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
|
|
 |
|
|
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.
PBS Takes a Look at Restructuring and Chartering Under NCLB
In a series about the No Child Left Behind law, PBS NewsHour highlighted two San Diego schools, Keiller Leadership Academy and Gompers Charter Middle School, which were closed as traditional schools and reopened as charter schools under NCLB. Despite their new success in raising student achievement, the schools have met resistance from the district, which argues the schools are draining eight million dollars a year from its budget. "The point of charter schools is to compete and to force regular districts to compete with charter schools," said Alan Bersin, former superintendent of the San Diego City Schools. "Gompers and Keiller established that this is not rocket science. You begin to see parents and teachers taking action in the way that we constantly talk about. Let the teachers and the parents decide.”
Source: PBS News Hour, (08/20/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
More Charters to Open in South Los Angeles
The Inner City Education Foundation announced last week that it has received more than $4 million in grants from the NewSchools Venture Fund, the Dell Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, and plans to open four new charter schools in South Los Angeles this fall. With the new middle and high schools, the Inner City group will have nine charter campuses operating within the Los Angeles Unified School District. "The momentum we're building is just tremendous, and the funders recognized that we're moving from success to success," said Michael Piscal, founder and chief executive of the group. Piscal said that on the standardized test scores released last week, 63 percent of Inner City's View Park Preparatory Charter High School students scored proficient or advanced in English, compared with 43 percent of students statewide.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (08/17/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Michigan Charter Offers to Pay College Tuition for Graduates
By offering a new scholarship plan, Advantage Academy, a K-8 Kalamazoo charter school, is seeking to compete with The Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship plan which provides each Kalamazoo district school graduate with up to 100 percent university tuition. Under Advantage’s plan, students who leave Advantage in the eighth grade and graduate from any Kalamazoo County public high school will receive a scholarship worth up to 35 percent of tuition for four years to any Michigan public college. Those who then graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) will have the other 65 percent of their tuition covered by The Promise. The program is being funded by a foundation established by Mosaica Education Inc., the New York-based company that operates Advantage. The new program eliminates the incentive for Advantage students to transfer to KPS before high school.
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette, (08/16/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Utah Charter Schools Applaud Newly Developed Charter School Financing Authority
The Charter School Financing Authority, a new financing vehicle in Utah designed to help charter schools finance facilities with greater ease, will start operating next month. Charters will be able to bond for a facility, accessing lower interest rates and reasonable long-term financing. Recently, a few charter schools have been successful in securing a government-rated bond through municipalities or counties. But many municipalities are wary, said Greg Hughes, who was the original sponsor of the bill that set up the authority. "It is something that charter schools are already doing, but doing it on a statewide level allows all charters the opportunity to do it and you're not stuck with the whims and concerns of every city council or county government and there is one jurisdiction that they can go to now and get that government-rated bond," he said.
Source: Deseret Morning News, (08/15/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Former Chief of Schools to Lead New Charter School District in South Carolina
Former South Carolina State Schools Chief Barbara Nielsen will serve as the leader of the state's new public charter school district. Nielsen was named interim superintendent of the statewide charter district by a trustee board responsible for oversight of and awarding credentials for new charter schools.
Source: The State, (08/14/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Utah Leaders Discuss Making State Athletic Programs Available to Charter School Students
This summer, Utah state legislators have been in discussions with the Utah High School Activities Association on how public charter students can be offered the chance to play sports at district high schools. Like many states, Utah does not have a uniform system for non-member charter school students to participate in high school athletics. UHSAA attorney Mark Van Wagoner said that while the association can deal with the eligibility of charter school students, it cannot solve the issues of how the participation of those students in programs would be shared between traditional schools and charter schools and how districts can be forced to bring in charter school students if they do not want to or are unable to solve financial or educational issues.
Source: Deseret Morning News, (08/14/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Some Ohio Charter Schools Struggle
Data released last week by the Ohio education department show that while some charter schools have emerged as academic powerhouses, nearly half of all failing schools in Ohio (those identified as being in "academic emergency") are charter schools. Of the 330 charter schools listed in the 2006-07 state report cards, only 24 were identified as "excellent" or "effective." "Even friends and longtime supporters of charter schools and chartering are tired of explaining away mediocre and poor results," said Terry Ryan of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the research arm of the foundation that sponsors eight Ohio charter schools. "The too-few terrific schools demonstrate that it doesn't have to be this way."
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer, (08/13/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Chicago Teachers Union Seeks to Unionize Teachers at Charter Schools
There are 30 charter schools in Chicago, and the head of the teacher's union for Chicago public schools is hoping to unionize their staff. Appearing before a gathering of 30 teachers from various schools in the city, Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart assured them that she is encouraging, not forcing a union. "If they're looking to organize as I said, you know, we'll help them. So, I would just encourage them and if they are not doing anything wrong, don't be afraid of it."
Source: Chicago Public Radio, (08/12/2007)
-----------------------------------------------
Thank you for your interest:
Please be aware that publishers sometimes change URLs or no longer provide access to articles. If this occurs, access the publishing newspaper and search for the subject matter.
Submit news items on the Web:
You can view archives or submit news items at: http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/n/index.htm.
To unsubscribe or subscribe:
If you would like to be removed from this list, send an email to: cs.unsubscribe.a.16@email.edgateway.net or manage your subscription via your user profile at USCharterSchools.org. We respect your right to privacy. Please read our privacy policy. To subscribe or contribute news items you will need to register with USCharterSchools.org.
Did you receive this issue as a forward from a friend? Get your own subscription to the Charter Schools News Connection here.
Charter Schools News Connection is sponsored by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and distributed by WestEd.
|
|
