On average, the funding gap between charter schools and traditional schools is 22 percent, or $1,800 per pupil. The average charter school ends up with a total funding shortfall of nearly half a million dollars.
Source: Charter School Funding: Inequity’s Next Frontier
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National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
This website tracks key K-12 school facilities issues, including up-to-date news, as well as descriptions of books, studies, reports and journal articles. The site offers several good resources for charter school developers including charter school building case studies and summaries of state charter school facility laws. It offers subject-specific resources on more than 130 topics. Users can download a free customized checklist for assessing the safety and security of a school regarding accidents, vandalism, crime, natural disasters, and terrorism. The Professional Associations and Organizations page links to professional organizations, federal, state and municipal resources, academic research centers, media, and products and services.
The Bottom Line: Why Public Charter Schools Receive Less Funds Than Traditional Schools in Texas
This study analyzes several comparative charter and district school funding studies in Texas and confirms that charter schools receive less funding than traditional public schools. The different studies' conclusions varied with charter schools receiving (in FY02-03) anywhere from 3.6% to 26.7% less revenue than other public schools. The funding gap differences in the separate reports were mainly attributable to the different methods each report used to handle potentially inaccurate data. The author finds that charter schools in Texas are at an economic disadvantage when compared to traditional schools. He offers several recommendations for improving data quality and transparency.
Oregon Charter Schools: 2004-2005 Evaluation Report
This annual achievement report tracks academic and non-academic performance of the 56 charter schools in operation in Oregon in 2004-05. Thirty-nine of the 56 (70 percent) operating charter schools received an AYP rating (the lack of a rating for the remaining charter schools is the result of a lack of longitudinal data). Of those 39 charter schools, 56 percent met AYP (compared to 65 percent of all rated public schools in Oregon. (Note: nearly all of the charter schools that failed to meet AYP specifically targeted at-risk youth.) State achievement data shows that elementary charter schools outperform traditional schools at elementary benchmark levels (grades 3 and 5), while charter middle and high schools generally have achievement levels lower than traditional public schools. For the second year in a row, parent satisfaction survey results indicated a high level of satisfaction with charter schools.
Database of Charter School Achievement Studies
The National Charter School Research Project at the University of Washington has launched a new database of charter school achievement studies released since 2001. For each study, the database includes a brief summary of findings, a description of the data and methodology, grade levels included in the analysis, and a rating of the quality of evidence each study provides on charter school student achievement. Ratings are based on two criteria: how well the methodology removed non-school factors that may influence student achievement from the measurement of school impact, and how reliably findings can be generalized beyond the schools in the sample. The database can be searched by author, year of release, region, methodology, data characteristics, and method rating.
Online Call for Presentations and Registration for 2007 National Charter Schools Conference
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will host the 2007 National Charter Schools Conference from April 24 – 27 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The online Call for Presentations proposal submission system as well as conference registration and hotel reservations for the 2007 conference has begun. The conference website allows users to register, make hotel reservations, and/or submit a presentation proposal. The deadline for presentation proposal submissions is October 16th. For questions, send an e-mail to nationalconference@publiccharters.org or call 206-463-3344.
NACSA 2006 Annual Conference, October 23-24 in San Diego, California
Register by October 18 for the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) 6th Annual Conference, October 23-24 in San Diego, CA. NACSA’s Conference is designed to offer highly interactive and practice-oriented sessions on issues important to all who are dedicated to advancing quality charter schools and school change. Topics will include the essentials of effective charter school authorizing, measuring academic performance, and using chartering as a strategy to restructure low-performing schools. Tom Vander Ark of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will deliver the keynote address.
Starting Fresh in Low-Performing Schools: A New Option for School District Leaders Under NCLB
This book is the first in the National Association of Charter School Authorizers' series "Starting Fresh in Low-Performing Schools." It details how district leaders can restructure and reopen a chronically low-performing school by starting fresh as a charter school. Starting fresh can allow a district to define clear expectations for performance, empower school leaders to act, allow schools to create a school culture that works, and it can satisfy and engage parents. The document examines districts that are employing this approach in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Louisiana. It offers recommendations on how to craft a well-designed approach to starting fresh, including engaging parents and community members, selecting the right providers, establishing the right relationship terms, and collaborating with teachers.
Grassroots Action Center
The Center for Education Reform is offering an online program which allows users to send a letter to elected officials to let them know their concerns and support for school choice issues. Users can enter their zipcode and the Grassroots Action Center program will find appropriate legislators and compose a sample letter or provide the opportunity to write individual messages.
The School Transformation Plan: A Strategy to Create Small, High-Performing College-Preparatory Schools in Every Neighborhood of Los Angeles
Green Dot Public Schools was founded in 1999 with the vision of transforming education in California by creating a number of high performing charter high schools. Its schools serve students who have struggled in district schools and now are achieving significantly greater results than comparable schools. This document details the organization's proposed set of strategies to restructure overcrowded and low-performing schools. It is intended to be a whitepaper for Los Angeles to transform its public education system, using chartering as a foundation. Basing its findings on successful charter schools, the document details attributes of high performing schools, which include: (1) small, safe, autonomous, and personalized schools; (2) high expectations; (3) local control with extensive professional development and accountability: (4) more dollars directed into the classroom; (5) parent participation; and, (6) schools kept open late in day.
Number of Charter Schools and Students in the 2005-06 School Year
The latest numbers on public charter schools and student enrollment are available. In 2005-06, approximately 1,036,536 students were enrolled in 3,597 charter schools in 40 states. California, Florida, Michigan and Texas enrolled the largest number of students in charter schools. California, Arizona, Florida and Ohio had the largest number of charter schools.
National Conference on Charter School Research, September 28-29 in Nashville, Tennessee
The National Research and Development Center on School Choice is hosting a national conference on charter school research for researchers and policymakers. The conference, "Charter Schools: What Fosters Growth and Outcomes" will be held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from September 28-29, 2006. Nationally recognized education experts will discuss new charter school research related to teaching and learning in charter schools, governance and finance, and charter school effects on student achievement.
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