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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Charter Schools Today: Stories of Inspiration, Struggle & Success
Journalist Joe Williams chronicles over 100 inspiring stories of charter school successes and challenges in this new book offered by the Center for Education Reform. The report examines how the ripple created by charter schools is impacting traditional public schools, changing the attitudes of entire districts, and benefiting public education as a whole. The book is available for order online or in print.
Teacher Compensation in Charter and Private Schools: Snapshots and Lessons for District Public Schools.
This study investigates pay policies in charter school and private school networks and determines that charter schools make greater use of performance pay than private or district schools and are more likely to use differentiated pay to attract applicants to high-demand subject areas. The researchers found that, on average, charters did not pay their teachers as much as district schools, but offered a higher base salary -- in 2000, $26,977 for teachers with a bachelor's degree and no experience, compared with $25,888 for traditional public schools that same year. In 2000, 86 percent of charter schools that offered incentives in hard-to-staff subjects built them into base pay, while only 10 percent reported making one-time bonuses. By contrast, 41 percent of district schools that used pay to fill shortage areas awarded only one-time bonuses.
School Safety in Urban Charter and Traditional Public Schools
This new study from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) finds that urban public charter schools appear to be safer and experience fewer discipline problems than their traditional public school counterparts. Analyzing data from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the author finds that charter schools consistently reported significantly fewer threats to persons or property and fewer behavioral problems than traditional public schools.
Charter School Performance on 2006-07 State Assessments in Michigan
The Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) has released data that finds that the average scores of the state's public charters exceeded the average scores of their host districts on 23 of 27 state tests in 2006-07. Michigan's charters delivered 82 to 91 percent proficiency on all tests and exceeded the average scores of their host districts on 23 of 27 MEAP tests (tied on three others and were one point shy on the final test). Individual community data is available for Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Lansing.
Chicago: State of Reform Report
New school models and academic programs have enriched the public school landscape in Chicago. Currently, 47 charters, 21 small high schools, 12 vocational high schools, eight math and science academies, four military academies and dozens of selective, magnet and new
Renaissance schools serve the city's children. Catalyst Chicago, a monthly journal that tracks school reform issues in Chicago, offers this series of articles which reports on the progress the city is making to improve student performance and increase school choice. The report finds that charter schools perform better than their neighborhood schools and are doing a better job at reducing the number of dropouts.
2007 National Charter Schools Conference, April 24-27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is excited to have over 2,500 attendees at the 7th Annual National Charter Schools Conference next week in Albuquerque! The conference will offer sessions presented by leaders of the national charter school movement and present numerous special events for networking and fun. Registrants should sign up for networking breakfast sessions Friday morning where groups will meet by profession or interest and ask their peers for solutions to their most pressing questions. The 15th anniversary of the first public charter school will be celebrated with an anniversary dessert reception followed by a dance and party with Alliance Board Member and disc jockey Howard Fuller. The unique exhibits include a "green" model school building on the exhibit floor and a timeline highlighting most states' charter school history on display in the conference hall. Online registration has closed but registration can be completed each day at the conference at the Albuquerque Convention Center beginning Tuesday, April 24th through Friday, April 27th.
National Charter Schools Week, April 30-May 4
From April 30 - May 4, charter advocates, parents, teachers and students from across the country will celebrate the role high-performing charter schools play in opening doors to hope and opportunity for families. With the theme of "Closing the Gap," the 8th annual National Charter Schools Week will highlight how charter schools are making meaningful gains for disadvantaged children. To assist the charter school community in planning, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has developed a toolkit. The toolkit offers a wealth of resources for helping make the week a success, including suggested engagement activities and talking points for speaking with a variety of audiences. It also provides several templates, including a sample press release, a sample school fact sheet, and a sample legislative letter.
Peeling the Lid Off State-Imposed Charter School Caps
This new brief finds that parental demand for high-performing public charter schools continues to go unmet in 25 states and the District of Columbia, where some type of limit, or cap, is restricting charter school growth. While some states have made progress (notably Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, and Nevada), movement has been slow. The document examines each state's restrictions on new charters, the number of schools, student enrollment numbers, student type, and schools per authorizer. Nine states (Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Utah) that continue to severely constrain growth are highlighted. The document encourages states to provide the resources, oversight, and accountability necessary to help charter schools thrive rather than arbitrarily restricting charter growth.
Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness
The Center for American Progress, in partnership with the US Chamber, recently released a state-by-state report on the effectiveness of state education systems. The report grades states in nine broad categories, including the areas of "academic achievement," "flexibility in management and policy" and "return on investment." In its measurement of "flexibility in management and policy," the strength of the charter law and whether principals in public schools generally enjoy strong influence over hiring and budget decisions weigh heavily. The report finds that Arizona and Colorado have moved aggressively to promote comprehensive charter school legislation, "thus helping establish the necessary infrastructure for 21st century educational reinvention."
2007 State Policies and Activities Database
Staff at the Education Commission of the States regularly update a list of changes to state charter school policies and legislation, as well as other education legislation areas. They also track attempted charter school legislation that was vetoed. Summaries are compiled from information from state websites, state newsletters, StateNet, LexisNexis and Westlaw. Database users can access the most recent changes to general charter school legislation, as well as legislation affecting charter school closings and charter finance.
National Database of State Education Reforms
The National Center for Education Statistics has introduced a website on State Education Reforms which inventories states' efforts in four key areas: (1) State Support for School Choice Options; (2) School Finance Reforms; (3) Standards, Assessments, and Accountability; and (4) Resources for Learning. Users can access state-by-state details about charter school legislation, charter school reporting requirements and start-up fund characteristics, and charter school teacher certification and student accountability characteristics.
Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference, April 15-17
The 7th Annual Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference will be held April 15-17 at the Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha. The conference will kick off on Sunday, April 15 with a free Charter Schools Fair. The fair is a celebration of charter schools in Wisconsin that is open to the public from 1 – 4 p.m. Charter schools from across the state will celebrate students' achievements through demonstrations, performances, and displays. The conference continues on Monday and Tuesday with 45 concurrent sessions and presentations from several speakers, including Morgan Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary of U.S. Department of Education, Janice Ereth, Special Advisor to Children’s Research Center and Todd Ziebarth, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. For more information see the Wisconsin Charter Schools Association website or call 608-661-6946.
14th Annual California Charter Schools Conference, March 27-30 in San Diego, CA
The 14th Annual California Charter Schools Conference will take place March 27-30, 2007 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, CA with a focus on "Teaching and Learning in High-Quality Charter Public Schools." The conference will offer sessions that share strategies and best practices that can be utilized to improve student achievement and charter school operations. The schedule for more than 200 breakout sessions and table talks is now available. For more information, send an email to conference@charterassociation.org or call 213.244.1446, ext. 2201.
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