Urban Charter Schools Help Hispanic Students Achieve Learning Growth Equivalent to 22 Extra Days of Math and 6 Extra Days of Reading.
Hispanic Parents Are Taking Note: 84 Percent Favor Allowing Families to Choose Which Public School their Child Attends.
WASHINGTON In the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today released a report highlighting the role charter public schools play in helping Hispanic students succeed. Charter Schools Serving Hispanic Communities compiles a litany of research to show how the over 12 million Hispanic children in American public schools are faring, with the data time and again showing that charter schools serve more Hispanic students than their district counterparts, and are fostering achievement at higher levels. Top line findings include:
- Hispanic students comprise roughly 30 percent of charter school enrollment across the country, compared to 25 percent representation in district public schools. (National Center for Education Statistics)
- Urban charter schools generate learning growth equivalent to roughly 22 extra days of math and 6 days of reading for their Hispanic students. For Hispanic students in poverty, these numbers rise to 48 extra days in math and 25 extra days in reading. (Stanford University's Center for Education Reform and Outcomes)
- The most significant gains seen in charter schools are for Hispanic English learners (EL), who gain 72 extra days of math and 79 extra days of reading when enrolled in charter schools, advancing at levels in math that are on par with their White, non-EL peers. (Stanford University's Center for Education Reform and Outcomes)
- High-performing charter schools with significant portions of Hispanics and English learners tend to be better positioned to serve such populations. Such schools offer extended learning time, provide second language support in tandem with their content curriculum, and show elevated levels of cultural responsiveness and family engagement. (National Council of La Raza and Center for American Progress)
"It's unacceptable that across public education, Hispanic students are 10 percent less likely to graduate from high school than their white peers. Charter school educators, parents, and students across the country are refusing to settle for such inadequate outcomes, and as a result were seeing communities come together to help Hispanic students write their own successful futures," said Jo Ann Gama, president and superintendent of IDEA Public Schools, which serves more than 30,000 students throughout Texas 95 percent of whom are Hispanic. In 2016, IDEA won the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, in part for helping 99 percent of their Hispanic and low-income students graduate on time. When over one quarter of Hispanic students attend schools that have been identified as underperforming, we need to rethink how we as an educational community approach serving these students. I'm proud of the work charter schools are doing to help put Hispanic students on a successful academic and life path, but recognize we have more work to do.
The Hispanic community is responding to the progress Hispanic students are making in charter schools with overwhelming support. According to nationally representative parent survey commissioned by the National Alliance, 84 percent of Hispanic parents say they favor or strongly favor allowing parents to choose which public school their child attends regardless of their address. The same survey found that, after the economy, Hispanic parents believe education to be the most important issue facing the nation.
Click here to access the full report, click here.
About Charter Public Schools
Charter public schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.