriculum and standards are two separate things. Standards lay out the things that students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Curriculum is the way in which a particular state, local education agency, or school chooses to meet those standards. Two different schools in different states could adopt vastly different curricula, but as long as at the end of the first grade, the students in both schools know how to add and solve basic problems on their own, they will have met the same standard. It doesn’t matter that School A used “new math” while School B used an abacus, as long as the students know how to add, they met the same standard. The assessments used to determine this are not in addition to existing assessments – they are instead of those assessments. New standards must have assessments tied to them.

While the Department of Education was asking states to adopt standards and assessments that prepare students for their future, a consortium of states, coordinated by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers (two membership organizations with significant political clout in D.C.) began the creation and adoption of a series of standards which the department would consider high quality, and worthy of participation in Race to the Top.

Now you are ready to debate about Race to the Top! Did Secretary Duncan show so much support for the Common Core Standards they ended up appearing to be a Department of Education program?

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Education-Policy-101--Lesson-3:-Charter-Schools-are-not-private,-quasi-public,-or-out-to-inculcate-your-children-in-some-weird-philosophy

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is the final post in Kristin's "Education Policy 101" series (see the intro, lesson 1 and lesson 2), which will run on The Charter Blog this week.

The best advertising campaigns are the simplest. “Just do it”, “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner” “Got milk?” The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) understands this. The best way to dispel myths about charter schools? It’s a Fact. Public charter schools are:

independent public schools that never charge tuition, don’t have special entry requirements and are designed to boost student achievement.
They are public because they are funded through local, state, and federal tax dollars, like all public schools.
They are held to the same state and federal academic standards that traditional public schools are held to.
They are not sectarian and are not allowed to discriminate; they are subject to the same laws traditional public schools are subject to.
They never charge admission, and must use a lottery process to accept students if more students apply for registration than there are slots available.

Public charter schools are different from traditional public schools, because without the oversight of a large central administration, they have the autonomy to innovate in ways that will improve student achievement (while still meeting all of the requirements above). Some charter schools innovate by offering longer schools days and additional educational opportunities outside of the traditional education day. Public charter schools have the freedom to create a unique school culture. For example, as long as the state and federal education standards and assessments are met, schools could elect to add a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus to the classroom, or a school based around arts education, public policy, or language immersion.

Public charter schools do not take money from traditional public schools. States utilize a uniform per pupil funding formula to determine how much it costs to educate a student. That funding is provided to the traditional public schools and public charter schools based on their enrollment levels. The funds are not taken from one to give to the other. They are just given to the entity providing the service.

The public charter school movement is comparatively young. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first public charter school this year, we are reminded that the movement still has a long way to go, and there are only a handful of studies that have used limited to data pools to evaluate the impact that charter schools have had on public education. When we talk to parents, and look at waiting lists, we can also see that although a young movement, charter schools are in demand; this school year saw over two million students attend a public charter school, with countless more on waiting lists. But to put that in perspective, this is only 3.7 percent of the total public school student enrollment across the country.

That is public charters 101. Now you are ready to jump into the debate! Where do charter schools fit in the discussion of school turn around? What about teachers unions? How can a charter school capitalize on innovation?

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Education-Policy-101:-A-primer-for-the-national-media,-politicians-…-and-people-I-meet-at-parties

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

“My mother is a teacher. All of her friends are teachers. And they call me, at all hours of the day and night. And they have an issue, a little bit, with this Race to the Top issue that has been implemented that I guess was a fix to No Child Left Behind.” John Stewart, talking to Arne Duncan on 2/16/12

"We're watching this very closely," Rep. Kline said. "If we are, in fact, putting in a de facto national curriculum, my caucus will rebel. ~ Representative John Kilne, on the Common Core Standards in an interview with Education Week, 9/15/10

“You work in education? You aren’t one of those Race to the Top standardized test people, are you?” ~ paraphrased – basically everyone I meet at parties.

* * *

All politics is … sound bites. Sound bites are what politicians and the media thrive on, and on many issues, it is the only thing the public ever learns about an issue.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with a group of students from my undergraduate university as a part of a group of alumni offering career advice. After I had explained why all the adults in the room laughed at the lobbyist jokes, one young man raised his hand and asked: “So, when are they going to get rid of No Child Left Behind and all the standardized testing?”

This was the final straw for me; I came home, and began drafting the following blog posts. No longer should Americans allow themselves to be educated by sound bites alone.

Stay tuned for Kristin's "Education Policy 101" blogs, which will run as a series on The Charter Blog this week.

Click here for more information.

Expanding-the-school-model:-Citizens-of-the-World-Charter-Schools-%28Los-Angeles-metro-area%29

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In conjunction with the release of our newest issue brief, the Charter Blog is looking at ways public charter school leaders design their school mission to meet diverse community needs.

Building the school model

Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWC) aims to provide an excellent public education that is academically rigorous and socioeconomically, racially and culturally diverse, and builds community both within and outside of the school. Their flagship school, CWC Hollywood, opened in fall 2010 after a full planning year, delivering an intellectually challenging, experiential learning environment that is designed to build each students confidence, potential, and individual responsibility as citizens of the world in which we live. The Hollywood school is the first of a network of schools to open in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with two additional schools approved to open in Silver Lake in the fall 2012 and Mar Vista in fall 2013 .

CWC deeply believes that demand for high performing, neighborhood schools exists within many communities across the country. Citing the hundreds of families who sit on waitlists for other strong, diverse charter schools, CWC feels compelled to meet the demand, and sees strategic, aggressive growth as the lever to do so.

Taking it national

CWC evaluates potential school markets by analyzing the demographics of neighborhoods and identifying neighborhoods that could attract a diverse student population through organic growth and community outreach (as opposed to employing a weighted lottery). Taking this into account, as well as the potential state’s charter school law, per pupil funding, parent demand, and talent on the ground, CWC selects new sites and begins to identify parents and community leaders who are supportive of the mission and vision. CWC—which sees itself as somewhat of a hybrid between a charter management organization (CMO) and charter school incubator—strives to build high quality teams to run schools with the CWC mission, yet leave enough room within the CWC brand to give school leaders true autonomy to make school-level decisions that are responsive to and reflective of the community it serves. Recognizing that this takes time and grassroots organizing, CWC works to identify new sites early enough to ensure comprehensive outreach to the community.

CWC’s involvement in the California and New York markets has yielded different lessons in terms of adapting to local policies. In California, which ranks as the 43rd lowest state for per pupil funding allotments when labor is factored, employing non-classroom staff to conduct community outreach is nearly cost prohibitive. So school location in diverse neighborhoods is of the utmost importance, since that will be the primary means to attract the desired student population. Other funding issues, like deferrals and mid-year cuts, create pressured revenue streams for charter schools. In New York, charter schools are held accountable for matching the enrollment population—not neighborhood population—of district schools. Therefore, CWC’s focus on student diversity could be difficult because schools with a focus on diversity would seem to be faced with inherent challenges in complying with this requirement. CWC will test the national pulse for creating K-12 schools that open a pathway to college while learning in diverse school settings as it strives to build a network of schools across the country.

For more information on Citizens of the World Charter Schools, please visit their website. Photo: Citizens of the World Charter School website.
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Finally,-the-“-Waiting-for-Superman”-Is-Over

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This has been whirlwind week for education reform. "Superman" is finally here. It will be the topic of the Oprah show today, and I'm told there are some big surprises coming for a group of great charter schools. Time magazine devoted a cover to this issue last week, and last Wednesday night I went to the Washington, D.C. premier of “Waiting for Superman,” a new documentary about some of the major challenges facing America’s education system. It was like Hollywood on the Potomac. All of D.C.’s beautiful people came together with the education wonks and official Washington, and we were all talking about how to make our schools better. It was a moment I’ve been waiting for a long time.

It is a tremendous time in education reform when an acclaimed advocacy filmmaker (An Inconvenient Truth’s Davis Guggenheim) takes on the crisis in education and the tangle of policy challenges we face every day. The result is an unprecedented opportunity for a true national discourse on reform. The film has rightfully attracted interest and attention from all areas of education and I’m happy, because it means many who have been talking about education policy around private conference tables have come together to speak now around a bigger and more public table.

For years, folks on all sides of this issue have debated the best and most effective ways to fix public education. In fact, there are so many different ideas about what to do fix first, there is sometimes a paralysis of indecision. However, “Waiting for Superman” reminds us that it is simpler than we think. If you back away from the nuances of policy far enough to look at the children who are really the focus of this work, it becomes a lot clearer. If we can all remember to put children first and make decisions based on what is best for them, we’ll find that we agree on more than we think. In fact, I bet we agree on more than we don’t.

The door opened by this film brings the conversations to the widest and most influential group, the public, and that is as it should be. Public education is, after all, a public trust. If we’re going to achieve the long-term, systemic change that public education needs, we’ve got to use this opportunity to make sure the people in every community understand and engage on this issue and build the highest quality public school system this country has ever seen.

COMMENT
Submitted by mrs t on Tue, 09/21/2010 - 12:22am.
I cannot wait for this documentary. I work at a new (4th year) inner city charter and our entire staff is going to watch it together. I am currently reading "Whatever it takes" about the founder of the Harlem Childrens Zone schools. It is so inspiring to read/learn about what other schools are doing right, especially when all we hear are negative things and criticism about education

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Gates-Foundation-Awards-Grants-to-Communities-Focused-on-Public-Charter-and-Traditional-School-Collaboration

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced new competitive funding for seven cities as part of its goal to foster for bold collaboration between public charter and district schools. The cities receiving grants totaling nearly $25 million are: Boston, Denver, Hartford (CT), New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia and Spring Branch (TX).

“When schools and leaders in communities work together, learn from each other, share resources, best practices and sometimes even facilities, collectively we have a better chance at improving the educational opportunities for all children,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “We applaud these cities for helping to lead the way and look forward to continuing to learn from their efforts and collaboration to benefit more students throughout the country.”

These communities are part of a group of 16 cities that have signed District-Charter Collaboration Compacts. In these cities, public charter and district school leaders, teachers, superintendents, and other community partners, such as mayors, local teachers’ unions and/or school board members, are working together to ensure all students in their communities receive a high-quality education that prepares them for college and career.

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Georgia-Charter-School-Legislation-on-my-Mind

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The state of charter school authorizing power in Georgia has been a roller coaster ride. Here’s the summary of the ups and downs: A State Supreme Court ruling last May struck the state’s power to authorize public charter schools. In addition to ending a best practice of having multiple authorizing entities in a state, it left several schools stranded without an overseer of the accountability and operational standards outlined in their charters. Since May, charter school supporters have been pushing for a state constitutional amendment to restore State authorizing power.

Two weeks ago, it seemed like victory was within reach. The state House voted on the measure to restore the State’s ability to authorize charter schools, but it fell just 10 votes short of passing with the two-thirds majority required (Tony Roberts, president and chief executive officer, Georgia Charter Schools Association, gave us a candid insider account of the politics behind the vote).

The bill might have failed, but efforts continued. On Wednesday, Feb. 22nd, the Georgia House of Representatives reintroduced the bill, and a number of lawmakers changed their votes after working with the bill’s sponsor to make changes, including a provision guaranteeing traditional public schools funding even if large numbers of students chose to attend charters. Ultimately, the bill passed the State House by three votes.

"It's just the first battle won in the war," said Tony Roberts, "but it's significant because we can move forward to solve the problem caused by the Supreme Court." The bill passed out of the Senate Education and Youth Committee on Thursday, Feb. 23rd with a 7-5 vote, and now moves to the Senate floor.

Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, has been an integral player in the on-the-ground advocacy efforts. He wrote a recent op-ed that expressed the need for passage of the charter school amendment, “Every once in a while, life gives us a do-over, a chance to revisit decisions we have come to think better of. The move to reconsider the proposed charter school amendment is one of those rare opportunities. Please take it.”

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Graduate-Programs-Geared-Toward-Public-Charter-School-Leaders

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Charter school leaders are responsible for significant operational oversight, in addition to academic oversight. Charter leaders also need to be able to understand and monitor how varying state and local policy issues can impact their school. Therefore, aspiring charter school leaders need training that looks different than traditional leadership training offered by schools of education.

Currently, very few of these programs exist. One such university-based program is the Charter and Autonomous School Leader Academy (CASLA) at California State, Dominguez Hills, which launched in 2011. CASLA is specifically “designed to help aspiring charter school leaders discover and develop those leadership capacities which will empower them to live out their school's mission.” Similarly, the Georgia Charter Schools Association, in partnership with Kennesaw State University and Lake Oconee Academy, developed Charter Leader, an Ed.S. program “for individuals interested in educational entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on leadership within the charter sector.” The program’s first cohort began studies in June 2012.

What separates these programs from many existing educational leadership programs is the nature of the topics covered. For example, CASLA covers six “capacities of charter school leadership,” including: strategic, human, instructional, operational, legal, and equity. What is also different is the manner in which these programs are providing training. The CASLA program includes a boot camp retreat during the summer, followed by a series of in depth modules with meetings one night per week online and one weekend per month in person, and a mentor throughout. The modules are built around real, practical issues that may arise in charter schools. The Charter Leader program requires an individual induction plan outlining the candidate’s performance-based projects each semester. Candidates implement these plans in their schools, with the support of university faculty and a mentor. For both programs, hands-on experience is key, and building the specific skills and knowledge required to run a charter school is a clear focus.

Interested colleges and universities can support the growth of the public charter school sector by providing the type of training mentioned above, which will provide aspiring leaders with the complement of skills and experience necessary to lead high performing public charter schools from the start. Though needed by the rising generation of school leaders, this type of education is offered at few universities. With such high demand for new charter schools, opportunities abound for those interested in leading. Proper training will help ensure the success of new leaders.

Moreover, as autonomy gets pushed closer to the school level, as has happened with principal empowerment reforms in cities like New York City and Washington, D.C., the ability to lead all elements of school academics and operations will be important for all public school leaders in traditional and charter schools. By offering practical, relevant, project-based programs, universities will be able to reach and train the next generation of school leaders in a manner suited to the needs of our evolving public education system.

Photo credit: Image via CASLA website
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Holding-Charter-Schools-to-a-Higher-Standard-Is-a-Good-Thing!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

New York City is drawing attention for its recent decision to close three underperforming schools that make up the Believe High School Network, as well as the ‘C’ graded Peninsula Preparatory Charter School. James Merriman, C.E.O. of the New York City Charter School Center, penned an eloquent explanation of why these closure decisions by the city’s Education Department are so critical to living up to the charter bargain of increased autonomy in exchange for greater accountability for student achievement. We’ve long stated the power of school choice when parental decision is based on academic quality and the importance of local enforcement of school quality. Through the NYC Education Department’s decisions, the city is one step closer to providing public charter schools that are truly high quality to its children and families.

Why Failing Charters Must Be Closed
By JAMES MERRIMAN

At their core, public charter schools are about one simple trade-off: a charter school receives more autonomy to operate in the way its staff thinks will provide the best results for students.

In return, it accepts greater accountability for the results it achieves academically and operationally — with the understanding that if a school fails, it will be closed. That is why charters get a license to operate for five years at a time — and have to make the case that they should be renewed.

Because accountability and autonomy are what charters are about, the decisions this week to close one poorly performing charter school, only conditionally renew another and provide notice to three others that they will be closed shortly unless they clean up their acts, is exactly the right move to ensure charters fulfill their promise to students and their role in the larger public education system.

The decisions also show not just what chartering is at its heart, but also how complex, and even difficult, chartering actually is. …To read the full editorial, click here.

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How-LEA-Status-Impacts-Public-Charter-Schools-for-Special-Education-Purposes

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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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How-Public-Charter-Schools-Are-Designed-to-Meet-the-Diverse-Demands-of-Our-Communities

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Today, NAPCS is proud to release our newest issue brief, A Mission to Serve: How Public Charter Schools Are Designed to Meet the Diverse Demands of Our Communities. By looking at high performing public charter schools that are consciously designed to serve their students–whether in homogenous or diverse environments–this issue brief underscores that public charter schools can accommodate both models and, in the process, provide more high quality public school options to our nation’s students.

One of the most exceptional developments within the first two decades of the movement has been the rise of high performing public charter schools with missions intently focused on educating students from traditionally underserved communities. While much media attention rightly has been given to these schools, the past decade or so also has seen a noteworthy rise in high-performing public charter schools with missions intentionally designed to serve economically integrated student populations. These schools are utilizing their autonomy to achieve a diverse student population through location-based strategies, recruitment efforts and enrollment processes.

Perhaps most notably, a growing number of cities – and the parents and educators in them – are welcoming both types of public charter school models for their respective (and in some cases unprecedented) contributions to raising student achievement, particularly for students who have previously struggled in school. Our issue brief showcases this development in three such cities: Denver, Washington, D.C., and San Diego.

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How-States-Address-Charter-School-Educator-Evaluation-in-ESEA-Waivers

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Given the ticking clock on the requirements laid out under the most recent authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 (click here for background), the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has approved the ESEA flexibility requests (waivers) of 32 States, plus the District of Columbia. The Department offered States the opportunity to request flexibility from certain ESEA/NCLB requirements. In return, the States must show that they are implementing rigorous and comprehensive plans to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction.

In our review of the waivers, NAPCS paid particular attention to how the approved waivers addressed the issue of teacher and principal effectiveness in states with public charter school laws. This issue was of particular importance because the degree to which a state plans to mandate, include or exempt charter participation in educator evaluation could either infringe or protect charter autonomy over personnel decisions. A breakdown of the approved waivers, and notes on their inclusion (or lack thereof) of charters can be found here.

We found that while some states exempted charters from participation in the state educator evaluation system, others explicitly (or implicitly) included charter participation in the system. For example, New York requires charters to participate in the evaluation process, but the schools do not have to use the information in personnel decisions, therefore abiding by existing rules for unionized and non-unionized schools. Oklahoma struck a middle ground by stating that charters are required to have an educator evaluation system in place with a number of components required by the legislature, but they have the ability to craft the system themselves. Some of the most hands off approaches come from Arkansas and South Carolina, which entirely exempt charter participation in the state plans.

NAPCS commends states that directly address the treatment of public charter schools within their waiver requests for keeping the charter sector at the forefront of their application process. We recommend that the Department closely monitor waiver implementation in the states that did not directly address the impact these new rules would have on the charter sector, to ensure that existing state laws are not ignored because an entire population of educators was not specifically addressed in the application.

Image via the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) website
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In-the-Area-of-Nutrition,-Charters-Are-Getting-It-Done

Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, the Education and Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was signed into law in November by President Obama. Outspoken district food service leaders decried the USDA’s proposed rule that the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs align nutrition standards with national dietary guidelines saying it puts an undue burden on cash-strapped schools.

Second to the money argument was an appeal that the nutrition guidelines might be so restrictive that kids simply won’t like the food. Change is hard; we certainly get it. The charter movement has continually met change head-on time and time again—changed structures of governance, changed ideas of teaching and learning, and changed minds on what a 21st century school can and should look like in today’s public system.

Often receiving far less than their fair shares of the pot, charter schools find ways to be innovative and still provide necessary supports. There’s plenty of evidence that more often than not charter school students are experiencing similar or greater achievement gains than students in comparable traditional public schools. But charters are not only getting it done in academics; they are also working to make schools a place where children learn about healthy eating habits.

Family Life Academy Charter School in the Bronx created a five-year food revolution to get its students to not only like the food being served up, but to understand its nutritional benefits. Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington, DC, has put cost-effective fresh cooking atop its list of priorities, no matter how tough the job. The school recognizes “when children are properly nourished and their bodies are healthier, they can learn, think and play better, and are ultimately better equipped to reach their potential.”

Despite the barriers that district leaders espoused at the hearing—fear of change, pushback from students, the high costs of healthy food—many charter schools are unwilling to sacrifice their mission and goals because of apparent obstacles. We reinvent. We make tough decisions. We learn to change in order to provide what’s best for our students. It’s critical that charter schools continue to have full access to the federal school meals programs as well as the flexibility in choosing partners who care about nutrition.

Do you have a healthy food service program? Tell us about it: http://www.publiccharters.org/Additional-Pages/HealthyLunch.aspx
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Incubating-a-diversity-focused-charter-school:-Bricolage-Academy-%28New-Orleans%29

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In conjunction with the release of our newest issue brief, the Charter Blog is looking at ways public charter school leaders design their school mission to meet diverse community needs.

The question of which students a charter will serve is a critical inquiry that must be considered throughout all phases of school development (and throughout the life of the school). Schools in the incubation phase can shed particular light on the if/then considerations that founders must balance in order to launch their envisioned charter school. Josh Densen is working with 4.0 Schools—a charter incubator that focuses on talent development to build charter school leadership teams—to launch Bricolage Academy, a proposed New Orleans charter school that is diverse by design. Densen began the inquiry process for his school in July 2011, and, as of January 2012, he has begun to work on the charter application.

For Densen, socio-economic diversity is a value to celebrate and a prerequisite for future academic and professional success. Densen does not have an ideal student demographic population; his admissions process reserves 40 percent of each class for free and reduced price lunch (FRL)-eligible students, 30 percent for non-FRL students, and 30 percent for a general population without income preferences. However, there is an “at risk” provision in Louisiana’s charter school statute that requires a charter school’s population to mirror the demographic composition of the district from where the students transferred (roughly 62 percent FRL students to match the state demographic for district schools, and even higher within Orleans Parish). As a result of this provision, Densen has a few considerations to weigh when he submits his charter application for authorizer approval.

Densen is considering use of a weighted lottery to achieve the socioeconomic diversity described above. That said, if Densen decides to not use a weighted lottery, he can attempt to influence the demographics of the school’s population with a geographic catchment area preference. Locating the school in an area of New Orleans that is already diverse may result in a diverse student population at the school, however, due to New Orleans status as a near-100 percent charter and all choice district, there is no guarantee that a diverse population will endure if families throughout the system choose to attend his school or the neighborhood demographics shift over time.

Using a weighted lottery will further the mission of the school and assure parents and families of the school’s commitment to diversity, a quality valued by many New Orleans residents. Densen recognizes that use of a weighted lottery will make Bricolage ineligible for federal CSP funding. The enthusiastic support he receives from a broad range of New Orleans residents and philanthropies reaffirms his commitment to socio-economic diversity.

Photo: Josh Densen

For more information on the use of weighted lotteries, please see our issue brief. You can learn more about Bricolage Academy here.
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It's-National-School-Choice-Week!

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Today, folks across the country are kicking off the first-ever National School Choice Week. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is proud to join more than 150 other organizations in acknowledging the need for greater educational options for America’s children.

I celebrated the start of the week by participating in a Town Hall meeting in Charlotte, N.C., today. I was proud to join a group of community leaders, parents and elected officials who are committed to making sure all students have access to a high quality education. I was even more proud to see that charter schools are recognized as a critical component of school choice. North Carolina has had a cap of 100 charter schools since its charter law was enacted in 1996. That cap, which was reached more than a decade ago, has effectively halted charter school growth and replication in the state. But after what I saw today, I am encouraged and I hope the cap is going to be lifted soon.

I was also encouraged to hear about some of the fantastic work happening in other states. Here are just a couple of the events going on this week:

A bipartisan coalition of Missouri legislators called today for changes aimed to help failing urban schools and give parents more choices. Among the items on the agenda: Expanding charter schools, which are now permitted only in St. Louis and Kansas City, to the rest of the state.
Grandmas for Charter Schools will host Coffee House meetings daily during National School Choice Week. These ladies will be giving out information on school choice options in Albany, N.Y., signing up folks for the Parent Army and registering parents to vote!
Grammy Award-winning recording artist Patti Austin will host an evening of entertainment at the “Get Real about Education Musical Town Hall,” an event to inspire a vision for the future of Dallas-area public schools.

There are tons of other great things happening, and if you’d like to tell us about yours…please post a comment below. We’d love to hear about it!

Comment
Submitted by Ted Fujimoto (not verified) on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:08am.

For Dallas Event with Patti Austin, RSVP at http://getrealabouteducationdallas-estw.eventbrite.com

Enjoy an evening of entertainment and inspiration toward a vision for the future of Dallas area public schools with Grammy winner Patti Austin, local artist Matt Wilson, and inspirational speakers.

The event will also launch the Right to Succeed Dallas Chapter, an effort to transform public education in the Dallas area and cut the dropout rate in half over the next five years. This free family event is open to all ages.

Click to view the powerful video about the Right to Succeed and the National School Choice Week cause!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CIPm1pxHWw

www.RightToSucceed.org

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It’s-Advocacy-Day-–-National-Charter-Schools-Week-Continues

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Today a core group of charter school advocates join NAPCS staff members in meetings on Capitol Hill, but all of us can take part in advocacy today - whether or not we’re in Washington.

On Facebook and here on the Charter Blog, we’re asking our social networks to take a few minutes out of their busy schedule to call (202) 609-8587 and let your Representative in Congress know why YOU support charters!

If you prefer to take action online, you can do it at the United States House of Representatives web site by entering your zip code.

Just as you make your voice heard in the House, some of our national charter leaders will be speaking up in the Senate.

Today in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor & Pensions Hearing Room, the following panelists will discuss the merits and opportunities for charter schools.

•         Jessica Cunningham, Chief Academic Officer, KIPP D.C.

•         Peter Groff, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

•         Lisa Graham Keegan, Principal Partner, Keegan Company (Moderator)

•         David Hansen, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, National Association of Charter School Authorizers

•         Scott Pearson, Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education

•         Sarah Newell Usdin, Founder and CEO, New Schools for New Orleans
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Kentucky-Introduces-Legislation-to-Establish-Public-Charter-Schools

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Lessons-Learned

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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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Letter-to-the-Editor:-'Charters-are-Providing-Hope'

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

To the Editor:

Re: “Better Charter Schools in New York City” (editorial, Feb. 23):

While rightly acknowledging the success of charter schools in New York City, you missed the mark in calling the national charter movement a “disappointment.” Interestingly, in 2011 you praised New Orleans, where 75 percent of all schools are now charters and the number of students attending a failing school is down threefold since Hurricane Katrina.

Whether they are 5 percent of public schools, as in New York, or 75 percent, as in New Orleans, charters schools are providing hope. In the last five years, the movement has added 1,700 schools and a million students. Another 610,000 are on wait lists.

The movement took the 2009 report by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford seriously. Since then, nearly 500 charters have closed. The center’s more recent research has found that charter students from low-income families are outperforming their traditional public school peers.

When you review the evidence, you will find what millions of parents already know: the charter movement is a resounding national success.

NINA REES
President and Chief Exec.,
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Washington, Feb. 24, 2013

This letter to the editor originally ran on the New York Times website, and was published on March 3, 2013.

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“D.C. considers neighborhood admissions preference for charter schools,” Renita Thukral (VP Legal Affairs) cited as committee member, Washington Post, Oct. 4
“N.H. Charter Freeze Triggers Fierce Backlash,” Todd Ziebarth (Sr. VP State Advocacy) quoted in Education Week, Oct. 3

News to Know

“Plenty of Common Ground in Obama and Romney’s Ed Reform Pitches,” Color Lines, Oct. 5
“Veto pits charter school autonomy against reduced-price meals,” California Watch, Oct. 4
“Charter backers rally as teachers vote on contract,” Chicago Tribune, Oct. 3
“First charter schools in Maine start first day of school,” Bangor Daily News, Oct. 2
“LAUSD, 3 charter groups win grants to develop evaluation systems,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 1

Audience Favorites

Facebook— (Oct. 4) This afternoon, our CEO Nina Rees moderated a panel on Capitol Hill with representatives from Achievement First, Breakthrough Schools, IDEA Public Schools, KIPP Delta Public Schools, Noble Network of Charter Schools, and Success Academy Charter Schools. The discussion examined practices in high performing charter networks to see if there's a "secret sauce" that can be used to close the achievement gap. What do you think is the most important thing a school can do to achieve transformational results for its students?

Twitter— @KIPPDelta talks character ed & serving a rural community: "our students aren't just test scores...they need the right vehicle to succeed."

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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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Duncan Needs Four More Years,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) response on the National Journal Education Experts Blog, Oct. 29

News to Know

“Controversy Over Charter Schools Lands on State Ballots,” The Nation, Nov. 2
“Obama, Romney both support charter schools,” Dayton Daily News, Nov. 1
“Practical Hurdles at Play in Pa. Charter-Law Stumble,” Education Week, Oct. 31
“Georgia get's A's for monitoring charter schools,” WSB Radio, Oct. 30
“Well-heeled S.A. effort aims for more charter schools — lots more,” San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 29

Audience Favorites

Facebook— It's a scary reality that one out of every four kids trick or treating this Halloween won't graduate high school in four years. As independent public schools that are designed to boost student achievement, public charter schools are working to address this pressing issue.

Twitter— @Ninacharters explains the importance of parent trigger laws on @usnews

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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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

"Re-segregation Trend In Georgia,” Todd Ziebarth (VP State Advocacy) quoted in the Georgia Public Broadcasting, 26 Sept. 2012
“Union influence declining at Mass. charter schools,” Todd Ziebarth (VP State Advocacy) quoted in the Boston Globe, 24 Sept. 2012

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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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“School Choice: A Subject Both Candidates Support,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) quoted in NPR, Oct. 13

News to Know

“Parents could seek charters at 35 Miss. Schools,” WSLS, Oct. 19
“Pa. House pulls the plug on charter school reform bill, killing the measure for this year,” Patriot-News, Oct. 18
“Anxiety High Over Charters, K-12 Aid in Wash. State,” Education Week, Oct. 17
“Pa. Senate approves some charter school regulations,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 16
“Charter school supporters say they’ll turn out in force at State Board of Education meeting in Concord,” Union Leader, Oct. 15

Audience Favorites

Facebook— The Intergenerational School in Cleveland, OH takes us on a "walk through" of their college prep instructional strategy on the Charter Blog. "We have coined the term 'intergenerativity' to denote the powerful synergy that emerges when the generations learn together. To us, this represents community service at its most profound and personal level."
http://www.publiccharters.org/Blog/Default.aspx?id=280

Twitter—MT @Part4Learning: New @KCTS9 @UW poll shows registered voters favor #charter schools 48% to 39%:washingtonpoll.org/results/kcts9w…

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Mississippi Coalition for Public Charter Schools Calls for Smart Legislation in 2013,” advocacy efforts by a coalition including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Mississippi First, the Black Alliance for Educational Options, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, and the Mississippi Association of Realtors cited in PR Newswire, Dec. 13
“New 'Trigger' Law May Increase Number of Charter Schools,” David Hoff (Vice President, Communications) quoted in Kansas City Infozine, Dec. 13
“Charter Schools Continue to Grow,” David Hoff quoted in North County Times and U-T San Diego, Dec. 11
“Charter school leaders urged to educate Legislature on their mission,” Nina Rees (President & CEO) cited in Reporter-News, Dec. 9

News to Know

“Charter School Expansion Top Priority for Mississippi Lawmakers,” Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Dec. 14
“High-Performing Charter Schools Wooed by Districts,” StateImpact, Dec. 13
“Harmony Charter Schools, IDEA Charter Network, and KIPP DC Win in Race to the Top-District Competition,” Houston Chronicle, Monitor, and Washington Post, Dec. 12
“Brookings Ranks New Orleans, New York, D.C. Best Cities for School Choice,” Washington Post, Dec. 11
“Arkansas Lawmakers to Consider Changes to Charter School Law, Republic, Dec. 10

Audience Favorites

Facebook—What's your dream for charter schools and how can we help you deliver on it? Share your dreams here, and then in person at the National Charter Schools Conference. http://www.publiccharters.org/conference

Twitter— @Ninacharters I dream of a day when public charter schools can meet the demand to provide a quality education for all children who need one. #ncsc13

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Grants Back District-Charter Collaboration,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) quoted in New York Times, Dec. 5
“Texas Charters Look to Legislative Agenda,” Nina Rees cited in San Angelo Standard-Times, Dec. 5

News to Know

“California Appeals Court Reverses Charter Facilities Decision,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 7
“Gates Foundation Gives $25 Million to Help Charters, Traditional Schools Cooperate,” Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Dec. 6
“Boston Wins Gates Foundation Grant for District-Charter Collaboration,” Boston Globe, Dec. 5
“Editorial: In Chicago, Build On Successes of Charter Schools,” Chicago Sun-Times, Dec. 4
“Op-ed: Public Charter Schools Save Taxpayers Money,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 3

Audience Favorites

Facebook— Washington State is official on our Public Charter Schools Dashboard! Check out this comprehensive data resource to learn more about public charter schools in 42 states and D.C.
http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/policy/page/overview/year/2013

Twitter— @JBernalYESPrep: @Ninacharters says charters are advancing the cause through talent, passion, innovations, and accountability. #tcsaconf

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Charter school group calls for tougher laws,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) quoted in USA Today, Nov. 28

News to Know

“Michigan Bill Would Require Districts to Offer Vacant Buildings to Charters,” Livingston Daily, Nov. 30
“A New Campaign for Public Charter School Accountability,” Education Week, Nov. 29
“Study: New Jersey Charter Students Outperform District Peers,” Education Week, Nov. 28
“Public Charter Schools Among Race to the Top Finalists,” Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, Nov. 27
“Charter Advocates Lobby to Restore Tax Credit for Facilities,” Education Week, Nov. 26

Audience Favorites

Facebook— Congrats to Christian Sanchez, a 16-year-old Capital City Public Charter School student, who received the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama. Learn more about Christian's award here: http://www.galatheatre.org/galita.php?cmd=loadEvent&id=124

Twitter— RT @benbwieder: Nina Rees of @charteralliance says 150 charter schools closed last year, evidence of good charter accountability #EIA12

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Parent Trigger Laws Give Parents the Power They Deserve,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) op-ed on the U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 26
“Opinion: School Choice on the Ballot,” Nina Rees video interview with the Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25
“Savannah, Chatham voters to decide who should authorize charter schools,” Todd Ziebarth (Sr. VP State Advocacy) quoted in Savannah Morning News Oct. 20

News to Know

On November 6th, voters in Georgia and Washington will vote on state legislation impacting the future of public charter schools in their respective states. The Charter Blog collected supportive op-eds, editorials and letters to the editor in both states from the past two weeks. Additional news coverage includes:

“Georgia Judge Dismisses Anti-Charter Campaign Case,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 26
“Georgia Judge Issues No Ruling on Charter Campaign Injunction Request,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 25
“Former Foe Now Embraces Charter Schools in Washington State,” Seattle Times, Oct. 24
“Georgia State Senator: Charter Amendment Will Inject Competition into System,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, Oct. 23
“Initiative 1240: Charting a New Course in Washington State?,” Olympian, Oct. 22

Audience Favorites

Facebook— In a Marietta Daily Journal op-ed, retired high school teacher and former Georgia state legislator Roger Hines explains why he now supports a constitutional amendment to restore the state’s power to approve and fund public charter schools. “I must break rank from the educational establishment and support the constitutional amendment because the time has come for a new order,” Hines writes.

Twitter— @charteralliance GA & WA voters will decide on legislation impacting the future of public charter schools in their states. bit.ly/P2J9Ju #WApol#GApol

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS in the News

“Education Ballot Initiative Results Show Mixed Returns On School Reform,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) quoted in the Huffington Post, Nov. 7
“NAPCS President & CEO Nina Rees on the 2012 Election,” Nina Rees statement printed in the Sacramento Bee, Nov. 7
“Sick of the Presidential Race? Here Are 2 Education Ballot Measures to Watch,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) quoted in The Atlantic, Nov. 5
“NAPCS CEO Interviews Khan Academy Founder,” Nina Rees (President and CEO) interview on C-SPAN2, Nov. 5

News to Know

“D.C. Charters’ Graduation Rate Continues to Be Well Above District’s” Washington Post, Nov. 9
“Results Still Unclear For Washington State Charter Initiative,” Seattle Times, Nov. 8
“Georgia Voters Approve Charter School Amendment,” Marietta Daily Journal and Anderson Independent Mail, Nov. 7
“All Eyes on Georgia, Washington as Voters Consider Charter School Initiatives,” CNN, Nov. 6
“Charters Called ‘Pioneers’ in Reform,” Albuquerque Journal, Nov. 5

Audience Favorites

Facebook—Charters Win Big in Election: In Georgia, voters sent a clear message that they want public school options that are unique partnerships between teachers, parents, and students and that respond to the specific needs of their communities.

Twitter— @charteralliance Charters on the Ballot: The public charter school movement will be a winner either way in today’s Presidential election

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Media-Round-Up

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This series features top news, blogs, and social media activity from the week.

NAPCS in the News

"What Public Charter Schools Have Taught Us About Public Education," Op-ed by Nina Rees (president and CEO) in the Huffington Post, 13 Sept. 2012
“Building Block of a Sound Economy,” Nina Rees response in National Journal Education Experts Blog, Sept. 10, 2012
“Push to Add Charter Schools Hangs Over Strike,” Todd Ziebarth (VP State Advocacy) quoted in New York Times, 12 Sept. 2012

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:

"Charter schools in session despite strike," Chicago Tribune, Sept. 9
"Who Will Win Chicago Teachers Strike? Charter Schools," Bloomberg, Sept. 10
"Chicago Teachers Strike Puts Charter Schools in the Spotlight," The Atlantic, Sept. 11
"Charter School Options For Latinos Gain Attention Due To Chicago Teachers' Strike," Sept. 12

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.

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Media-Roundup

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

News to Know

"Charter Schools: Yes. Initiative 1240 has plenty of protections for traditional educational system," The Columbian, Oct. 8
“Gov. Corbett must step up for charter school reform,” Patriot News, Oct. 9
"State seeks to double enrollment in charter schools,” Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 10
"Charter networks being urged to take over troubled schools in city,” Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11
"Don't deny school choice,” Augusta Chronicle, Oct. 12

Audience Favorites

Facebook—Check out our infographic on public charter school instructional strategies.

Twitter— @CenterNonProf: Welcome David! MT @charteralliance:pleased to announce David Hoff will be our new VP for Communications & Marketing

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Midnight-in-Georgia

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Pretty amazing week. Charter School Hall of Famer John King was named New York State education commissioner; New Schools Venture Fund’s Summit 2011 brought the "edurati" together for another exhilarating brainfest; liberal icon Howard Dean declared charters “the future”; the UFT and NYC’s NAACP chapter filed another lawsuit to block closure of failing schools and co-locations with charters; and the who-interrupted-whom saga of Diane Ravitch and Rhode Island Education Commission Deborah Gist took an intriguing turn when it became known that a filmmaker recorded their disputed meeting with Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (hint: Gist is fine with releasing the video). But the central event took place in the Georgia Supreme Court, where the abominable Gwinnett v. Cox decision abolished the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, the statewide authorizer created in the wake of district refusals to approve new charters. No wonder that two days later, hundreds of Georgia parents, and kids rallied against the ruling, which derailed (we hope temporarily) the schools the Commission had chartered.

The 4-3 decision turned on a semantic distinction finer than “what the meaning of ‘is’ is. The Court held that Georgia’s constitution forbids “special” schools unless they’re intended for specific slices of the student population not served by district schools. (Apparently the Court hasn’t heard of IDEA and the fact that districts are actually required to serve those “special” kids.) Nor did they provide more than a footnote about why state-chartered schools approved by the State Board of Education on appeal are OK, but not state-chartered schools approved by a State Commission. Neither have they read up on Georgia’s history of creating other state-approved schools, as the “superbly researched, reasoned and argued” dissent by Justice David Nahmias shows. Nahmias also points out that the state’s $400 million Race to the Top federal grant was awarded in part because the state could claim an alternative charter authorizer. Note to Arne Duncan….

This is a worse act of judicial usurpation than the 2008 Florida appeals court decision that struck down the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, similarly created as a statewide authorizer. There, the language of the state constitution was clear, if perverse: “The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district.” (Article IX(4)(b). That geographic specificity proved to be an insurmountable barrier to the arguments of charter lawyers. In the Georgia case, the court is taking language far less clear, and using it to reach an ideological – and perhaps partisan -- conclusion.

What both these decisions have in common is the musty odor of senescence. State constitutions that treat local districts as fiefdoms, funded through 19th-century tax schemes that treat land as the source of all wealth, surrounded by a legal moat keeping children in and everything from charter schools to online-learning out, need to be updated. Especially when decisions like this one shred a promise the state made to thousands of families whose aspirations were being thwarted by local school districts.
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Mississippi-House-Passes-Charter-Schools-Bill

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Model-Law-March-Madness

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

With the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament under way, we’ve all become experts in bracketology (see President Obama’s picks here). But how would the tournament play out if teams advanced according to their state’s ranking on our model law?

In the Midwest region, we’d see an immediate fall of the number one seed. As one of only eight states that does not allow parents the opportunity to choose a public charter school for their child, Kentucky-based Louisville would quickly be knocked out. Second seed Duke would also be eliminated in the first round—New York-based Albany holds the eighth spot on our model law, while North Carolina is twenty-fourth. Despite its eighth seed in the tournament rankings, Colorado State’s home base holds the fourth strongest public charter school legislation in the nation, which would carry it to win the Midwest region.

The West region would advance according to the top tournament seed. Gonzaga is located in Washington, which comes in third on our model law rankings. Unlike in actual tournamet play, this high model law ranking would easily carry the first seed Gonzaga to win the region. On the other side of the bracket, Ohio State University falls in the bottom half of the 42 states with public charter school legislation, and would be upset by Iona’s New York-based ranking as one of the top ten states on our model law.

In the East, we’d see strong several strong contenders: Indiana (ranked 9 on our model law) would vie with California (seventh spot on the model law), and Butler (Pennsylvania is 19th on our model law) would duke it out with Colorado (fourth in the model law rankings)—which would go on to win the East region.

Finally, the South region would behold the ultimate Cinderella story. Minnesota tops our model law rankings, which would carry the 11 seed to win the entire tournament.

While we would not recommend actually filling out your bracket according to this methodology, this theoretical tournament bracket does point out states that are committed to improving the statutes that enable a thriving public charter school sector.

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NAPCS-Comments-on-Race-to-the-Top-District-Competition

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NAPCS submitted comments on the US Department of Educations proposed requirements for the newest round of Race to the Top: Race to the Top-District (RTT-D). NAPCS expressed support for the program’s emphasis on an individually focused approach to education and the inherent potential the program has to supplement the growth and expansion of high quality charter schools. However, there were a number of areas that we felt the Department should reevaluate, notably, the minimum size requirement for local education agency (LEA) eligibility. The minimum LEA size is currently set at 2500 students. Of the 2,525 charter LEAs in the 2010/2011 school year, only 27 LEAs would meet this requirement. That is only 1.07%!!! To learn more about our recommendation for eligibility criteria, and other areas of the application, read our full submission, and don’t forget to submit your own comments by June 8th.

Logo via Ed.gov
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NAPCS-Congratulates-recipients-of-the-Race-to-the-Top-District-Grant

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Three public charter school networks were big winners in the Race to the Top–District grants.

The U.S. Department of Education announced that the Harmony Public Schools won $30 million, IDEA Public Schools will receive $29.2 million, and KIPP DC was awarded $10 million in the highly competitive grant program.

The other 13 winners were traditional public school districts.

NAPCS congratulates all of the winners and will share more details about the charter applicants and how they will invest the money from the program.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-Encourages-the-Charter-Sector-to-Comment-on-the-New-Race-to-the-Top-District-Proposed-Requirements

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The US Department of Education has posted a draft executive summary of the draft requirements, priorities, selection criteria, and definitions for the Race to the Top District (RTT-D) competition. According to the Department, the RTT-D competition “will build on the lessons learned from the State-level competitions and support bold, locally directed improvements in teaching and learning that will directly improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness. More specifically, Race to the Top District will reward those LEAs that have the leadership and vision to implement the strategies, structures and systems of support to move beyond one-size–fits-all models of schooling, which have struggled to produce excellence and equity for all children, to personalized, student-focused approaches to teaching and learning that will use collaborative, data-based strategies and 21st century tools to deliver instruction and supports tailored to the needs and goals of each student, with the goal of enabling all students to graduate college- and career-ready.”

Applicants must be LEAs (including charter LEAs) serving at least 2,500 students. Local Education Agencies may apply as a consortium which may include LEAs across one or more states. Additionally, at least 40% of participating students across all participating schools must be from low income families (using free and reduced lunch criteria).

Applications must meet Absolute Priority 1 and one of Absolute Priorities 2:
Absolute Priority 1, Personalized Learning Environment(s)
Absolute Priority 2, LEAs in Race to the Top States
Absolute Priority 3, Rural LEAs in Race to the Top States
Absolute Priority 4, LEAs in non-Race to the Top States
Absolute Priority 5, Rural LEAs in non-Race to the Top States

You can read more and submit your comments here: http://www.ed.gov/race-top/district-competition. And stay tuned for further NAPCS analysis.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-President-Responds-to-SOTU-Address

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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NAPCS-Releases-Annual-National-Rankings-of-Charter-School-Laws

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-Resource-Roundup

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Public Charter Schools Serving the Needs of Diverse Communities

NAPCS released a new issue brief that profiles public charter schools that are meeting the diverse needs of communities across the nation. A growing number of cities—and the parents and educators in them—are welcoming public charter school models that serve both homogenous and diverse student populations for their respective (and in some cases unprecedented) contributions to raising student achievement, particularly for students who have previously struggled in school. This brief showcases this development in three of these cities: Denver, Washington, D.C., and San Diego.
Relatedly, our latest Details from the Dashboard report examines race/ethnicity breakouts for public charter schools and traditional public schools at the state and the school district level. The data in this report indicate that in the large majority of states, the race/ethnicity student demographics of charter schools are almost identical to those of the surrounding school district.
Gary W. Ritter, Professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of Arkansas, wrote a guest blog providing a researcher’s take on claims of charter schools and segregation. It’s basically Mythbusters, education research style.
The Charter Blog also featured supplemental case studies of public charter schools with diversity focused school missions, including: E.L. Haynes (Washington, D.C.), Citizens of the World Charter Schools (Los Angeles metro area), Bricolage Academy (New Orleans).

National Charter Schools Week 2012

National Charter Schools Week (NCSW) was celebrated from May 7-12th. This year’s festivities featured public charter school advocates from 41 states and D.C. and over 185 meetings on Capitol Hill. We also ran a blog series featuring parent, teacher, school leader and state association commenters from Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Federal Policy

Our Director of Intergovernmental Affairs takes us beyond the sound bites in her blog series, Education Policy 101: A primer for the national media, politicians … and people I meet at parties, featured on The Charter Blog May 29-June 1, 2012. The federal policy team also analyzed the recently announced Race to the Top District competition requirements and Obama and Romney’s statements on charter schools.

Fun Stuff on Facebook

Dr. Bill Cosby and Dr. Deborah Kenny, founder and CEO of Harlem Village Academies, will keynote the annual National Charter Schools Conference. Check out a hilarious video of Hugh Jackman "auditioning" to be a superstar teacher at Harlem Village Academies (HVA) on our Facebook page. You can also see a video of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sharing his support for public charter schools and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Finally, you can be inspired by Lia Eggleston, an 8th grader at Snowy Range Academy—a public charter school in Laramie, Wyoming—who will be representing the charter school sector in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-Resource-Roundup

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

National Charter Schools Conference Coverage
You can relive the best moments of the National Charter Schools Conference through pictures on our Facebook page, our Hall of Fame video stories on YouTube, posts on The Charter Blog and by searching hash tag #NCSC on twitter.

New Publication
In 2005, the Task Force on Charter School Quality and Accountability issued Renewing the Compact, a position statement for the charter school sector that presented recommendations for achieving the goals of growth and quality. This report evaluates the sector’s progress on those goals and recommends bold actions to capitalize on its successes while confronting persistent challenges. By taking these bold actions now, critical stakeholders can build a breakthrough sector and create a results-driven culture, which will improve the impact of charter schools on student outcomes and the education system.

See What the Sector is Saying
Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO of Teach For America issued the following statement about our new President and CEO Nina Rees: “During her time as head of the Office for Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, Nina served as a tireless champion and advocate for public school students. She strongly believes that all children can succeed at the highest levels and will be unafraid to challenge the status quo by championing innovative solutions that give them the opportunity to fulfill their potential. She is a great choice to serve as the new head of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.” See what other education reform leaders are saying here.

Public Charter School Data Updated on the Dashboard
For the fourth consecutive year, NAPCS has released the most comprehensive set of charter school data publicly available. The Public Charter School Dashboard contains statistics and indicators about the growth and quality of public charter schools at the national, state, district, and school levels. Notably, the Dashboard hosts detailed information on every charter school in operation across the country, including enrollment, student demographics, and school achievement data. The updated Dashboard now includes data for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-Resource-Roundup

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

National Charter Schools Conference Videos
Videos from the National Charter Schools Conference general sessions are now on our YouTube channel. Check out Bill Cosby interviewing Deborah Kenny about empowering quality teachers, our expert panel—including Howard Fuller and Rocketship CEO John Danner—discuss the future of public charter schools, our new President and CEO Nina Rees’s keynote remarks, Interim President and CEO Ursula Wright’s State of the Movement address, alumni success stories, and student performers.

NAPCS Testifies Against Proposed I.R.S. Regulations Forcing Charter School Educators Out of State Retirement Plans
NAPCS led charter advocates from across the country in testifying at an Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) public hearing against proposed regulations that likely would force states to prohibit public charter school educators from participating in state retirement plans. The proposed regulations, released in November 2011 and titled “Determination of Government Plan Status,” would affect an estimated 95,000 public charter school employees nationwide – potentially forcing more than 93 percent of the nation’s charter school workforce to either leave their public charter schools or lose their state pensions. Those testifying against the proposed regulations on behalf of the NAPCS includes: Renita Thukral, Senior Director, Legal Affairs, NAPCS; David Dunn, Executive Director, Texas Charter Schools Association; and Jill Gottfred, Policy Manager, Illinois Network of Charter Schools. You can learn more about the issue on our website, advocacy update and press release.

Financing Facilities
Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting public charter schools are making a difference for our least served students, the challenge of securing affordable facilities continues to confront nearly every charter school. Here are some recent resources on the issue:

The Colorado League of Charter Schools has undertaken, the Charter Schools Facilities Initiative, a nationwide effort to empirically assess charter school access to facilities and to use the data to impact policy and practice.
In An Accident of History, former NAPCS CEO Nelson Smith argues that school facilities should be a municipality-wide concern, not just the province of the traditional district. Further, some impartial entity (a mayor, a real estate trust, a municipal building corporation) should manage the building stock on behalf of all the kids, not just those in district schools.
A co-publication by NAPCS and Orrick, Public Charter Schools: Borrowing with Tax-Exempt Bonds, discusses the emergence of borrowing through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds as an effective option to obtain low-cost facilities financing.
Fitch Ratings, a global rating agency that is one of the smaller bond financing suppliers for public charter schools, published an “exposure draft” that includes a number of proposed amendments to existing credit rating criteria. In short, these ratings adjustments will make it more expensive and even harder for charter schools to access tax-exempt bond financing to finance their facilities.

Click here for more information.

NAPCS-Testifies-Against-Proposed-I.R.S.-Regulations-Forcing-Charter-School-Educators-Out-of-State-Retirement-Plans

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This morning, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) led charter advocates from across the country in testifying at an Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) public hearing against proposed regulations that likely would force states to prohibit public charter school educators from participating in state retirement plans. The proposed regulations, released in November 2011 and titled “Determination of Government Plan Status,” would affect an estimated 95,000 public charter school employees nationwide – potentially forcing more than 93 percent of the nation’s charter school workforce to either leave their public charter schools or lose their state pensions. Those testifying against the proposed regulations on behalf of the NAPCS includes: Renita Thukral, Senior Director, Legal Affairs, NAPCS; David Dunn, Executive Director, Texas Charter Schools Association; and Jill Gottfred, Policy Manager, Illinois Network of Charter Schools. You can learn more about the issue on our website and press release.

IRS Building image via Google Images
Click here for more information.

NAPCS-to-Host-Webinar-on-RTT-D-Applications

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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.
Click here for more information.

NAPCS:-Your-Source-for-all-%28public-charter-school-related%29-ESEA-Waiver-News

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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!

Click here for more information.

National-Charter-Schools-Week-Round-Up

Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Thanks to all who joined us in celebrating charters during the 12th annual National Charter Schools Week!

Our advocacy efforts, both online and on Capitol Hill, were a great success this year:

75 participants from 35 states participated in nearly 200 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff;
Nearly 100 advocates used our text campaign to contact their elected representatives to express support for high quality charter schools;
The NAPCS honored Rep. “Buck” McKeon (CA-25) with his [Champion for Charters Award] at a reception in the House of Representatives;
President Obama formally acknowledges National Charter Schools Week by issuing an official Presidential Proclamation.

Participants came to Washington D.C. from as far as Hawaii and as close as Maryland to meet with policymakers to discuss how the federal government can better support the growth and development of high-quality charter schools. In addition to the Washington based activities, National Charter Schools Week was marked across the nation by supporter-hosted rallies, school tours, student competitions and various acknowledgements of charter school success by state level officials.

In Texas, more than 1700 parents of charter students returned rallied to encourage lawmakers to complete their work and send the bills to the Governor’s desk.

In Georgia, charter students pose with Governor Nathan Deal and the National Charter School’s Week proclamation.

Click here for more information.

National-School-Choice-Week-Kicks-Off

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

National-School-Choice-Week-Whistle-Stop:-Chicago,-Ill.

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

National-School-Choice-Week-Whistle-Stops:-Buffalo,-Rochester-and-Albany,-New-York

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

National-School-Choice-Week-Whistle-Stops:-Indianapolis-0024-Milwaukee

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

National-School-Choice-Week-Whistle-Stops:-Toledo-and-Cleveland,-OH

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

New-Directions-for-Public-Charter-School-Governance

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Fordham Institute released a pithy new paper today on the governance of public charter schools. In it, the author, Adam Emerson, questions one of the age-old (at least since 1991, when charters first came on the scene) assumptions about charters: that each school must have its own community-based governing board that operates the school and serves students from nearby communities.

A lot has changed over the last 22 years, with “all of those Os” emerging in the sector (via CMOs and EMOs), as Dr. Howard Fuller said at our conference in 2009. While 68 percent of public charter schools still fit the original “mom and pop” mold, 20 percent are operated by non-profit charter management organizations (CMOs) and 12 percent by for-profit education management organizations (EMOs). And 200+ charters offer full-time virtual instruction.

Emerson offers two sets of policy recommendations for better aligning the regulatory environment for charters with what’s happening on the ground that are consistent with our model law:

The first would allow a single governing board to manage multiple schools to make it easier for high-performing charters to replicate and expand (that’s Component #15 in our model law).
The second would create statutory guidelines for relationships between charter schools and educational service providers to ensure that the schools are in the driver’s seat in these relationships – not the other way around (that’s Component #10 in our model law)

Emerson also recommends that virtual charter schools be authorized by state authorizing entities, given that these schools usually end up serving students from all over a state. Among other things, this approach would remove the financial incentives and quality disincentives that exist for small districts to authorize large virtual charter schools. It’s a sensible recommendation, and one that we’ll be considering when we revisit our model law in the future.

Click here for more information.

News-Round-Up

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

Obama's-Challenge

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Last night’s briskly-delivered State of the Union address capped a dizzying few months for President Obama. He was looking out at 84 new GOP House of Representatives members -- 63 of whom were occupying seats previously held by Democrats. However, he was enjoying a rebound in personal popularity, coming off a surprisingly productive lame-duck session, and hoping to sustain and leverage the shift in national mood following the Tucson tragedy.

It was not the night to play the usual SOTU games – how many times did he mention “X” – and so the absence of the words “charter schools” didn’t bother me a bit. The key points on education weren’t drawn from a laundry list of programs; instead he tried to frame the challenge and leave the details for the upcoming budget message. Some of the key education passages:

The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.
Nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science.
Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us –- as citizens, and as parents –- are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

The task for charter folks is to show that our schools are part of the solution...that our kids leave 12th grade ready for college --and ready to succeed in college and beyond. Let's show that we’re using our freedom not just to get rid of paperwork, but to equip kids with the knowledge and habits of mind to lead an international economy.

And if a charter school is part of the problem, we need to take action. Now.

Without saying exactly how, the President did also say that “Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that’s more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids.” I trust that means the Administration will continue pressing states for facilities aid, fiscal equity and an end to caps. It will be interesting to see how those proposals fare in a Congress that generally wants to expand state rather than federal authority.

By the way, today’s New York Times has a cool seating chart illustrating the "new civility," with some odd couples listening to the speech: Schumer and Coburn; Patty Murray and John Cornyn; Louie Gohmert and Carolyn Maloney. Let’s hope the era of good feelings persists.

Click here for more information.

Our-Hopes-for-the-New-Year

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Click here for more information.

Parent-Demand-Outpaces-New-Public-Charter-School-Openings

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

It’s back to school season. And as students, parents, and teachers prepare to start a new school year, a new cohort of public charter schools is ready to open their doors for the first time. This year will mark the opening of the first charter school in Maine—which has already received more applications than it has seats available, meaning it will have to hold a lottery for admissions. Meeting parent demand for public school options is an issue throughout the sector. The results of our national survey conducted in the spring of 2012 found over 600,000 students on waiting lists to attend a public charter school. Over the past four academic years, the public charter school sector has seen an average 7 percent growth in the total number of charter schools. We’re in the process of identifying new charter schools opening this fall, and if the sector grows like it has over the last couple of years, roughly 400 new public charter schools will help to meet parental demand for high quality educational opportunities. Welcome back to school!

Academic Year	Number of New Charter Schools in the Fall	% Growth in Number of Charter Schools
2008-2009	478	7.5%
2009-2010	436	6.1%
2010-2011	517	7.1%
2011-2012	538	7.0%
Average	492.3	6.9%

Click here for more information.

PDK002FGallup-Poll-Shows-the-Public-Favors-Public-Charter-Schools

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Across the nation, parents and guardians are demonstrating their support for public charter schools with their feet. In the last five years, the number of students who attend public charter schools has grown 100 percent—now surpassing two million students, with more than 600,000 additional students on waiting lists to attend charter schools. Further, NAPCS’s annual analysis of market share of charter schools finds more communities each year are experiencing an increase in charter school enrollment. Today, nearly 100 school districts now have at least 10 percent of their public school students enrolled in public charter schools.

Therefore, the results of the new Phi Delta Kappa (PDK)/Gallup poll that shows the public favors public charter schools by a two to one margin is not surprising. We are a bit surprised that the survey found a drop in support from 2011—but since the drop is within the margin of error, we aren’t too concerned. We know that the charter sector still has a lot of work to do to ensure that everyone understands that charter schools are tuition free, public schools. And, we must balance the results of this poll, positive or negative, with other surveys and, more importantly, what we see on the ground. The EdNext poll, for instance, shows about 40 percent of people remain undecided on their opinions of public charter schools.

Click here for more information.

Perfection-First,-Change-Last

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Over the holidays the NY Times ran a piece about NYC’s use of student data in teacher rankings, and the tug of war that’s emerging over so-called “value-added” evaluations. Among a slew of letters it generated was one from Deputy Chancellor John White, concluding with this biting comment: “Shame on unions and school districts charged with improving antiquated evaluation systems if they hide behind sideline critics advocating perfection first and change last. No system is perfect, but the status quo is not fair to children.”

Researcher Dan Goldhaber, subbing for Rick Hess over at Straight Up, makes a similar point: “I am continually struck by the fact that policy debates over a whole variety of issues focus almost entirely on the downside risks of reform, while massively ignoring the costs or downsides of business as usual.” Citing work he and co-authors contributed to a recent Brookings report, he says “much of the debate about using value-added for teacher evaluation is framed around the potential consequences for teachers rather than focusing on the known or potential consequences for students,” and adds: “The counterfactual matters and we are not comparing reform to an existing nirvana.”

White and Goldhaber aren’t talking about charter schools, but we need to keep their argument handy. Sure there are imperfections in charter schools – we worry more about them than anyone else does. But parents who choose them know the “counterfactual” all too well.

Here’s a suggestion for the new year. When you hear someone railing about the dangers of public charter schools, hit them with the question a parent asks: “Compared to what?”

Click here for more information.

Planning-Your-Time-at-the-National-Charter-Schools-Conference

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

With over 112 breakout sessions, networking receptions, school visits, student performances and pre-conference workshops, figuring out how to prioritize your time at the National Charter Schools Conference can be a daunting task. So we’ve created a few tools to help make the planning a little easier. Our program search tool lets you find sessions by content strand, presenter and time; while our schedules at-a-glance give you the day’s overview. Also, check out these great sessions by NAPCS staff. We hope this helps you be able to take advantage of the many learning, sharing, and networking opportunities at the conference. See you in Minnesota!

Click here for more information.

President-Obama-and-Governor-Romney-Agree:-Expand-Public-Charter-Schools

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In bitterly partisan times, support for the expansion of high quality public charter schools is one of the few areas of agreement between the presidential candidates. While the means of each candidate’s education plans differ, the end goal—giving parents more choice through public charter schools—is common ground. Here’s a sampling of articles from the past two weeks that highlight Obama and Romney’s support for public charter schools:

Click here for more information.

Protect-Charter-School-Teacher-Retirement-Funds!

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a Proposed Regulation titled “Determination of Government Plan Status.” This regulation would force states to prohibit charter school teachers from participating in state retirement plans. Presently, every single state that authorizes charter schools either requires or permits charter school participation in the state’s retirement system. Therefore, this regulation would negatively impact nearly all charter school teachers in the country.

In total, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools estimates more than 90,000 charter school teachers - more than 90% of our country’s charter school workforce - will be affected by the Proposed regulations. All of these teachers will be forced to either leave their charter schools or lose their accrued pension wealth. For this reason, we cannot allow these regulations to be adopted in their current form.

We encourage you to take action here. And for a more detailed analysis of the issue, check out the excerpted blog below that was co-authored by our Senior Director of Legal Affairs.

Flypaper Blog, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Michael Podgusrky, Stuart Buck, and Renita Thukral / January 23, 2012

Charter school teachers would be hit hard by new Treasury Department ruling on pensions

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, hundreds of public schools were put out of commission and their staff placed on leave. Many charters schools expanded to absorb the displaced students, and these charter schools hired teachers from traditional schools to meet the enrollment demand. A glitch, fixed by state legislation, was to allow the displaced teachers to remain in the state teacher pension plan since some of the charter schools did not participate in the state plan. In 2010 this temporary law expired. Many of these transplanted teachers remain employed in charter schools and wished to continue to participate in the state teacher plan. Legislation was passed to allow these transplanted teachers to remain permanently in the state retirement plan, if—and this is a very big if—the Treasury Department approved.

The Treasury Department held off ruling on the Louisiana case while it worked on regulations that would provide new guidance on what it meant for a plan to be a "governmental plan." In November, the Treasury Department issued proposed regulations on the subject, and the news is not good for charter school teachers in Louisiana, or anywhere, since these new rules would affect charter schools in all states.

The legal issues are complex, and in a forthcoming study, two of us (Buck and Thukral) will attempt to sort them out. However, the nub of the matter centers on whether charter school teachers are considered government employees. In particular, are charter schools sufficiently “governmental” that they can participate in state and local pension plans?...Click here to read the full analysis.

Click here for more information.

Protecting-Charter-School-Employee-Retirement-Funds

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding the Threat

NAPCS has been the leading voice in the effort to amend the Internal Revenue Service’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) titled “Determination of Government Plan Status.” Released on November 8th, 2011, this draft proposed regulation, if adopted as currently drafted, would lead states to prohibit charter school employees from participating in state retirement plans. Presently, every single state that authorizes charter schools either requires or permits charter school participation in the state’s retirement system. Therefore, this regulation would negatively impact nearly all charter school employees in the country.

We persist in our efforts to educate law- and policy-makers on this issue, and we are committed to mobilizing our sector and our supporters. The public comment period, originally set to expire on February 6th, has been extended and now will close on June 18th. Additionally, the IRS will convene a public hearing in Washington D.C. on July 9th. Anyone can submit a request to testify on July 9th; click here to submit a public comment in which you can ask for an opportunity to be heard (Note: submitting a request to testify does not guarantee that you will be chosen).

The Sector and Its Supporters Voice Opposition

To date,

NAPCS has filed public comment, signed by 34 city- and state-level charter support organizations across the country;
Chairman John Kline, House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Chairman Duncan Hunter, House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, have submitted a letter in support to IRS Commissioner Shulman;
Senate Republicans have submitted a letter in support to IRS Commissioner Shulman;
A coalition of 17 Members of the House has sent a bipartisan letter in support to IRS Commissioner Shulman;
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), a national organization that represents state superintendents of education across the country, has submitted comments in support; and,
In February, more than 8,300 individuals voiced opposition to the IRS’s draft proposed regulations. More than 43,000 emails were sent to Congress, Secretary Geithner, Secretary Duncan and IRS Commissioner Shulman!

Moving Forward

Between now and the July 9th public hearing, we will update our webpage devoted to this issue to spotlight the latest developments—including media coverage, public statements made by lawmakers, position statements issued by our supporters, white papers, and data.

It is imperative that the final regulations be amended to protect public charter school employees and allow public charter schools to continue to recruit and retain veteran public school employees. Failure to do so will risk the retirement security of charter school employees, interfere with charter schools’ ability to reach their educational goals, undermine both state and federal education policy and reform initiatives, and subject some states to potential financial liability. We urge the Internal Revenue Service to clarify the draft proposed regulations such that public charter schools will be treated as agencies or instrumentalities of the state under Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Click here for more information.

Public-Charter-Schools-for-Montana

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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
Click here for more information.

Race-to-the-Top-District-Applications-Released

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of Education recently released the Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) grant application. Eligible applicants are local education agencies (LEAs) and consortia of LEAs serving a minimum of 2,000 students or fewer than 2,000 students, provided those students are served by a consortium of at least 10 LEAs and at least 75 percent of the students served by each LEA are participating in program. Also, at least 40 percent of the participating students must be from low-income families and applicants must demonstrate their commitment to the core education assurance areas. The Department is offering two technical assistance webinars on August 16th and 21st for interested applicants.

The deadline for submitting Intent to Apply statements is coming up quick–August 30th–with the full application due October 30th. Click here for more information about RTT-D. NAPCS will provide updates in the coming weeks, and you can contact me with questions.

Logo via Google Images

Click here for more information.

Re:-“Why-states-should-say-'no-thanks'-to-charter-schools”

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In Tuesday’s Washington Post, Diane Ravitch calls Washington D.C.’s public schools “no model for school reform,” clearly demonstrating that she is in need of a history lesson. Ravitch may recall that just eight short years ago, prior to the emergence of charter schools, Washington D.C. students scored dead last among every major U.S. city, according to NAEP. That has remarkably changed, as D.C.’s public schools have made steady gains, with charter school achievement rates rising even faster.

D.C.’s regular public schools are improving by mimicking charters’ successes. Schools such as Achievement Prep Academy, D.C.’s highest-performing middle school, located in the city’s poorest Ward, along with several KIPP charter schools are inspiring broader public school improvements for families that need them most.

Across the country, in places like New Orleans – with an educational environment now thriving with 80 percent of students in charter schools, Los Angeles – where 5,000 parents recently gathered with the city’s Mayor to press for more high-quality charters, and even Denver – where a supportive school district is replicating charter innovations into its broader school system, charter schools are a welcome solution.

This school year, 200,000 additional students enrolled in charter schools – bringing national charter enrollment above two million students. More families are getting what they have needed for decades, the ability to choose the best public school for their child. This is why the 42 states that allow them are saying ‘thanks’ to charter schools.

Click here for more information.

Reclaiming-the-Origins-of-Chartered-Schools

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This excerpted blog by Ember Reichgott Junge was originally run by Education Week and published online on June 11, 2012.

This month, nearly 4,000 educators and friends will come to Minnesota—the birthplace of chartered schools—to celebrate a few months early the 20th anniversary of the opening of the first chartered school in the nation, on Sept. 7, 1992.

As the state Senate author of Minnesota's 1991 legislation that authorized the first chartered schools (or charter schools, as most people call them), I am in awe of the number of young lives touched by chartering today: 2 million students in an estimated 5,600 schools across the country. In September 2011, the Kappan/Gallup Poll recorded—for the first time—a 70 percent public approval rating for chartered schools. We have come a long way.

And yet, I know that some charters are not delivering the quality education we envisioned 20 years ago. Accountability is a keystone of the original legislation, and we must, together, make that happen as part of our stand for quality chartered schools in the next decade. One thing we've learned is the importance of developing strong authorizers to hold chartered schools accountable.

As we look to the future of chartering, it is important to revisit the origins and set the historical record straight. Here are some key facts that may surprise you and dispel a few common myths.

Legislation for chartered schools came from the conservative right, in opposition to unions. False.
I've traveled the country and heard many assumptions: The legislation for chartering came from policymakers of the conservative right; or it came from policymakers of the liberal left. The truth is, it didn't come from policymakers at all. It came from a Minnesota group called the Citizens League formed by local civic leaders, one of whom was a visionary named Ted Kolderie. Without political motives, the group was interested in improving delivery of public education and creating more public school choices for students. Sometimes the most important thing policymakers can do is to remove the barriers and let citizens guide the way.

These policy entrepreneurs brought their proposal to a legislature with large majorities in both houses of Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators, and to a newly elected Republican governor who had just appointed the lobbyist for the Minnesota Education Association as his commissioner of education. That was the political setting in which the first chartering legislation passed with bipartisan support, coming from the middle of the political spectrum. I wonder whether chartering, if it were just now being offered as a new idea, would pass in Minnesota or any other state today. There just isn't a "middle" anymore.

The proposal for a "charter school" was suggested by a prominent leader of a national teachers' union. True.
It was Albert Shanker, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, who challenged attendees at an education reform conference in Minnesota in 1988 to imagine how teachers might partner with the public education "system" to encourage risk-taking and change. "The best answer so far," said Shanker, "is charter schools," crediting Ray Budde with the idea. Think of this. Three years before passage of chartering legislation, in response to the call for education reform in the landmark 1983 report A Nation at Risk, Shanker took a bold stand for chartering as a path to professionalize teaching.

I, a DFL legislator and conference attendee, was inspired by Shanker's call to empower teachers to do what they do best. Yes, our points of view diverged along the way; Shanker envisioned chartered schools under district control, while the resulting legislation created them as new schools outside the district. But to this day, I believe that chartering empowers teachers. We currently see teacher cooperatives providing services to chartered schools, and in Minnesota, the first union-initiated charter school authorizer in the country was approved last November.

Chartered schools emerged on the national scene within weeks of passage of the Minnesota legislation. True.
This didn't happen by accident. In September of 1989, a Kappan/Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward education found the U.S. public was ready for "tradition shattering" changes in policies that governed schooling. By a 2-to-1 ratio, the public favored the idea of public school choice, which was already law in Minnesota and Arkansas. By 1990, the nations' governors declared "a major crisis in education."

This was the backdrop against which the Minnesota legislature passed the first chartered school law in 1991. U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, R-Minn., and his policy aide Jon Schroeder, immediately recognized chartering as a viable middle position between President George H.W. Bush's focus on vouchers and U.S. House Democrats who supported the education status quo. Durenberger and Schroeder positioned chartered schools as a pragmatic, centrist national policy alternative at a time when the American public was calling for aggressive reform in education.

Following the Minnesota governor's signing of the chartered school bill on June 4, 1991, the chair of the Washington-based Democratic Leadership Council issued a press release praising the law. The chair of the DLC was a rising star in education reform, Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, and his connection to the charter movement was not an accident. During the late 1980s, Clinton had pushed to enact open enrollment in his state, the first to follow Minnesota's lead on that form of public school choice. By the fall of 1990, nine months before Minnesota passed the chartering law, the future president was traveling the country promoting chartered schools as part of the DLC agenda, with a 1990 report in hand, written by Kolderie. Chartering was a part of the national conversation even as we struggled to pass the first legislation in Minnesota...

To continue reading, please click here to access the original Education Week article.

Ember Reichgott Junge, a former Democratic-Farmer-Labor senator in Minnesota, was the state Senate author of the first chartered school law in the nation. She is the author of Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story (Beaver's Pond Press, 2012). Currently, she is the board vice chair for Charter Schools Development Corp., based in Hanover, Md., which helps finance chartered school facilities. She is a member of the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame and a former board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
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Reward-Me-for-Being-Excellent003F

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

While there has been a lot of discussion about the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) since its first appropriations in 2006, there hasn’t been any new funding to make new awards. Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced 62 new TIF grantees! KUDOS to all the winners, but an ESPECIALLY BIG PAT ON THE BACK to the 13 awardees who use charters in their application: Achievement First, ARISE HIGH School, Center for Educational Innovation (x2), Hogan Preparatory Academy, Indiana Department of Education, Michigan Association of Public School Academies, Mastery Charter High School, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, New Schools for New Orleans (also an i3 winner), The College-Ready Promise, Uplift Education, and Youth Empowerment Services, Inc.

TIF is based on a simple premise, rewarding excellent teachers can incentivize and improve teaching AND increase entrants into the teaching profession. It’s no secret that many of our nation’s teachers are not from the top of their college classes…so the idea is a simple one: To improve the chances of schools getting the best and the brightest in the classroom we need to offer them an incentive. And certainly in this economy, we are kidding ourselves if we don’t think financial incentives don't make a difference. And, to help study that out-of-the-box notion, part of this year’s TIF grants go to a research competition too.

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Romney-and-Obama-Debate-Education,-but-Agree-on-Public-Charter-Schools

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Romney campaign has recently turned its gaze to education and made statements regarding the role of public charter schools in America’s current educational landscape (see more at EdWeek's Charters & Choice and Politics K-12 blogs). The views of Romney and Obama on this role are actually quite similar: the expansion of high quality public charter schools will increase innovation and student achievement.

Mitt Romney supports higher expectations for students, more accountability for teachers, and increased parental choice through increased access to public charter schools. During his time as Governor, Romney fought to eliminate the Massachusetts state cap on charter schools, vetoed a budget line item that would have imposed a moratorium on additional public charter schools and suspended the 5 charter schools granted in 2004, and approved a 2005 state budget that dedicated $37.7 million to ensuring proper transitional funding for public school districts that send students in charter schools. In recent debates, Romney has repeatedly mentioned school choice as a key principle of successful public education. During the, CNN Arizona Republican Presidential Debate in February 2012, Romney specifically named charter schools as important to educational achievements in Massachusetts: “My legislature tried to say no more charter schools. I vetoed that, we overturned that…With school choice, testing our kids, giving our best teachers opportunities for advancement, these kinds of principles drove our schools to be pretty successful.”

So how does Romney’s charter focus stack up against President Obama’s? As we’ve seen, Barack Obama has largely recognized public charter schools in terms of their innovation and has therefore supported their expansion. Soon after his inauguration in March of 2009, President Obama gave a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in which he called on states to “reform their charter rules, and lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools.” The President acted on the message of this speech in July of 2009, when he introduced his signature education reform plan “Race to the Top,” which rewards innovative plans for teacher quality and student achievement, and encourages states to lift limits on charter schools. In addition, much of President Obama’s reform of “No Child Left Behind” in 2011 mirrored the language of “Race to the Top” by focusing on innovation and flexibility to produce student achievement, qualities important to the success of the charter sector. The support of charter school expansion provided by “Race to the Top” and the reform of “No Child Left Behind” has been important to the current Obama campaign in responding to criticisms around education reform.

We are glad that both candidates support the growth of high quality charter schools and are keeping this important topic at the forefront of their campaigns.
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Seattle-Times-Gives-Thumbs-Up-to-Charter-Ballot-Initiative

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

On October 13, the Seattle Times editorial page endorsed Washington state’s ballot initiative to create a charter school law. The editorial points out that the initiative “includes language taken from laws governing the best-performing charter schools. The creation of 40 public charter schools is a slow, careful step toward innovating and improving our public system.” The Washington initiative incorporates many elements of the model law for charter schools, which NAPCS developed to guide state policymakers to help them create a vibrant sector of public charter schools.

More than that, the editors made a compelling argument for charter schools everywhere. Here are some excerpts:

This is not about doing away with or abandoning traditional public schools. Evidence continues to mount that students need creativity and flexibility in the classroom and the current system does not provide or encourage enough of it.

In 41 states, charters are making a difference for a significant number of public-school students. There is no evidence that those charter schools will lead to the privatization of public education. In many cities, including Denver, New York City and Cleveland, charter schools are partnering with traditional schools to reform entire districts.

We need both charter public schools, where principals are given latitude to pick teachers, shape budget priorities and tailor curriculum to students, and good traditional schools willing to innovate.
…

Charters have been accused of cherry-picking the best public-school students, leaving traditional schools with the most challenging students. I-1240 not only gives priority to at-risk students, it codifies this intent by clearly defining at-risk students as those, “performing below grade level, at risk of dropping out of high school or currently enrolled in chronically low-performing schools.” Also included are special-education students, those with higher-than-average disciplinary sanctions or low participation rates in advanced or gifted programs or limited English proficiency, and those who are members of economically disadvantaged families.
…

Wholesale change of the sort needed to alter the academic lives of tens of thousands of students requires more than a single effort. Space must be made for innovative schools, charters and other proven efforts.

A region innovative enough to lead the world markets for airplanes, coffee, software and global health can surely be more aggressive reforming its schools. Otherwise, another generation will stumble through, with far too many students failing out of school.
…

The University of Washington’s Center for Reinventing Public Education analyzed all major charter studies and found low-performing charters tend to be in states with loose rules. Washington has an opportunity to set rules upfront that build on the most successful charter models.
…

Criticism that charters siphon funds from traditional schools is a smoke screen. The fact is they are part of the same system. Education funding already follows students wherever they go in the public system, whether to alternative, magnet or charter schools. That’s as it should be.
…

Charter schools are not a panacea for poverty or other societal problems that interfere with learning. But charters have become laboratories for innovation precisely because they work to address those problems, often by providing wraparound social services and connecting schools with community resources.

We cannot continue to put off change because it is uncomfortable and challenges the status quo.

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South-Carolina-Leadership-Summit-Focuses-on-Academic-and-Operational-Excellence-in-Public-Charter-Schools

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina Leadership Summit this week. What a wonderful compliment to their annual state charter school conference! The two-day summit was targeted at new school leaders, business managers, and governing board members. It included intensives in business finance and operations, fundraising and marketing, speeches by legislators and the state superintendent on the status of the charter sector in South Carolina, and demystifying funding formulas. The summit ended with a leaders roundtable to discuss the use of research and data in charter schools.

The summit gave me a deeper awareness that:

the power of an emerging charter support organization to serve as a convener is essential to growing a high quality charter sector in a state;
the need for consistent and focused networking opportunities for new and veteran charter leaders and board members is invaluable;
awareness and engagement of charter school stockholders in federal policy development and implementation is critical;
business bootcamps that provide useful resources and tools in finance, operations and communications can never be offered enough.

Kudos to Mary Carmichael and Carol Aust for putting on one heck of a summit. The attendees that I spoke with during the reception appreciated the opportunity to go more in-depth and have access to
their peers outside of the state conference. For more information, click here.

Photo: Taishya Adams and Carol Aust of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina at their Leadership Summit

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Start-Up-Expenses-and-Federal-Cost-Principles

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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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Support-for-Public-Charter-Schools-in-Georgia-and-Washington-State

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

On November 6th, voters in Georgia and Washington will vote on state legislation impacting the future of public charter schools in their respective states. In the past two weeks, there has been an outpouring of supportive op-eds, editorials and letters to the editor in both states. You can learn more about the legislation in Georgia and Washington through the linked pro-charter organizations.

Georgia

Oct. 22 On an Atlanta Journal Constitution blog, Georgia state Sen. Fran Millar argues in favor of the constitutional amendment to restore the state’s power to approve and fund public charter schools. Millar points out that the amendment “primarily deals with charter schools created by the state after a local school board turns down the application."

Oct. 21 According to the Savannah Morning News, the proposal would prevent local school districts from denying approval to highly-qualified applicants. “There are 160 districts in Georgia that refuse to approve any charter schools,” said Tony Roberts, Georgia Charter Schools Association chief executive officer.

Oct. 21 In a Marietta Daily Journal op-ed, retired high school teacher and former Georgia state legislator Roger Hines explains why he now the amendment to restore the state’s power to approve and fund public charter schools. “Which is more local, a board of education making educational decisions for parents, or parents making those decisions for themselves?”

Oct. 21 In a Macon Telegraph op-ed, CNN contributor and Atlanta radio talk show host Erick Erickson points to flawed logic used by those who argue against restoring Georgia’s right to approve and fund public charter schools at the state level, a right now only extended to local school districts. “Charter school opponents believe the very same school systems that are failing our children should be the sole authority on creating their own competition,” Erickson writes.

Oct. 18 In a Marietta Daily Journal op-ed, Georgia Charter Schools Association president and CEO Tony Roberts argues that the amendment would restore the state’s authority to approve and fund public charter schools. “Independent charter schools have the most basic form of local control — parents.”

Oct. 18 In a letter to the Cherokee Tribune, Lyn Michaels-Carden of the Georgia Charter Educational Foundation writes that the debate is “a passionate subject that goes to the basic instinct of parents, what’s best for our kids and who is best to decide that.”

Oct. 17 On the Getting Smart blog, Alisa Hug, the Director of the Board of PublicSchoolOptions.org, says the amendment would give the state authority to create and oversee charter schools. “With various public charter school options available – from brick and mortar schools to online schools, to blended learning options, we have the tools to meet the individualized learning needs of all students. Let’s not fail them.”

Oct. 13 According to the Augusta Chronicle, a recent poll shows Georgia voters closely divided over the amendment. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll showed 45 percent of likely voters supporting the amendment and 42 percent opposed. An additional 13 percent said they did not know about the amendment or did not answer the question.

Washington

Oct. 23 According to the Seattle Times, Lisa Macfarlane, Washington state director of Democrats for Education Reform, campaigned against a ballot measure to bring public charter schools to Washington 16 years ago. Now, she supports Initiative 1240, which would allow the establishment of up 40 public charter schools statewide. She became curious about President Obama’s pro- charter stance and visited several charters serving low-income children. "You wish more kids could have that option," she said. In her current work promoting I- 1240, Macfarlane is now trying to change other voters’ minds. “We've got to do better by a group of kids that aren't faring well in our traditional public schools," she said.

Oct. 23 The Yakima Herald-Republic urges Washington state voters to approve I-1240. Critics of the measure have pointed to “big money” donated from the founders of Microsoft and Amazon.com. “This is big money, true,” the editorial board writes, “ — big money from state companies that have a vested interest in a high-quality public-school system.”

Oct. 21 According to the Olympian, Washington voters will decide whether the state will allow the establishment public charter schools when they vote on Initiative 1240 on the November 6 ballot. Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, said charter authorizers can ensure that schools have “strict accountability requirements that most public schools don’t have.”

Oct. 21 In a Seattle Times op-ed, University of Washington Tacoma associate professor of economics Katie Baird writes: “I-1240 is carefully designed to maximize the chance of creating high-performing schools.”

Oct. 13 The Seattle Times editorial board urges Washington state voters to approve I- 1240, which would allow the creation of 40 public charter schools statewide. “We need both charter public schools, where principals are given latitude to pick teachers, shape budget priorities and tailor curriculum to students, and good traditional schools willing to innovate…We cannot continue to put off change because it is uncomfortable and challenges the status quo.”

Oct. 13 Seattle Times editorial page editor Kate Riley notes in her op-ed that public charter schools are also an issue in the governor’s race. Republican Rob McKenna supports charters; Democratic challenger Jay Inslee does not. Riley writes: “On education, Washington needs leadership that is open to possibilities — whether charter schools or the levy swap — that can move the state forward.”

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Systemic-impact:-E.L.-Haynes,-%28Washington,-D.C.%29

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In conjunction with the release of our newest issue brief, the Charter Blog is looking at ways public charter school leaders design their school mission to meet diverse community needs. Previous blogs (see here> and here) looked at how a school and school model were growing and adapting to the needs of their community. Today, we take a deeper look at mission-based activities conducted by E.L. Haynes, in addition to the practices noted in our issue brief.

E.L. Haynes, a year-round public charter school that opened in the 2004-2005 school year, is based on a mission that encompasses racial, socioeconomic and home language diversity. Through strategically locating in a central neighborhood that is accessible by the city’s public bus and subway systems, the school is able to attract families of various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds from every ward in D.C. Our issue brief <insert hyperlink> explores E.L. Haynes’ practices in attracting a diverse student population and the instructional staff’s rigorous use of data to drive continuous improvement.

E.L. Haynes serves grades pre-school through nine, with plans to grow through grade 12. However, the school does not have plans to expand into another school campus. So the school governance board is looking to expand its impact on education reform in the District of Columbia and across the country. To do this, E.L. Haynes has taken its data-driven decisionmaking model and made it a platform for creating a broader impact beyond its walls.

E.L. Haynes has launched collaborative projects with other D.C. charter and district schools which build on the insights gained at the school. The four systemic reform areas and the current initiatives are: building human capital (The Capital Teaching Residency Program with KIPP DC), convening practitioners (D.C. Race to the Top’s Professional Learning Community of Effective Strategies), launching innovative practices (LearnZillion and D.C. Race to the Top’s SchoolForce Consortium), and shaping policy (special education, competency-based high school graduation, teacher evaluation). E.L. Haynes believes that these four high yield strategies will help elevate the learning of all D.C. public school students.

For more information on E.L. Haynes, please see their case study in our issue brief and visit their website. Photo: E.L. Haynes students performing at the 2009 Champion for Charters Reception.
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Teachers-Are-Giving-'Em-Something-to-Talk-About

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Education reform is on everybody's lips, and just about everybody has an idea for making schools better. The discourse is dominated by elected officials (or hopefuls), policy folks, academicians and researchers. And although we've heard plenty from the teachers unions, teachers themselves haven't really much of a platform. So, I was fascinated to learn about this new project called VIVA (Vision Idea Voice Action). The project just kicked off last Monday as an incubated initiative of the New York Charter Schools Association.

Here's how it works. There are two moderated online conversations -- one for teachers in New York, and one for teachers across the country -- and these websites allow classroom teachers to engage directly in education policy. They are tackling some meaty issues like Race to the Top and Title II, as well as teacher pay, burnout and class size. Best of all, their ideas will be presented directly to U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. A small group of these teachers will be asked to write a summary of the action plan they are crafting now, and then to come for a private meeting with Arne in Washington, D.C. or New York State Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch in Albany.

Classroom teachers helping to shape education policy...now, that's a novel idea, eh? I like it.

The conversation will be going on for the next three weeks. Check it out.

COMMENT
Submitted by drobinson on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 10:57am.

Dear My Foot,
We appreciate your comments, and just wanted to make sure you have the facts about charter schools. Charter schools absolutely do not eliminate teacher unions. In fact, about 12 percent of charter schools are unionized. It is always the teachers who decide whether or not they'd like to be unionized. Oddly enough, when given that choice, most of the time charter teachers decide not to. We at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools are neither pro-union nor anti-union. We are pro-child and pro-achievement. And by the way, we LOVE teachers.

Submitted by My Foot on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 9:55pm.
Charter Schools eliminate teacher unions and thus lower teacher and staff wages further, increasing the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Want to see teacher benefits vaporize along with weekends off? Charter Schools are union busting! Say NO to charter schools now!

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Teaching-the-Next-Generation-Financial-Literacy

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This blog was originally run in its entirety on the Washington Informer on October 15, 2012.

In today's economy, nearly everyone wishes that his or her personal finances were a little bit stronger. It was recently revealed that household net worth has been set back 20 years, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finance. Financial literacy has never been a more important skill and will be even more critical for the next generation.

Unfortunately, many children are not getting the financial literacy education they will need as adults. The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy's most recent national survey, which measures the financial literacy in high schools, found that seniors answered just 48.3 percent of the financial literacy questions correctly.

Compared to other countries, things do not look any better. Currently, American students rank behind their peers in Mexico, Australia and Brazil in their knowledge of financial literacy and basic concepts like interest rates and budgeting money, according to Visa International Financial Literacy Barometer 2012.

I partner with a public charter school in Washington D.C that teaches financial literacy. The school has taught financial literacy for the past five years, partnering with the Alliance of Securities and Financial Educators—on whose board sits members of the Securities and Exchange Commission. ASAFE volunteers use a program called the Junior Achievement curriculum and model which is a good fit for the school's educational program which is based on Expeditionary Learning, which emphasizes learning by solving problems as a superior approach to rote learning.

Educators at our school believe that adults not talking to children about money cause financial illiteracy. Unfortunately, in too many families, talking about money is still seen as a taboo topic—or something that young people do not need to know about.

Through our six-week financial literacy program, we want to break through that barrier. The program begins with students learning the basics of budgeting, and the impact of interest rates on savings and purchasing things on credit. Along the way, students are tested by activities and competitions to reinforce what they have learned.

After students learn the basics, they next tackle more complex financial situations. As the program ends, students learn how to pull together resources to set up and operate a student-run store. In the past, this has enabled students to get real experience making decisions about whether it is the right time to expand, and learn the true costs of buying something on credit.

Our goal is to have students leave the program with an understanding of the power and risks of money. We aim to create a foundation from which they can learn to become savers, and grasp the risks and the benefits of credit.

In addition to learning an important new subject, financial literacy reinforces the lessons students absorb in math class, including the real world value of concepts like fractions and percentages. Because Two Rivers believes in making character education a key part of learning, financial literacy classes are used to highlight the importance of hard work and making responsible choices.

Our commitment to teaching financial literacy is one reason why Two Rivers' students perform strongly on the city's standardized math tests. In the District's 2012 standardized tests, Two Rivers came first in math and second in reading among all D.C. charter elementary campuses. Overall, our elementary school scored 21 percentage points higher than the average D.C. charter school and 29 percentage points higher than the average D.C. traditional public school. Our middle school scored 25 points higher than the average city-run school and 17 points higher than the average charter.

Two Rivers also was recently recognized as one of only 22 'high performing' public charter schools by the city's Public Charter School Board, because of its strong test results.

One of the reasons we are able to make a commitment to teaching financial literacy is that, as a public charter school, Two Rivers has greater freedom to set curriculum and school culture than its counterparts in D.C.'s traditional public school system...Continue reading the full article here.

Dawnyela Meredith is the Director of Out of School Time Programs for Two Rivers Public Charter School.

Find Two Rivers Elementary and Middle Public Charter School on the Public Charter School Dashboard.
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Ten-Percent-of-Race-to-the-Top-District-Finalists-are-Charter-Local-Education-Agencies

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of Education released the list of 61 finalists for the Race to the Top District (RTT-D) finalists, which included six charter local education agencies (LEAs). The RTT-D competition expects to award 15-25 grants to LEAs to build on the lessons learned from the State RTT competitions, to support locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness. Of the nearly 80 charter LEA applicants, six were selected as finalists, including the Green Dot schools of California, the KIPP DC schools, and three charter management organizations in Texas: Harmony Public Schools, Idea Public Schools, and Uplift Education. The sixth charter finalist is the Morgan County Charter School System, a traditional district in which all of the schools converted to public charter status in 2011. In addition to these six applicants, there may be charter schools without LEA status participating in their LEAs application—this information will be available following the announcement of the winning applications.

NAPCS congratulates these six LEAs and all of the finalists for the RTT-D competition. For more information on the RTT-D program, and all of the finalists, visit the Department of Education’s website.

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Tennessee’s-Misguided-Proposed-Limits-on-Charter-School-Hiring

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Recently, EdWeek and The Tennessean reported that Tennessee lawmakers are pushing legislation to limit the number of foreign born teachers that can be employed by a charter school. House Bill 3540 passed the House Education Committee earlier this week. The companion bill, Senate Bill 3345, cleared the Senate Education Committee last week and is headed to the Senate Floor. The bill has a host of other restrictions related to charter school affiliation with foreign nationals, and also requires charter schools to disclose all funding from foreign sources.

Without even getting into why the legislature would want to do this (here is a major supporter of the bill), this is a huge overreach into charter school autonomy. Autonomy is a bedrock principal of charter schools. And, as we’ve mentioned before, the ability to create and manage a team is a critical element of charter school autonomy. If charter schools are high quality and operating within the law, we should not restrict who charter schools can and cannot hire.

Moreover, this bill doesn’t even address any issues that currently exist. As reported in the EdWeek piece, Matt Throckmorton, the executive director of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association knows of only six teachers in the state who have been hired on a foreign-worker visa. But, he notes, the low threshold provided in this bill would restrict most charter schools from hiring even one foreign teacher on a work visa. Surely, limiting the potential pool of teachers can’t be productive, especially when we know there is a shortage of high quality teachers already.
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The-Challenge-of-Filling-Charter-School-Governing-Board-Positions

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is my third year serving on a public charter school governing board. The school, Pioneer Charter School, is a PreK-7 school in Denver serving a large proportion of students who are at-risk for academic failure. Over 90 percent of Pioneer's students are Latino, 70 percent are English Language Learners, and 90 percent receive free or reduced lunch. Pioneer opened in 1997, making it one of the first Denver Public Schools (DPS) charter schools.

For the first decade of operation, it would have been difficult to distinguish Pioneer from one of the neighborhood district schools (the district maintained control over the school’s budget, hiring of the school leader, and other duties that the school’s governing board should have had responsibility for). One consequence of this ‘charter school in name only’ management was that most parents believed that the school was their neighborhood school. About five years ago, during Pioneer’s charter renewal, DPS made the Pioneer board decide between becoming a district school or firmly establishing itself as a charter school. The governing board decided to become a full-fledged charter school, taking on fiduciary responsibility for Pioneer.

Pioneer has struggled academically, which has been quite a challenge for me as a board member. During my first year on the board, we contemplated recommending closure. Instead, we made a change in school leadership, hiring a dynamic leader who had previous success as the founder of a KIPP school in Colorado. We are in the second year of our self-imposed turnaround, a process that has included: a nearly 50 percent turnover in teachers; a complete overhaul of the curriculum (from inconsistent use of Success for All and Everyday Math to a customized, in-house standards-based curriculum based on the Common Core); the implementation of regular benchmark assessments and data-driven decision-making; and changes in school policies to ensure that we have a culture of high expectations. As a board, we are cautiously optimistic that we will see academic gains on this year’s state assessments. But we are also realistic in understanding that it may take another year or two to see real improvements (fingers crossed that it will happen before we come up for renewal again).

Serving on a charter school governing board has been incredibly demanding and amazingly rewarding. I truly love the work. However, it is a yearly challenge for our board to find new board members. We work with local organizations, like the Colorado League of Charter Schools and Get Smart Schools, to find new board members. But we have had to balance seeking out individuals who have the expertise we need with simply finding individuals who are willing to volunteer their time to the school (and twisting their arms to do so…). And this is not a unique problem for our charter school (the National Charter School Resource Center examines recruiting board members in D.C. and Maine here).

For many new charter school board members, this is the first time they have served on a board (that was my experience). Fortunately, there are some great resources for governing board professional development in Colorado through the CO League and the CO Department of Education. Other states have similar resources for governing boards. There are also national organizations that provide assistance and quality guidelines.

As a researcher, I am interested in the role that charter governing boards play in the charter sector. However, there is very little research on charter boards and many unanswered questions: Who serves on charter boards and for how long? What are the most common decisions that charter boards undertake? What types of board decisions have the most impact on school performance? How do founding boards differ from boards of charter schools that have been around for many years? How involved are boards in the strategic vision of their charters? This is certainly an untapped area for potential charter school research. I hope future studies can shed light and provide solutions for the questions, so that schools like mine can effectively propel themselves to a higher level of board operation and student academic achievement.

Photo: Older students read to the younger students on Reading Day at Pioneer Charter School (PCS).

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The-Public-Charter-School-Movement-Celebrates-20-Years-Today

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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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The-Public-Charter-School-Talent-Landscape

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The charter schools sector has changed public education in our nation. After just 20 years, charter schools now make up more than five percent of all public schools across the country and serve more than 2 million students. At current growth rates, the charter sector will serve 3 million students in another 3.5 years and 5 million within 8 years. Charter schools are a permanent and growing segment of our public schools system.

In order to satisfy the overwhelming parent and student demand for more high quality public school options, we need to create more schools, hire more teachers, and locate more leaders. NAPCS estimated in 2008 that the public charter school movement would need to find between 6,000 and 21,000 new school leaders over the next 10 years in order to keep pace with the growth of the sector. While the upper estimate is likely a bit high, demand for charters still exceeds supply by a significant amount. In 2012, NAPCS estimated that more than 600,000 students remained on waitlists for charter schools across the nation. That means we need almost 2,000 more charter schools just to find seats for these children. And, we need at least that many new leaders to open new charter schools and take over for retiring leaders of established ones.

The charter sector has attracted a significant amount of new talent to the sector. Since there is no special certification required to lead a charter school in many states, the sector HAS drawn in a large number of entrepreneurial leaders from other fields. Leaders of several highly successful charter schools, including Deborah Kenny of Harlem Village Academies, John Danner of Rocketship Education and Dacia Toll of Achievement First, did not take traditional routes to school leadership (i.e. teacher, assistant principal, principal). In cities like New Orleans, New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit and Washington, D.C., high concentration of charter schools have created thriving talent markets.

Unfortunately, despite the ability to attract talent from outside normal pools, the sector still cannot keep pace with demand. Further, since experience outside the education realm doesn’t guarantee success in the education field, we should not merely attempt to bring in large numbers of outsiders and expect success. More than likely, additional supports are necessary.

Tomorrow on The Charter Blog, we’ll look at some of the larger nonprofit charter school networks that have developed in-house training programs for future leaders.

Photo: Deborah Kenny of Harlem Village Academies, who took a nontraditional path into school leadership, speaking with Bill Bosby at the 2012 National Charter Schools Conference.
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Thoughtless-Pause

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Elegant phraseology doesn’t conceal the fact that the “thoughtful pause” proposed by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee is a moratorium on charter growth. Some actual thinking has been provided by RI-CAN, the state’s new ed-reform group, who looked at data and found that charters are pushing achievement upward. Think again, Governor.

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Turning-Over-the-Teacher-Turnover-Question

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

More teachers leave charters than leave district-run schools – a familiar phenomenon that’s currently drawing a flurry of research scrutiny. The sector usually contends that turnover is to be expected in start-ups, and that the numbers are really driven by terminations of ineffective teachers. Not so fast, said a recent DOE study, blogged by colleague Anna Nicotera: salary and working conditions seem to play a big role too.

A couple of new studies may further reframe the discussion. The National Charter School Research Project’s new look at charter vs. district teacher mobility in Wisconsin finds that “charter” per se may have little to do with whether teachers leave or stay. Younger teachers tend to move more whether in charters or traditional schools, and so do those who teach in disadvantaged areas, where most charters are located. In fact, urban charters actually retain teachers somewhat better than their district-school counterparts. (A caveat here: WI may not be the ideal state for this comparison, since teachers in so many charters stay in the district’s union contracts – a point noted by the researchers.)

But maybe the whole debate is upside-down. Maybe the problem is not too many charter school teachers moving, but too few teachers leaving district-run schools.

As a new Education Sector report notes, the vast majority of teachers in traditional district schools are tightly tethered to defined-benefit pension systems of the sort rarely found in the private workforce anymore. They lose out if they sever that connection, whether it’s to move to another kind of school or to switch careers altogether.

Ed Sector cites a 2008 survey in which nearly four out of five teachers agreed that ‘too many veteran teachers who are burned out stay because they do not want to walk away from the benefits and service time they have accrued.’ (Remember that one next time you hear the charge of “too many young, inexperienced teachers in charter schools.”)

Most of our economy now functions on the assumption of worker mobility. Eighty percent of pensions are now portable plans such as 401Ks and 403Bs; just 7.2 percent of private-sector workers are covered by collective-bargaining agreements; and COBRA provides a long off-ramp for health coverage when employment ends. Public charter schools are clearly riding this wave, reflecting the realities of the current and future workforce more closely than their counterparts in public school districts.

The Alliance’s Model State Charter Law gives its highest rating in this area to just 11 states that provide access to state-run employee retirement systems, but do not force charter schools to participate. It’s a macro version of the balancing act required in today’s best-run charters, who are offering compensation and benefit packages that permit – but do not require – making a career of it.

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U.S.-ED-Announces-Race-to-the-Top-District-Consortium-Webinar

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As promised, the Department of Education will offer another webinar to help prepare applicants for applying as a consortium to Race to the Top–District (RTT-D). The webinar will be held on Thursday, August 30, 2012 from 2:00-3:30 PM EST. To register for the webinar, please complete the registration form. The slides will be available on the Department’s website prior to the webinar.

In addition to this webinar, the Department will offer additional Technical Assistance webinar opportunities on budget requirements. Announcements of any other conference calls or webinars will also be available on their website. NAPCS will also offer a webinar targeted toward charter applicants. For more information, please see the Department’s website, and you can also contact me.
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U.S.-Rep.-Kline-Recognizes-National-Charter-Schools-Week

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement in recognition of National Charter Schools Week (May 1st – May 7th):

“Charter schools epitomize innovation and flexibility – not only do they raise the bar for student achievement, they also encourage parents to play a more active role in their child’s education. Best of all, the success of any given charter school hinges on results – in this performance-based education system, teachers and officials are held accountable for the achievements of every student.

“Washington leaders on both sides of the aisle recognize high-performing charter schools as a valuable subset of the public school system that should receive our unwavering support. As we forge a new path for education in America, we must learn from the accomplishments of these schools and promote federal policies and initiatives that encourage choice, innovation, and excellence.”
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US-Congress-Holds-Hearing-on-Charter-Schools:-The-Highlights

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education held a hearing titled “Education Reforms: Exploring the Vital Role of Charter Schools.” Expert witnesses discussed a range of topics and answered questions from Members of the committee about how charter schools serve the local communities and special populations; the importance of options (and knowledge of those options) for parents; and ideas for collaboration with traditional public schools.

DeAnna Rowe, executive director of the AZ State Board for Charter Schools, positioned charters as an “integral part of a complex system.” The proof is in the pudding: Arizona has recently adopted new growth models that will be used to evaluate all public schools, which grew out of the charter sector in the state.

With 1/3 of its student population English language learners (mostly recent Iraqi immigrants), Literacy First Charter Schools in El Cajon, CA focus on what works to serve the community of learners. And if it doesn’t work, Debbie Byer, executive director, says, “We change!” When pushed by Congresswoman Woolsey (CA) as to what Literacy First is doing that is different from public schools in the area, Byer noted the flexibility of the curriculum and school calendar as well as the control she has on every single dollar that is being spent in her school.

Dr. Beth Purvis, executive director of the Chicago International Charter Schools, is squarely focused on serving the communities that need the most help and hope: 86% of CICS students qualify for free and reduced lunch, 95% are African American or Latino, and 6 of the 14 Chicago campuses are located in the 10 highest violent crime neighborhoods in the city. She told a story about opening a high school in one of the most blighted areas; a desire that was raised by the Chicago Public Schools so students would not have to travel across gang lines to get to school. A community that long felt ignored by the city, now speaks of having a “school just for them” as Dr. Purvis remarked.

Quite possibly the highlight of the hearing was listening to Dr. Purvis and Congresswoman Roby (AL) talk to a group of sharp students from Democracy Prep –and outstanding charter school in New York City. When asked how their school was different from the traditional public schools that most of them had previously attended, we couldn’t have scripted better answers ourselves! Some children noted the feeling of safety within the school, others mentioned the afterschool activities, and while others simply said they like knowing that the teachers expect a lot from students.

Of course there are always areas ripe for improvement, and Dr. Gary Miron, professor at Western Michigan University, addressed a few of these in his testimony: access to IDEA funds and incentives for charters to expand special education services; transportation for all students to and from charter schools; innovative outreach to parents and families to attract a diverse student body; and full participation in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. And these improvements take commitment from federal, state and local policymakers and from district and charter school leaders to put kids first.

Read our statement on the hearing from President & CEO Peter Groff.

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Va.-Governor-Calls-for-Better-Climate-for-Public-Charter-Schools-in-State-of-Commonwealth-Speech

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Welcome-to-a-New-School-Year!

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

We would like to wish all the members of the public charter school family a happy start to the new school year. As we begin a new year, we have much to reflect upon. Our movement celebrates the 20th anniversary of the opening of the first public charter school in Minnesota this week. We’ve grown from a single standalone school to now serving over 2 million students in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

However, the new school year also represents a pause point for some families. According to results of our 2012 national survey, the number of students on a waiting list to attend a public charter school has surpassed 600,000 students. This year marks the largest figure ever recorded of students waiting to attend a charter school–an increase of nearly 200,000 students since 2010.

To honor our current and hopeful charter school family, we’ll be featuring back to school stories on The Charter Blog this week. Checkout two accounts of launching a public charter school from leaders in Atlanta and St. Louis. And stay tuned for more details on waiting list figures and the first public charter school throughout the week.

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What-You-Need-to-Know-about-the-Sequester

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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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Whose-School-Buildings-Are-They,-Anyway003F

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A couple of years ago, in a speech at the National Charter Schools Conference in Chicago, I said it was time to break the traditional district monopoly on public school facilities. The audience’s response was really strong – confirming that this was an issue whose time had come.

Two decades ago the charter movement began dismantling districts’ “sole proprietorship” on academic offerings; yet today, public charter schools still have to beg for access to school buildings bought and paid for with tax dollars. We’ve managed to win a facilities allowance here and co-location there, but still enjoy no fundamental right to public school space – nor an adequate supply of public funding with which to build our own.

So it’s time to reframe this issue. School facilities should be a municipality-wide concern, not just the province of the traditional district. And some impartial entity (a mayor, a real estate trust, a municipal building corporation) should manage the building stock on behalf of all the kids, not just those in district schools. That’s the point of my new report, An Accident of History.

It was fun tracing the roots of this dilemma way back – to 1642, in fact – and then looking at a variety of solutions for creating a more equitable way of financing, developing, and deploying public education facilities. The title really makes the central point – that the laws and policies governing public school facilities wouldn’t resemble their current shape had there been charter schools (or substantial numbers of other public non-district schools) when they were written.

Education Next is also running an article drawn from the report. I’m hoping that readers of this blog will ask mayors, school boards, and lawmakers the question its title poses: Whose School Buildings Are They, Anyway?

And I’m really looking forward to your comments, questions and disputations. Let’s get this argument started!

Nelson Smith is a consultant on education policy and former president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
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Will-Obama's-Budget-Recognize-Charter-Schools003F

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

President Obama will soon release his federal budget for 2014, and a top priority is likely to be early-childhood education, particularly for the poor. But will the proposal seek much funding for the growth of charter schools—at least more than the paltry 0.4% of federal education spending that currently supports these exciting and demonstrably successful schools?

Last month, the respected private firm Mathematica Policy Research published a multiyear study of students enrolled in KIPP (the Knowledge Is Power Program), a network of 125 charter schools serving 41,000 students in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The study found that after three years students in the KIPP program were 11 months ahead of their traditional-public-school peers in math and eight months ahead in reading. Also after three years (or four for some children in the study), KIPP students were 14 months ahead in science and 11 months ahead in social studies.

These gains are substantial. For every three (or four) years they spend in the program, KIPP students are benefiting from almost a full year of greater learning growth than they would if they remained in traditional public schools.

This success is even more remarkable given that KIPP draws from some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country. Some 96% of KIPP students are black or Hispanic. More than four of five come from households with annual incomes low enough to qualify for subsidized school lunch.

What's more, the typical incoming student at KIPP scores in the 45th percentile in district-wide reading and math exams. That initial achievement level is much lower than for the typical student entering the traditional public school system.

Other studies have found similar results. In a report released last month on charter schools in New York City, Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes found that after just one year, charter-school students had gained one more month of learning in reading and five more months in math, compared with their district-school peers. More than a fifth of New York's public charter schools post significantly larger learning gains in reading than do their traditional counterparts—and nearly two-thirds of charters outperform traditional schools in math.

KIPP runs 10 schools in New York City, but it also has competition. In 2012, 87% of students in the Uncommon Schools charter network—which operates 15 New York City schools serving 3,900 kids—scored advanced or proficient in math. That is 27 percentage points above the city average. In English, more than half of Uncommon's kids were advanced or proficient, beating the city average by eight percentage points.

What is the key to the success of schools like KIPP and Uncommon?

For starters, as independent public schools, charters aren't weighed down by onerous regulations that stifle innovation. Administrators and teachers have the freedom to develop new and creative teaching methods. Charter schools have also attracted a new generation of talented, motivated teachers, school leaders and entrepreneurs through the promise of a new approach to educating underserved children.

Policy makers should encourage such educational entrepreneurship. One way they can do so is by eliminating state caps on charter schools, which currently apply in 21 of the 43 states (including Washington, D.C.) that have charter laws. With over 600,000 students on waiting lists to attend charter schools nationwide, this should be an easy task.

Legislators at the state and federal levels should also strive to attract new entrepreneurs to the charter-school space. Schools like KIPP and Uncommon succeed in the cities where they operate, but other geographic areas may demand different approaches. The next great public charter school may deploy a digital learning model or a hybrid of several models. Officials should be open to such experimentation.

At the same time, all charters should be regularly and rigorously reviewed. Those that consistently fail to meet achievement standards should be closed.

The federal government, meanwhile, should make sure that charters receive their fair share of funding. The current pot reserved to finance startup, replication and expansion of charter operations has just $254 million in it, or less than 1% of federal education spending. That share should grow.

The data are in. Charters can—and do—deliver top-notch education even to the most disadvantaged of American students. The White House, Congress and policy makers in state capitals must do their part to support successful charters, promote their replication, and encourage new entrants to adapt their best practices.
Ms. Rees is the president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

A version of this article appeared March 27, 2013, on page A15 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Will Obama's Budget Recognize Charter Schools?. It was also published on The Wall Stree Journal online on March 26, 2013 here.
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Winners-Announced-for-federal-Charter-Schools-Program-SEA-Grants

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED) recently announced that they have awarded grants totaling $54.8 million to support the growth of public charter schools in Minnesota, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Minnesota will receive a five-year grant and New Jersey and Massachusetts will each receive three-year grants under the Charter Schools Program state educational agency (SEA) competition.

Altogether, the administration will invest $255 million in fiscal year 2012 through several grant programs administered by the Charter Schools Program to:

support charter school efforts to find suitable facilities
disseminate information about successful charter school practices, and
replicate and expand high-quality charter schools

President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2013 budget request also includes $255 million to expand educational options by helping grow effective charter schools and other autonomous public schools that achieve positive results and give parents more choices.

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Wisconsin-Public-Charter-Schools-Gain-Access-to-Public-Buildings

Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

This week, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed SB 20 into law, an important piece of legislation that will increase public charter school access to surplus district school buildings in Milwaukee. What is most significant about SB 20 is that it transfers the ownership and decision-making about these surplus buildings from the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to the City of Milwaukee. Not surprisingly, MPS has been extremely resistant to providing charters approved by entities other than MPS with access to MPS buildings. The City of Milwaukee, on the other hand, is one of three charter authorizers in Milwaukee, and has expressed its desire to put these abandoned buildings to their original purpose – educating the city’s schoolchildren, no matter which type of school is serving them.

This legislation is notable because only a handful of states and school districts have policies and practices that promote the use of available district facilities by public charter schools. Through legislation such as SB 20, charter school students will have a much better shot at the quality facilities they deserve and taxpayer monies will be used more effectively. You can learn more about the facilities challenges charter schools face, as well as innovative ways that seven school districts are sharing public education facilities with charter schools, here.
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Year-1-RTT-Reports-Reveal-Range-of-Charter-Support-Efforts

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

On January 10, 2012, the US Department of Education released the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) for the first 12 states awarded Race to the Top (RTT) funds. The Department uses the APRs to monitor the implementation of their grant programs by grantees. It allows Department staff and members of the public an opportunity to follow the grantees’ progress and review certain metrics of success.

NAPCS has just released our summary and analysis of each state’s APR. In reviewing the APRs, we were pleasantly surprised with the efforts a number of states have made to support charters:

In Georgia, the Governor found state funds to support the RTT goal of strengthening charters (after a State Supreme Court decision threatened the operations of a number of schools). The State used RTT funds to support a competitive grant program for innovation, through which a majority of the awards went to support charter-related programs.
Rhode Island extended their High Performing Charter Schools project to allow for smaller grants to support four schools, rather than larger grants supporting only two schools.

There are also states with promising opportunities on the horizon:

Tennessee created a public-private fund to support charter schools, and kicked it off with $14 million in RTT funds.
Florida continues to require LEAs to offer charters within their districts the opportunity to participate in RTT with equity to other traditional public schools.

There are, of course, also states which NAPCS feels have made little to no progress in their support of charters: In Hawaii, the Department has noted a number of concerns regarding RTT implementation across the board. Since these reports were completed, they have taken steps to address these concerns, most notably by placing the grant on high risk status. Charters are only one of the sectors not receiving adequate support under RTT in Hawaii. In New York, the State used the RTT amendment process to drastically change a program that would have provided a competitive facilities funding to charters. Instead, the State transferred a majority of the funds to a program that encourages EMOs to take over failing public schools and turn them into charters. While this creates new charter schools, it does nothing to support those currently operating in the state.

We will continue to monitor RTT implementation in these and all of the RTT states very closely!

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