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 Charter School Online Directory
For a subscription fee, users can search a national database of the nation's operating and approved charter schools. Individual school information includes contact and program information, enrollment figures, and grades served. Additional information includes snapshots of state laws, research, and state resources.
Webcasts: Getting Ready for Construction and Creating a Dynamic ED-Board Chair Partnership
The Organizational Development Institute of LISC will offer two webcasts next week on
"Prepping Your Site: Getting Ready for Construction" and "How to Create a Dynamic ED - Board Chair Partnership." On December 19 and 20, LISC will provide an interactive forum for discussion among industry experts, as well as national and local practitioners. LISC provides these webcasts, in partnership with KnowledgePlex, free of charge as a support and training service to community development practitioners nationwide. Anyone with access to the Internet and a telephone can participate in the Experts Online live events from his/her own desk at the scheduled time (2-3:30 each day). Participants will be able to hear the expert(s) speak, view the corresponding visual presentation in real time, and pose written or oral questions to the speaker(s) during the event.
Extreme Makeover: Two Failing San Diego Schools Get New Start as Charters
This paper tells the stories of the conversions of Gompers and Keiller public schools in San Diego to Gompers Charter Middle School and the Keiller Leadership Academy. Less than 18 months since the once-failing schools re-emerged as charters, families are happier, the schools are safer, and there are early indications that there is significant academic improvement. The authors profile Alan Bersin, the former superintendent of San Diego’s schools who shepherded the conversion process, and detail what type of leadership is necessary for districts to successfully take on NCLB’s seldom-used charter school restructuring strategy.
Signs of Promise: Hispanic Student Achievement in Charter Schools
This new research from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools finds signs of promise that charter schools are helping to increase the performance of Hispanic students. The author points to four studies which find that the Hispanic achievement gap is closing. A 2006 study by the Massachusetts Department of Education shows that Hispanic students in charters are overtaking peers in non-charters on reading and math tests. A 2004 study in Florida found Hispanic charter students start out farther behind, but exceed learning gains of non-charter students in reading. Charters in highly Hispanic areas hold a "proficiency advantage" over non-charter students on 4th grade reading and math tests, according to a 2005 national comparison. And, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found Hispanic 4th graders in charter schools outpacing non-charter students in reading.
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's Sponsorship Accountability Report, 2005-06
In July 2005, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation became Ohio's first nonprofit organization to sponsor charter schools. This first annual report documents Fordham's sponsorship policies and practices, and offers individual profiles of all Fordham-sponsored schools. Included in the profiles are descriptions of each school's educational program, school philosophy, and overall academic performance based on state achievement data.
Charter High Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap
This guide, part of the U.S. Department of Education's Innovation in Education series, profiles eight charter high schools that are helping to close the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special need students and their peers. Although all the schools are unique, six similar characteristics unite them. The schools are mission-driven; focus on college preparation; teach for mastery; provide support; value professional learning; and hold themselves accountable. The schools were chosen in 2005 from over 400 charter high schools that are meeting academic targets under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and are closing achievement gaps by holding students to high academic standards.
Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2006
This second annual report on the nation's charter schools, created by the National Charter School Research Project, explores the impact that continued charter school growth is having on parents, districts, and other education stakeholders. Through a series of essays, authors offer suggestions on how to inform parents about school choices, how to broker conflicts between unions and school leaders, and how to assess the quality and performance of individual schools.
Charter School Ratings
This project of Greatschools.net is designed to help parents and members of the public to better understand the performance of charter schools in their communities. Site users can search the online database to learn what charter schools are located nearby, how well they are performing on state tests and other key measures, as well as access parent reviews of the schools.
Georgia Charter Schools Association 5th Annual Conference, January 25-26 in Atlanta
The 5th Annual Georgia Charter Schools Conference will be held January 25-26 at the Loudermilk Conference Center in Atlanta. A "Career Readiness for a 21st Century Workforce" will be one of the leading conference strands. Lydia Logon, Senior Director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) will lead a session entitled, "Business Community Cites Need to Improve Education." That session will focus on the need of the nation’s public school system to "focus more strongly on improving curricula, academic expectations, and performance measures to ensure students are prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce." In addition to more than the 30+ sessions tailored for charter school faculty, leaders, and advocates, the conference offers networking opportunities with other charter school supporters and the availability to speak with conference exhibitors and sponsors.
2007 National Charter Schools Conference, April 24-27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham will be the kickoff 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 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, call 206-463-3344 or e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org. Early bird rates end January 15!
U Play! Workshop, February 8 – 10 in New Orleans
KaBoom, a not-for-profit organization focused on creating great playspaces across the nation, is inviting charter school community members to attend a 3-day training workshop in New Orleans to learn how to build high quality playspaces in their schools. The organization is offering scholarships to cover the $195 registration fee as well as up to $400 to help defray costs of travel. Five thousand dollar challenge grants to apply to the purchase of equipment will also be awarded to over 100 organizations planning to use the KaBOOM community build model to complete playspaces in 2007.
Games Charter Opponents Play: How Local School Boards and Their Allies Block the Competition
This article, written by veteran reporter and researcher Joe Williams, examines the strategies of some local school boards and other charter opponents in their efforts to reduce or stop competition with charters. Examples include withholding funding, using zoning boards to thwart establishment of school facilities, refusing transportation to charter students, filing lawsuits, and sending threatening letters to families. The author characterizes the conflict as a "ground war" that "is both expensive and demoralizing." He cautions: "Truce cannot be expected anytime soon. The enemies of charter schools are motivated and well-financed. For charter supporters, then, there is only one choice: fight back and win."
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