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.
National Charter Schools Conference Program Now Online During National Charter Schools Conference
The 124 sessions to be presented at the 2007 National Charter Schools Conference are available for viewing online at the conference website. Conference strands include: Charter School Design; Instruction and Leadership; Charter School Funding, Facilities and Finance; Performance and Accountability; Advocacy and Messaging; Policy Environment; Governance and Operations; and State of the Movement. Keynote speakers include US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, Newsweek Magazine Editor Jon Meacham, and Kevin Johnson Founder of St. HOPE Public Schools. Register today to join 3,000 colleagues in Albuquerque, New Mexico April 24th–27th to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the charter school movement. For questions, call 206-463-3344 or e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (03/01/2007)
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New Charters Proposed in Rhode Island Despite Moratorium
Three more public charter schools, including an Internet-based elementary school, have been proposed for Rhode Island, despite a moratorium on opening new charters for another two years. Steve Nardelli of the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools said he hopes the proposals will force a conversation about relaxing the moratorium. Currently, 11 charter schools operate in the state. "We are very pleased there are people out there who continue to be innovative and propose opportunities to do things in education to provide choices for the 2,800 students who are now on (charter school) waiting lists, despite the moratorium," he said.
Source: Boston Globe, (12/17/2006)
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New Study Finds Reading and Math Scores Improving in Indiana's Charters
A new report from Ball State University's Office of Charter School Research has found that scores of seven Indiana charters have increased from 29 percent to 49 percent passing in math and 53 percent to 54 percent in language arts. Some schools reported substantial improvement. For example, third-grade language arts scores at Christel House in Indianapolis rose from 56 percent passing in 2003-04 to 60 percent in 2004-05. Math scores went from 35 percent to 60 percent passing. "Given the growth in these seven, my guess is we'll find a similar pattern in the remaining schools that we work with," said Tracy Cross, associate dean for graduate studies, research and assessment at the university.
Source: Sun Sentinel, (12/15/2006)
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Colorado Charter School is State's Number One Public School for Second Year in a Row
For the second year in a row, Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins has been ranked the number one public high school in Colorado. The ranking was based on results from the Colorado School Accountability Report, which grades schools based primarily on student CSAP scores and performance on the ACT. Of the Ridgeview 9th- and 10th-graders who took the CSAP exam, 100 percent scored either proficient or advanced in reading and 93 percent scored proficient or advanced in writing. In math, 75 percent of Ridgeview’s high school students scored at or higher than grade level. (Statewide, 67 percent of high school students scored at grade level in reading, 51 percent in writing and only 35 percent tested proficient or higher in math.) "I think that it's an affirmation of the program that we have put in place here, specifically the way we go about hiring teachers, the books we use and the (hard work) of our students," said principal T.O. Moore.
Source: Coloradoan, (12/15/2006)
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Lawsuit Challenges Charter School Authorizing in Florida
The Florida School Boards Association and nine school districts are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed last Friday in Tallahassee, challenging the constitutionality a new state law that lets a state body authorize charter schools. Until recently, only county school boards could authorize charters. According to the new law, the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission also can grant charters. The Commission was created solely to review charter school applications, and is comprised of three members recommended by the governor, two by the Florida Senate president, and two by the House speaker. Each serves a two-year term. Legislators approved the Commission, in part, to serve as an appeals board if a charter school sponsor was rejected at the local level. The Commission and Florida State Board of Education are the named defendants in the case.
Source: Tallahassee Demorat, (12/15/2006)
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NC Charter Schools Seeking Proceeds from New State Lottery
When North Carolina passed its charter legislation in 1996, facility funding was excluded. And more recently, when policymakers legalized a state lottery, they did not include public charter schools as beneficiaries of the proceeds. Nearly 100 charter schools have been approved, and they are pushing for a fair share of the estimated $161 million lottery payout to public schools. "It's not fair to have been left out. We already operate with fewer funds than conventional public schools," said Raleigh Charter High School Principal Tom Humble. The legislative panel appointed to study lottery funding has ended its work this year with no resolution on the issue. "It demands fuller debate than we've been able to give it," said Rep. Winkie Wilkins. Lawmakers promised they will conduct a broader study next year, but that means North Carolina's charter schools will have to wait at least a year before the legislature resolves the matter.
Source: WRAL, (12/14/2006)
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Free Webcasts for Charter School Developers Available This Week
The Organizational Development Institute of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is offering two free webcasts this week on the topics of "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. 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.
Source: Local Initiatives Support Corporation, (12/14/2006)
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Nine New Charters Approved in Miami
Nine new public charter schools have been approved to open in Miami by August 2008. The Miami-Dade district currently has 52 charter schools serving nearly 20,000 students. The district approved 17 charters last year, but only eight of those opened, said assistant superintendent Michael Bell, who oversees charter schools. Securing a facility with the required zoning has been a challenge. Schools are "hard-pressed to get the required zoning before school starts," he said. "Rent in this area is very high. Also, communities used to welcome schools, but lately we're seeing a lot more not-in-my-backyard pushback."
Source: Miami Herald (free registration required), (12/13/2006)
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Proposed Kansas Charter School Brings Echoes of Brown v. Board of Education
Joe Nathan, Director of the Center for School Change, reports that a fascinating story is being played out in Topeka, home of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown versus Board of Education. The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research, led by Cheryl Brown Henderson, is seeking to create Sumner-Lassiter Academy, a public charter school. Founders want the school to be housed in the building that Linda Brown was denied access to more than 50 years ago. The city currently owns the Sumner Elementary building and the school district estimates renovations could top $3 million. Former Topeka principal Sandra Lassiter, one of the school's leaders, said she asked for the charter because "too many children, black and white, lack basic skills. We want to work with the students with greatest needs." Kansas law allows only local districts to grant charters. The Topeka Board is being urged to approve the proposal.
Source: Hometown Source, (12/12/2006)
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Los Angeles Charter School Leader Joins Mayor's Education Team
Marshall Tuck, president of Green Dot Public Schools which operates 10 charter high schools, has accepted a top position with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's education team, making him a key player in the administration's school reform efforts. Beginning January 1, the mayor will have substantial authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District. Villaraigosa also appointed four other members to his education leadership team. Caprice Young, president of the California Charter School Association, applauded the choices. "It's a great leadership team. He can't go wrong with those folks," she said. "He made phenomenally great choices -- people who have proven track records educating kids, closing the achievement gaps and working for the social justice."
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (12/09/2006)
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Georgia Charter Schools Association 5th Annual Conference To Be Held 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.
Source: Georgia Charter Schools Association Press Release, (11/30/2006)
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