Press Releases

Five states lifted charter caps; five had strong charter laws in place already

For Immediate Release   
March 4, 2010 

Washington, D.C. - The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is pleased to see several states with strong support for charter schools advance to the next round of competition for Race to the Top funding under the U.S. Department of Education.

030410_RTTTFinalists_FINAL.pdf (23.09 KB)

Board Chairman Caprice Young to Represent the Alliance on February 24

Washington, D.C. - The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is pleased to announce that their board chairman, Caprice Young, will be testifying before the House Committee on Education and Labor at a hearing today. Young will voice her support for quality charter schools, and also for Representative Jared Polis’ (D-Colo.) All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act, H.R. 4330.

022410_All-STARHearing_FINAL1.pdf (28.76 KB)

Washington, D.C. – The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools announces its support for the House Committee on Education and Labor’s February 24 hearing on quality charter schools, and Representative Jared Polis’ (D-Colo.) All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act, H.R. 4330.

021710_All-STAR_FINAL3.pdf (65.18 KB)

 Washington, D.C. - The “Public Charter School Dashboard,” a database of statistics on nearly 5,000 public charter schools, is now upgraded and includes search capabilities for individual charter school data, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools announced today.

021010_Dashboard_FINAL.pdf (56.72 KB)

Report Finds 24 States Risk Race to the Top Funding Because They Are Closed to New, High-Quality Charters

Washington, DC - The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today released the first-ever ranking of all state charter school laws that is based on the full range of values in the public charter school movement: quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice. 

National Release011310.pdf (205.36 KB)

Washington, DC - National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith issued the following statement on the introduction of the bi-partisan supported All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act:

1216_ALLSTAR_Release.pdf (117.81 KB)

U.S. News & World Report Results Show Charters Above 5.5% Share of All High Schools

Washington, D.C. - Sixteen public charter schools rank in the country’s top 100 high schools, according to an annual survey released today by U.S. News & World Report. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reports that charter high schools represent 5.5% of the nation’s high schools and enroll about 586,434 students in grades 9-12 while traditional district schools enroll 15,773,663.

1209_Alliance Statement on US NEWS Top100.pdf (30.74 KB)

Washington, D.C. - National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith issued the following statement on the Senate-House Conference agreement approved last night that will fund the U.S. Department of Education and the federal charter school programs for Fiscal Year 2010:

1209_Alliance Statement on FY 2010 Appropriations.pdf (27.06 KB)

Exceeds 20% in 14 Communities

Washington, D.C. - Public charter schools’ presence in K-12 schooling continues to grow, according to the latest Top 10 Charter Communities by Market Share report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In fact, charters now enroll more than one in five public school students in 14 communities, including major cities like Detroit, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the release of the pre-publication of its draft notice of priorities for the Investing in Innovation (I3) Fund.  As was expected, it proposes a three-tiered approach for awarding I3 funds. The grant tiers are: Scale Up Grants, Validation Grants, and Demonstration Grants, likely $50 million, $30 million and $5 million, respectively, with projects expected to reach between 100,000 and 1 million students.  Read more about the draft notice on The Charter Blog and stay tuned to the Alliance website for a more thorough analysis and information on our comments to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.  Please, send us your comments and opinions on the draft and any ideas for our formal comments to the Department of Education by emailing i3fundcomments@publiccharters.org. 

New Study Also Shows Charter Students More Likely to Graduate, Confirms Tremendous Demand for More Charter Schools

Washington, DC - A report released today by Stanford University Professor Caroline Hoxby and her colleagues confirms tremendous demand for New York City charter schools -- and shows that charter students make greater gains than their peers in   traditional public schools.

Hoxby_NYC_Charter_Gains_0922.pdf (229.61 KB)

Nine public charter schools in seven states honored as Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education will be recognized at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., November 2-3.

091809 2009 Blue Ribbon.pdf (67.33 KB)

Washington, D.C. - Dr. Michael L. Lomax, President and CEO of UNCF–the United Negro College Fund– has been elected to the board of directors of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools it was announced today. Dr. Lomax brings a long career of service to higher education and the public sector including seven years as president of Dillard University in New Orleans.

0909_Lomax Elected to Alliance Board.pdf (36.33 KB)

Public Demand and Support for Charters Continues to Grow

Washington, D.C. – With the start of the 2009-2010 academic year, over 400 new public charter schools will open their doors to students and more than 170,000 new students will be attending public charter schools, according to new enrollment data compiled by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The addition of these new charter schools and students means that there are now approximately 4,900 public charter schools enrolling over 1.5 million students across the country.

The data comes on the heels of a recent Gallup/Phi Delta Kappa poll which showed that two out of three Americans support public charter schools. The poll also demonstrated that Americans’ approval of charter schools has increased by 15 percent over the past five years.
 
“As more public charter schools demonstrate that innovation and accountability work to bring a high-quality public education to students, support for chartering grows,” said Nelson Smith, Alliance President and CEO. “We are pleased to see such growth in the public charter school sector, as well as polling data that shows that the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top focus on charters is in sync with the public’s support of them.”

0903_NewSchoolsEnrollment09-10.pdf (35.88 KB)

Leaving a Legacy of Education Reform

Washington, D.C. - Nelson Smith, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, today made the following statement:

“Along with all Americans committed to social justice and education reform, the public charter school movement mourns the passing of Sen.  Edward (Ted) Kennedy (D- Mass).

 “Often called the Lion of the Senate, Sen. Kennedy never shied away from battling for his convictions. Throughout his career, education reform was a cardinal legislative priority. He was devoted to ensuring that America’s children had access to high-quality public education, no matter their background or circumstance.  Sen. Kennedy’s work shaped much of America’s education policy throughout the past five decades.  He was a proud Democrat but unafraid to reach across the aisle when the future of America’s children mattered, most notably in bipartisan reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) over the years.

“It’s hard to imagine the United States Senate, or our capital city, without the stirring presence of Sen. Ted Kennedy. We will honor his legacy by fighting to see that every American child has the opportunity for an excellent public education.”

0826_Alliance Statement on the Death of Sen.pdf (25.36 KB)

Washington, D.C. -  The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee today voted a $40 million increase in funding for the federal Charter School Programs (CSPs), bringing total funding to $256 million for FY 2010. Also included in the bill are significant education reform investments strongly aligned with the Obama Administration’s draft Race to the Top priorities released recently: a focus on increasing the number of high quality charter schools, rewarding effective teachers, and turning around our lowest performing public schools.

0730_Senate Appropriations Committee.pdf (25.6 KB)

Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Public charter schools will receive $256 million to support additional new high-quality and accountable charter schools and up to $30 million can be directly competed out by the U.S. Department of Education to support the expansion and replication of existing schools.

0724_Labor H.pdf (34.84 KB)

Washington, D.C. - National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith made the following statement concerning the announcement of the Race to the Top guidelines proposed today by President Barack Obama:

High-quality public charter schools are closing the achievement gap in cities across America, and should be an essential component of every state’s education reform plan. President Obama and Secretary Duncan agree that public charter schools are making a difference, as the draft guidelines for the “Race to the Top” competition clearly demonstrate.  

0724_Charters and Race to the Top.pdf (34.67 KB)

Under House Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Mark-Up

Under today’s mark-up of the FY2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, public charter schools will receive $256 million to support additional new high-quality charter schools and ensure expansion of existing schools. The funding represents a $40 million increase over the current year ($216 million), or nearly 20% in added support.

0710_$40Million_Appropriations Mark-up.pdf (34.4 KB)

Mashea Ashton, John Lock and Deborah McGriff also elected to Board officer positions

Washington, D.C. –   Veteran education reformer Caprice Young of Los Angeles has been elected as Chair of the board of directors of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Also elected as officers of the board are Mashea Ashton (Vice Chair), John Lock (Treasurer) and Deborah McGriff (Secretary).

063009 Board Elections- Caprice Young Elected Chair.pdf (64.26 KB)