Publications

“We'll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools.”

- President Obama, February 24, 2009, Address to a Joint Session of Congress

ALL-STAR -Act-S.3441 Overview_May2010.pdf (100.93 KB)

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

On behalf of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, I am pleased to share A Blueprint for Quality, Growth and Sustainability: 2010-2012, which highlights the key aspects of the Alliance’s 2010-2012 strategic plan while taking a look back at the Alliance’s important work to date.

NAPCS-StratPlan_V7.pdf (1022.56 KB)

Written by Public Impact’s Joe Ableidinger and Bryan C. Hassel, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools's latest issue brief, Free to Lead: Autonomy in Highly Successful Charter Schools, identifies seven distinct ways autonomy impacts operational and academic performance at five highly successful charter schools.

Issue_Autonomy_V4.pdf (954.63 KB)

On February 24, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools board chairman, Caprice Young, testified before the House Committee on Education and Labor at a hearing on quality charter schools and the All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act, H.R. 4330. The All-STAR Act supports the replication and expansion of high quality charter schools as a critical component of improving public education in America, and is one of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ top federal legislative priorities. 

Caprice Young Testimony - Final - 2 24 10.pdf (2.36 MB)

It's very important to have better, clearer charter laws – laws that enable innovation, promote transparency about how charter schools perform and how they are held accountable, and provide fair access to public funds and facilities. We're encouraged that the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools supports creation of better charter school laws as models of learning, and we encourage authorizers to hold charters accountable for student performance.

DB-ModelLaw_Report_01-12-10.pdf (2.78 MB)

The House-Senate Conference Report agreed upon on December 9, 2009 appropriated funding to several different Department and Agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education. And within ED's finding $256 million for the federal charter school programs is the highest amount ever appropriated and a $40 million increase over FY2009.

FY2010 Conference Agreement Summary 120909.pdf (413.52 KB)

The passage of the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 enabled two competitive grant programs aimed at drastically improving public education in America.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education released draft priorities and guidelines for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grant competition. On behalf of over 4,900 public charter schools across the country educating over 1.5 million children, the Alliance strongly supports the U.S. Department of Education's efforts to use the i3 fund to scale significant education reforms and find the next generation of notable educational innovations. The current draft is a commendable start, but we do believe it can be improved further.

NAPCS_i3_111009_Comments.pdf (382.25 KB)

Public charter schools’ presence in K-12 schooling continues to grow. In fact, charters now enroll more than one in five public school students (22%) in 14 communities – including major cities like Detroit, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

Demand remains strongest in urban areas – and as a result, charter “market share” is growing rapidly in cities and adjacent suburbs, even while the overall number of students remains a modest portion of nationwide enrollment. 

The Alliance uses public school enrollment data to find the highest local proportions of students enrolled in public charter schools and illustrates the healthy growth in public charter school enrollment in communities across the country. The report finds: 

MarketShare_P4.pdf (204.87 KB)

On October 9, the U.S. Department of Education officially released the Investing in Innovation (i3) fund’s summary of proposed priorities, requirements, definitions and selection criteria. The i3 fund is a $650 million dollar fund authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support emerging innovative education reforms. The Alliance has created this summary to explain how the i3 fund will likely work and how it will potentially impact charter schools and the charter school movement.

Alliance Investing in Innovation Overview _102009.pdf (868.01 KB)

On Friday September 25th, the Alliance submitted formal comments on the Department of Education's statement of proposed requirements for School Improvement Grants under the ARRA of 2009. 

092509_NAPCS_School_Improvement_Grants_Comments-Final.pdf (329.67 KB)

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.

090903_2009-10_Charter_Schools.pdf (38.99 KB)

On July 24, President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan held a press conference to announce the release of the Administration’s draft priorities and guidelines for the Race to the Top Grant (R2T) competition. 

On Wednesday, August 26 the National Alliance submitted formal comments on behalf of the charter school movement in support of the strong references in the draft to the role of charter schools and criteria around states supporting high-quality charter school movements. It is now more important than ever that the public take action to support or oppose elements with which they agree or disagree by August 28, 2009.

Take action and make your voice heard today.

Read how the Alliance has been working with the Department of Education to ensure that the ARRA benefits charter schools.

0826_R2T_Comments.pdf (114.4 KB)

On Wednesday, July 29th, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) formally released its proposed priorities for the Race to the Top Fund (R2T) authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These priorities prominently feature public charter schools as an effective reform that states need to embrace to increase their chances of winning an R2T grant. The final version of the priorities can be found here.

073109_Race_to_the_Top_Draft_Request_for_Applications_Overview (update).pdf (3.48 MB)

Most states have now wrapped up their legislative sessions. While the comments in favor of public charter schools by President Obama and Secretary Duncan have been quite helpful for charters, the  current economic recession created one of the most challenging state policy environments in years. Within this environment, the primary goal of many state charter advocates has been to defend what they already have, while still trying to make positive changes where possible.

2009_State_Legislative_Session_Summary - July 2009 _3_.pdf (171 KB)

It has been 18 years since Minnesota passed the nation’s first public charter school law, and public charter schools have become a prominent feature of public education serving more than 1.5 million students in over 4,900 schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

ModelLaw_P7-wCVR.pdf (2.67 MB)

See the attached memo from Alliance President and CEO Nelson Smith explaining how methodological shortcomings in the recent CREDO Report covered up the positive performances of charter schools.

CREDO Reconsidered - final.pdf (291.89 KB)

Since 2005, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has released an annual "Dashboard" of leading statistical indicators about the growth and quality of public charter schools. This 2009 edition of the Dashboard makes four major improvements over previous releases.

DataDashboard.pdf (3.8 MB)

A Framework for Operational Quality is designed as a guide for charter school leaders and support organizations as they establish schools that are prepared to achieve and sustain success. It recommends that leaders adopt a specific series of essential indicators, measures, metrics and targets for their operations. The report also serves to advise authorizers, philanthropists and lenders in monitoring the operational practices of high-quality public charter schools.

A Framework for Operational Quality May 2009.pdf (1.68 MB)

The 2008-2009 edition of the Charter School Law Deskbook by Paul T. O’Neill and Todd Ziebarth published by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. is available for purchase online at the LexisNexis Store: http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/us/

051509 Charter School Law Deskbook.pdf (68.16 KB)