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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Note: Please be aware that online publishers often change URLs or no longer provide access to articles after 7 days. If any of the below links no longer work, access the publishing newspaper and search the archives for the keywords in the subject matter. Good luck.
Jon Meacham, Editor of Newsweek, to Keynote at 2007 National Charter Schools Conference
Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham will be the kickoff keynote speaker at the 7th National Charter Schools Conference, set for April 24 – 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than 3,000 charter school colleagues will convene in the "Land of Enchantment" to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the movement and to hear Meacham's global outlook for educating students in the next 15 years and beyond. Meacham joins Kevin Johnson, former NBA basketball star and Founder/Chairman of the Board of St. HOPE Academy Charter School, as conference keynotes. Go to the conference website to register, make hotel reservations, and find out how to sign up for graduate credits/CEUs or to participate in the Virtual Career Fair. Hosted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the conference will feature more than 120 breakout sessions, focusing on Quality, Policy, Advocacy and Capacity. For questions, e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org or call 206-463-3344.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (11/09/2006)
Also See
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U.S. Appeals Court Denies Federal Funding for For-Profit Charters in Arizona
Arizona is one of just a few states that allow for-profit corporations to own or operate charter schools. In a unanimous ruling September 25, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected arguments by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools that for-profit charter schools are entitled to federal funds provided to schools which have students in poverty or with special needs. The ruling is a setback not only for the charter board and for-profit charters, but for more than four dozen for-profit private schools in the state. The problem, said Mary Ellen Simonson, attorney for several affected schools, is public charter schools cannot turn away any student and must provide special services. The ruling runs contrary to a 2004 formal legal opinion by state Attorney General Terry Goddard who said for-profit schools among the 375 charter schools are public schools under state law and entitled to the federal funds.
Source: Arizona Daily Star, (09/26/2006)
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D.C. Zoning Commission Places Restrictions on Charters in Residential Areas
The D.C. Zoning Commission has approved changes to the city code that will require charter schools to meet new size requirements when moving into residential neighborhoods. Carol Mitten, chair of the commission, said the regulations will allow charter schools to grow while protecting city neighborhoods. Neighbors on Capitol Hill rallied when Appletree, a school for 3- and 4-year-olds, sought to open on 12th Street NE. Appletree Managing Director Russ Williams said that school officials were disappointed, but "exploring our options." The changes also apply to the city's 141 public schools, despite a written request to the commission from D.C School Superintendent Clifford Janey, who asked it to delay its decision.
Source: Washington Post (free registration required), (09/26/2006)
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Parents Angry about Charter Cap in North Carolina
Schools are getting crowded in North Carolina's capital city and some parents are angry with the Wake County School Board for not pushing to raise the state's charter cap. Francis De Luca, director of a group opposed to a proposed $970 million school construction bond said, "the citizens of Wake County have clearly demonstrated by their actions and words they want more charter schools." In 1996, the General Assembly passed a law allowing up to 100 charter schools. Earlier this month, the State Board of Education approved the 100th charter school, so no new applications can be accepted. There are 3,224 students on waiting lists to get into Wake's 14 charters. De Luca acknowledges that adding more charter schools would not fully solve the problem of housing the more than 7,000 new students arriving in Wake each year, but it would help.
Source: News and Observer, (09/22/2006)
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New York City Charter Schools Outperform District Schools
New York City charter school students performed nearly five percentage points higher than district school students, according to a New York Post analysis. In 31 charter schools in the city where students in grades three through eight were tested in reading in January, 55.4 percent of students met state standards. In contrast, 50.7 percent of district students were reading and writing at grade level. While the results showed third- and sixth-graders in charter schools lagging slightly behind their other public school peers, charter students in the other grades outperformed. "These schools, which serve at-risk students in needy communities, continue to outperform their public-school counterparts throughout the city," said Paula Gavin, CEO of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.
Source: New York Post, (09/22/2006)
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Gates Foundation Gives $1.8 Million to Green Dot Public Schools
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $1.8 million to Green Dot Public Schools, a Los Angeles charter school organization. The grant will support five charter schools that opened this school year. Green Dot's philosophy emphasizes small schools of no more than 500 students each, a college preparatory curriculum, and parent and community participation. Its schools scored higher than some comparable L.A. Unified schools on the 2006 Academic Performance Index test results. Over 95 percent of Green Dot's 2006 senior class graduated. The award is "a great endorsement of organizing a community and recruiting that community to rally around some change," said Green Dot founder and Chief Executive Steve Barr. "It's a validation of our record to date." The award to Green Dot exceeded the $1.3 million given by Gates earlier this month to the Los Angeles school district.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (09/20/2006)
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Universities Partner with Charters in California
Since the University of California-San Diego opened a charter school on campus in 1999, many universities in the state have forged collaborations with charter schools to help guide curriculum, offer students opportunities to earn early college credits, inform research and help ensure the next generation of college students is prepared to succeed. Universities get a real-world laboratory where educators can keep abreast of what works in public education and prepare teachers to work with students in urban districts. "We can create a place where we can both prepare teachers to work effectively with these students, but also become a site to study what works and what doesn't," said Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond, faculty sponsor for the university's high school.
Source: Inside Bay Area, (09/17/2006)
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