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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South Carolina Statewide Charter School District Slowly Begins to Take Shape
South Carolina's new charter school district may be up and running next year, including approving charter applications for schools that would open in 2008. Legislators created the district and its governing board earlier this year in hopes it would make it easier to start charter schools in the state. The district has gotten off to a slow start as the board waits for the people and resources to run it. "We've never done this before - creating a whole new statewide school district - so I think it's going to take some time," said David Church of the South Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools. The board still needs eight appointments for its 11-member board and funding to hire staff and run the district. A $13 million federal grant could pay for the planning and operation of up to 30 new charter schools. The increased federal funding is available in part because of the increased opportunity under the new charter school district.
Source: Myrtle Beach Online, (12/26/2006)
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Florida Department of Education Releases Report Reflecting on Ten Years of Chartering
Last week, the Florida Department of Education released a new report marking the 10th anniversary of the opening of the state’s first charter schools. Education Commissioner John Winn said, "charter schools can no longer be considered an educational experiment, but a vital and integral part of Florida's public school system." The document reports that the performance gap between charter and district schools has narrowed and charters now have a slight edge statewide in the percentage of students passing reading in elementary schools and reading and math in middle schools. Florida ranks third in the nation for the number of charter schools operating and second in the nation for number of students enrolled in them.
Source: Daytona Beach News Journal, (12/20/2006)
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Ohio Legislature Passes Bill Making it Easier to Close Poor Performing Charters
Ohio's legislature has approved a bill that includes a provision to close chronically poor performing charter schools. A school would be shut down in July 2008 if it had grades K-3 and had been in academic emergency for four consecutive years; had grades 4-9 and had been in academic emergency for three consecutive years and showed less than one year of growth in either reading or math for two of those years; or had grades 10-12 and had been in academic emergency for three consecutive years and showed less than two years of growth in reading or math for two of those years. A charter that closed could not be reopened. The bill exempts dropout recovery charter schools from the closure sanction, but directs the Ohio Board of Education to make recommendations for performance standards for them. Ohio Rep. Tom Raga, the bill's sponsor, said these schools were not included because "their mission is different" from that of other charter schools.
Source: Akron Beacon Journal, (12/20/2006)
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New Texas Bill to Propose Pulling Plug on All Charters and Reopening Only Strong Ones
Texas legislators this session will debate a new bill that recommends closing every charter school and instantly reopening the strong charter campuses with perpetual licenses. Such a move would close chronically underperforming schools. "It kind of starts everything with a clean slate," said Representive Rob Eissler. "The debate will be interesting, and the results will be interesting." "We have to reward really good charters, and we need to close those schools that are not meeting the needs of the students," said Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro. About 90,000 (2 percent) of Texas' 4.5 million public students attend 358 state- or district-approved charter school campuses.
Source: Houston Chronicle, (12/17/2006)
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Charter School Leader Appointed to Missouri State Board of Education
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has appointed Rev. Stanley Archie, a Kansas City charter school official, to the Missouri Board of Education. Blunt said he chose Archie because he wants a "diversity of opinion" on the board. Archie is a board member of the University Academy charter school, a college-preparatory school that serves kindergarten through 12th grade. Currently, state law only allows charters within the Kansas City and the St. Louis districts and they must be sponsored by the district, a university or the state.
Source: Kansas City Star, (12/15/2006)
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