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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Achievement and Behavior in Charter Schools: Drawing a More Complete Picture
Students enrolled in charter schools behave better than those in other public schools, according to preliminary findings from Scott Imberman, an economist at the University of Houston. Examining disciplinary, performance and demographic data from a large, unidentified school district that has experienced great growth in its charter schools since 1997, he finds that charter schools generate improvements in student behavior and attendance. The largest positive impact is seen in start-up charters rather than charter conversions. Students whose behavior improves when they enroll in charter schools, however, tend to lose those good habits if they return to non-charters.
K-8 Charters: Closing the Achievement Gap
This new U.S. Department of Education publication highlights seven K-8 public charters achieving success at closing the achievement gap. As a group, they have created learning environments where historically underserved children are thriving. Schools featured in the guide are located in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Texas.
Starting Fresh in Low-Performing Schools
This issue brief compiles highlights from a five-volume series called Starting Fresh in Low-Performing Schools published by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). The document explains how education leaders are empowering schools to start fresh and gives an overview of the major components of a successful start fresh strategy. Starting fresh occurs when a district enters into a contract or charter with a provider that has authority over all critical aspects of a school's policies and practices. The document profiles Seth McKeel Middle School, a once chronic poor performer in Polk County, Florida. The district converted it to a choice school and then to a charter school and it's now one of the district's highest rated middle-high schools.
Charter School Achievement: What We Know (Fourth Edition)
This analysis, the fourth edition of an extensive review of research on charter school achievement across the nation, incorporates 12 new studies published in the past year for a total of 70 comparative analyses of charter school and traditional public school performance. It shows that charters are generating strong growth in student achievement, in many cases outperforming traditional schools. Of the 70 studies, 39 look at change over time in student or school performance. Thirty of these studies find student academic gains in public charter schools are larger than those in traditional public schools (sometimes only for specific groups of students, such as at-risk students), and another five find comparable gains. The other 31 studies compare two groups of schools or students based on a "snapshot" of performance at a point in time. Nineteen of these studies show comparable, mixed or generally positive results for charter schools.
Top 10 Charter Communities by Market Share: 2006-2007
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools' annual "Top 10" study identifies communities with the largest percentages of public school students enrolled in public charter schools. This year's analysis, which examined 2006-2007 enrollment data in communities with at least 10,000 public school students, found New Orleans again leading the list with 57% of its students enrolled in charter schools. Southfield, MI, Dayton, OH, and Washington, DC tie for second with 27 percent of their public school populations in charter schools. A total of twenty-nine communities comprise the top market share list (with many ties in percentages); that compares to 19 a year ago. Eight communities had at least 1/5th of their public school students in public charter schools, an increase from six in the 2005-2006 school year.
National Charter School Data: 2007-2008 New School Estimates
There has been an eight percent increase in the number of new charter schools nationwide since last year, according to this new report by Center for Education Reform. Approximately 347 new charter schools opened for the 2007-08 school year. As of September 2007, there were 4,147 charter schools serving 1.2 million students across the country. Since 1992, 560 charter schools have closed.
Colorado Charter Schools Conference, November 1-2
The 14th Annual Colorado Charter Schools Conference will be held on November 1-2, 2007 at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, CO. The conference includes over 40 breakout sessions and small group discussions. Sessions are being scheduled to reach charter schools in the various stages of development. Registration available online.
A Sum Greater Than the Parts: What States Can Teach Each Other About Charter Schooling
This Education Sector report draws on a series of 12 studies that analyze charter schooling in eight states and four cities. The authors use these case studies to identify key legislative and regulatory changes needed to ensure the quality and growth of a state's charter sector, including: (1) establishing high-quality "professional" authorizers that are committed to charter school quality and have authorizing as their core mission; (2) relying on effective authorizing rather than regulation to ensure charter school quality; (3) using public oversight and accountability for both charter schools and authorizers; (4) ensuring ample, high-quality student-performance data for both charter and traditional public schools; (5) refraining from placing absolute caps on the number of charter schools that can open within the state; and (6) providing equitable funding for charter schools, including start-up and facilities funding.
Smart Charter School Caps
Today, 25 states and the District of Columbia restrict the growth of charter schools in some fashion, including restrictions on individual authorizers or limits on the number of charter schools allowed to open. Few of the restrictions address the issue of charter school quality, but rather bluntly limit public schooling options and choices for families. The author calls for "smart charter school caps" that focus on growth and quality help states expand high-quality schooling options for underserved students.
New York Charter Schools Conference, November 9-10
The New York Charter Schools Association will hold its annual conference, November 9 and 10 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. Registration is now available online.
National Association of Charter School Authorizers Conference, October 22-23
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers will host its seventh annual conference October 22-23, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah on the Historic Riverfront in Savannah, GA. Steve Barr, Founder and CEO of Green Dot Public Schools, and James Forman, Jr. of Georgetown University are keynote speakers. With the theme of "Cultivating the Charter Garden," the conference will offer numerous interactive and practice-oriented sessions.
National Charter Schools Conference, June 22-25
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will host the 2008 National Charter Schools Conference from June 22-25 in New Orleans, LA. "Still We Rise: Achieving Academic Excellence at Scale" is the conference theme, reflecting the growth of quality public charter schools across America. The theme has special resonance in New Orleans, which boasts the nation's largest percentage of public charter school enrollment. Register for the conference or apply to sponsor/exhibit at http://www.nationalcharterconference.org. The conference is the largest gathering of charter school operators and proponents in the nation. Geoffrey Canada, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Harlem Children's Zone, will offer the keynote speech. Attendees will learn and share best practices, discuss national and state policy issues, have the opportunity to volunteer at local charter schools, and enjoy special events featuring New Orleans traditions, food and music! Questions? Call 206-463-3344 or e-mail nationalconference@publiccharters.org. Register before April 27 to get the lowest conference rates.
Wisconsin Charter School Conference, April 21-22
The 2008 Wisconsin Charter Schools Conference, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Charter Schools Association and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will take place at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison from April 21-22, 2008. Registration, sponsorship and exhibit information will be available soon at the conference website.
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