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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Proposed Transfer of Authorizing Responsibilities Concerns Some D.C. Charter Leaders
Last week, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty proposed transferring 18 charter schools under the D.C. Board of Education to the D.C. Public Charter School Board. While welcomed by some, the proposal has prompted concern. Ramona Edelin of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools said officials of many of the 18 schools are worried. "The whole point of being a public school is to be connected to officials in the public policymaking process," she said. Fenty and some D.C. Council members described the consolidation as a much-needed improvement of the charter school structure. "It's quite confusing today, who's in charge," said council member Jack Evans. "Putting those all together and having an oversight responsibility is critical as we go forward." The proposal also would empower the State Education Office to grant a charter on appeal if the charter board rejected an application. The office also would gain the power to close a charter school.
Source: Washington Post (free registration required), (01/16/2007)
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More Than 1 in 4 Detroit Students Enrolled in Charters
The number of children from Detroit enrolled in public charter schools last fall was 42,378, or 25.3 percent of the 167,490 city students enrolled in district schools. "We're not going to sit on our hands," said Detroit schools spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo, who said the district will vigorously market its schools. "There's no question that it hurts. That's why we have to redouble our efforts to tell our story." A teachers' strike last fall delayed the start of classes in the Detroit school district, and enrollment fell 9.6 percent, according to the Michigan Department of Education. The district is considering a proposal to close 52 schools by next summer in response to declining enrollment.
Source: Detroit News, (01/15/2007)
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Indiana's Charters Serving High Percentage of Minority and Low-Income Students
The majority of Indiana's public charter schools serve a high percentage of both minority and low-income students, according to a report released January 11 by Ball State University researchers. More than 60 percent of the students enrolled in charter schools are minority and nearly half qualify for free or reduced lunch. The study looked at the demographics of 28 of the state's 37 operating charter schools. Tracy Cross, associate dean for graduate studies at Ball State, said the study only included schools for which they had complete information. The report also found that approximately 10 percent of students enrolled in charter schools receive special education services.
Source: Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, (01/12/2007)
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Colorado KIPP School to Close Because of Inability to Find "Strong" Principal
KIPP officials have told Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet that it will shut down Cole Middle School at the end of the school year because of the inability to find a strong principal. "It's almost like joining the priesthood," KIPP spokesman Steve Mancini said about the difficult search for a KIPP principal. "It's a challenge to find the right people." Cole, which draws mostly children from high-poverty neighborhoods, has among the highest math, reading and writing scores in the district. Currently, the school has only about 50 eighth-graders, who are scheduled to graduate before it closes.
Source: Denver Post, (01/11/2007)
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North Carolina Charter Supporters Seek Lift of Cap to Remedy Overcrowding
North Carolina's General Assembly begins work on January 24 and educators are making their wish lists for state policymakers. Charter school supporters are asking local districts to help them solve overcrowding issues by pushing to raise the 100-school cap. "If the cap on charter schools is lifted then I have a better chance of getting my children into a charter school and it helps the public school system because we're in a situation now where we're desperate for seats in Wake County," said parent Nikki Kunkel. Charter supporters say part of the problem with lobbying for a lift in the cap resides at the State Board of Education. "They have not fairly studied charter schools and have come to an erroneous conclusion that charter schools are not good for the state," said Philip Adkins of the League of Charter Schools. School Board Chair Howard Lee said he wants to do a study to make sure charter schools are worth it.
Source: News 14 Carolina, (01/08/2007)
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Enrollment Preferences Threaten Federal Funding in Several Arkansas Charters
Eight applicants of new Arkansas charter schools risk forgoing federal start-up funding if they go ahead with plans to give enrollment preferences to the children of teachers, school board members, trustees or other school volunteers. Current federal guidelines allow for enrollment preferences for siblings of students already admitted and children of charter schools' founders but not other students. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has asked the U. S. Charter Schools' office to add teachers' children to the accepted preferences list when the guidelines are next revised, said Todd Ziebarth, a policy analyst with the Alliance. The addition is needed, he said, to help charters attract quality teachers. Both Texas and Colorado have already asked the U. S. Charter Schools' office to allow their charter schools to give preference to teachers' children.
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, (01/08/2007)
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