Our Work

Our Mission

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter school movement.

Our Vision

Our vision is that every family can choose a well-funded, high-performing public school that delivers an excellent education for their children.

ENSURE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

The Charter Schools Program (CSP) is the sole federal program devoted entirely to supporting charter schools. Growing the CSP is integral to the success of charter schools and meeting the needs of the millions of students attending or wanting to attend a charter school. During the most recent federal appropriations cycle, the CSP faced another huge hurdle. The U.S. House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would cut CSP funding by $40 million. This came on the heels of an effort by the U.S. Department of Education to make it more difficult for charter schools to access CSP funds and thereby open, replicate, and expand.

To combat this direct and divisive attack on charter schools, the National Alliance sprang into action with a robust campaign to educate policymakers, generate high-profile earned media coverage, and use our social media platforms and influence to mobilize activists across the nation. Our advocacy campaigns over the past two years netted more than 50,000 emails to members of Congress and 20,000 comment letters to the Department of Education, plus coverage on CNN.com, in The Hill, on C-SPAN’s “National Journal,” editorials in The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, and a front-page story in the New York Times.

2021 was a historic year of state policy wins for charter schools and 2022 is also shaping up to be another strong year. While our opposition ratcheted up the pressure, we successfully collaborated with our allies to protect and expand favorable policy outcomes across the nation. More than 50 percent of states or territories with charter laws passed legislation favorable to charter schools in 2021. Of those, 15 made progress with funding or facilities, six made progress with authorization and accountability, and three made progress in both areas. In addition, four states defended their sectors against dangerous proposed legislation that would have harmed charter schools.

When people know what charter schools are, who they serve, and how they work, they tend to like them. So that’s why we’re making sure everyone knows the truth. We are on a mission to change decades of misunderstanding and disinformation. 

Through numerous multimedia campaigns across the country, including television and radio spots, outdoor billboards, print and web magazine placements, and social ads as well as celebrity endorsements, to change the narrative around charter schools. 

If we don’t tell our own positive, uplifting stories about our students, educators, and families, who will?

One of the core tenets of the National Alliance is to bring more partners into the movement. By building deeper partnerships, we can expand the range of issues to support on behalf of charter school families.

In 2022, we awarded a bipartisan cohort of 16 federal, state, and local elected officials with our Champions for Charters award for their tireless efforts on behalf of charter schools. We also recognized 10 Charter School Changemakers - teachers, parents, leaders, and advocates from around the country who are making a difference in their communities.

Our National Charter Schools Conference brings together thousands of members of the charter school community each year for an opportunity to learn, network, and celebrate together.

The Charter Blog offers quick takes on the latest news in the charter school sector, from what's happening in Washington to state advocacy updates, checks on charter school research, and profiles of innovative charter schools. 

All of the National Alliance's work is supported by the most comprehensive and up-to-date data about charter schools in the country.

The Charter School Data Dashboard contains information about charter school enrollment, demographics, locale, management type, and school focus among many other variables. In addition, our research team works to study, analyze, and disseminate information about issues that impact the charter school sector and public education more broadly. 

The National Alliance also collects and compiles proprietary education-related data from more than 7,500 charter schools and campuses, and merges this together with data from the federal government and state education agencies. This massive database covers all public elementary and secondary schools, school districts, authorizers, and management organizations across the 50 U.S states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. 

We can't do this work without your help! Please consider making a donation to support the National Alliance.