Stories from the Field

The proliferation of charter schools has had a significant impact in educational reform during the past decade. The trend of charter school growth should continue into the next decade.

In November, the Maryland Student Legislature passed A005-0910, The Give CHOICE Act by a vote of 22 yays, 2 nays and 8 abstentions. The act would give the Maryland State Board of Education the sole authority to approve charter schools in counties deemed to be failing based on their AYP reports. This marks the first occasion in Maryland where a group of students have pushed for real charter school reform.

My wife and I opened one of the first contract schools authorized by the Texas legislature in 1995.  It was a store-front one-room school housed in an abandoned Mexican restaurant with two bullet holes in the front window.  We advertised in a local newspaper to inform drop outs and under-performing at-risk teenagers that they had a choice of schools in Dublin, Texas (a rural community).  We opened with six students and quickly expanded to our capacity of 24 students with as many as 35 on the waiting list.  In year two, Paradigm Alternative Center was recognized in U.S.A.

TCSA Unites and Energizes Public Charter School Leaders

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Charter School Association (TCSA) marks its one-year anniversary this week. TCSA is the leading membership organization of effective Texas charter schools of all types and missions. Already, the TCSA membership includes 344 campuses and over 60,000 public charter students from every part of the state. TCSA Executive Director David Dunn said, “Charter schools have joined together as one strong voice through the TCSA. It seems like yesterday when a handful of charter leaders gathered around a table in Austin to discuss the launch of TCSA. While there is still work to do, we’ve accomplished a great deal in one year.”

Urban Discovery Academy is a charter school located in downtown San Diego, CA. The 2009 - 2010 will start our 2nd school year in operation. We opened our doors in 2008 with 97 students and opened them in 2009 with 197 students! We have more than doubled our enrollment and added another Kindergarten, First, and Seventh grade class! We have also been fortunate enough to have a newly built computer lab with full access to the internet, and all of the microsoft features.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   CONTACT:    Seth Coleman
September 11, 2009                                                              Director of Communications

New Jersey’s charter public high schools will graduate a remarkable 99 percent of their seniors this year and send more than 86 percent of them on to higher education at two and four-year colleges, the New Jersey Charter Public Schools Association (NJCPSA) announced today.
 

National Charter Schools Week was a success in Nevada. Over 100 students participated in a “What My Charter School Means to Me” essay project. Student responses ranged from boredom at the traditional public school to being challenged at the charter public school.

In early 2008, a group of passionate parents and teachers gathered together to discuss their hopes and dreams for a charter school for downtown San Diego. The idea behind this school was to provide innovative learning opportunities for students fully utilizing the vast resources of the downtown San Diego urban landscape. We also dreamt of a school where community service would be valued and fostered. We dreamt of teaching children through urban discovery. Our mission is to educated the whole child; scholar, athlete, artist and democratic member of society.

In an event kicking off 2009 National Charter Schools Week, Massachusetts parents and business leaders let Governor Deval Patrick know that they want more charter schools.

My daughters attend Summit Academy in Akron Ohio and it has been a blessing for them. Summit Academy is a public charter school for children with ADHD mental illnesses and different types of learning disabilities. My 9-year-old, Naomi, has improved a great deal and is at a functional level due to the small class size. For every 13 children enrolled there is a teacher and a teacher’s assistant. Summit Academy also has a small group study program and a lot of field trips throughout the year.

BY STEVE CHAMBERS
Star-Ledger Staff

One recent morning in a vast open room at Discovery Charter School in Newark, Barbara Weiland was teaching a reading lesson while perched high on a platform and using a microphone. The 75 students, in grades four through eight, were spread throughout an eclectic space dominated by fish tanks, bookcases, looms and brightly colored desks, tables and dividers, studiously following along. The smell of lunch wafted in from the nearby kitchen.

FORT WORTH — Harmony Science Academy sits on the corner of Walton Avenue and Westcreek Drive in a former supermarket that now looks like a gated office building. Enrollment is 560 in the public charter school, which offers grades K-10.

Across the street is bustling Westcreek Elementary School, a traditional Fort Worth school district campus with 742 students. Its presence doesn’t seem to deter Harmony’s growth, or its mission to provide an alternative public education choice.

By Laura Diamond 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published: 03-15-09

As bad as the economy is for Georgia’s traditional public schools, it’s even worse for charter schools.

Tech High in Atlanta has laid off two teachers. Officials at Hapeville Charter Middle and Hapeville Charter Career Academy in Fulton County have drafted budget reductions of 10 percent to 15 percent. The International Community School in DeKalb County plans to cut spending on training, technology and supplies.

High-Performing Charter Schools in Oakland and Los Angeles Recognized for Outstanding Performance
 
Long Beach, CA — The California Charter Schools Association today awarded Oakland Charter Academy and Our Community Charter School as “Charter Schools of the Year” annual Hart Vision Award recipients.
 

Education Week
Published: 02-25-09
By Erik W. Robelen

A Texas charter school network aims to expand the ranks of disadvantaged students who graduate, not just from high school, but from college as well.

Houston, TX- Tenth graders Angel Leon, Imelda Tinajero, and Monica Torres have much the same plans when they finish high school: Unlike their parents, they’re going to college.

Roll Call
Published: 03-03-09

Bill Gates was all over DC back in December, talking about charter schools at every stop.

New York Times (Feb. 28, 2009) The high-achieving sixth graders huddled near the gym bleachers to mull their options: African drumming at the Future Leaders Institute, debate team at Democracy Prep or piano at New Heights Academy. The sixth graders, seven of them, said they were bored with the intellectual pace at Middle School 322 in Washington Heights, so their teachers brought them to the Harlem Education Fair on Saturday to hunt for a new school for the fall.

Below is the moving story of how Patric, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in MIddle School, finally

by Teresa Frederick 

We have had the best experience with Queens Grant charter school in Charlotte, NC. My children had always attended traditional public schools until I was blessed to get them into Queens Grant Charter School starting in their 7th and 8th grade years.