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 (New Orleans, 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.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (03/01/2008)
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Charter School Movement Growing and Facing Challenges at State-Level
Education Week reported that policymakers in some states are grappling with pressure to expand the number of charter schools, while those in other states are facing pressure for greater charter accountability. In Georgia, several districts are expected to apply to the Education Department to take advantage of recently enacted state law that allows public school systems to convert entirely to charter school systems. Last month, in North Carolina, a panel examining the state's charter schools recommended that the legislature loosen the current law that caps the number of charters at 100. It also called on the state Board of Education to be more proactive closing poor-performing charter schools. In Oklahoma, the Tulsa public school system, the state's largest district, filed a suit on December 28 against the state and the Oklahoma Department of Education in an effort to have the 1999 Charter Schools Act declared unconstitutional. In Florida, legislative leaders intend to push this year for new legislation to impose tougher academic and financial accountability rules on charters.
Source: Education Week (subscription required), (01/07/2008)
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Charter Schools in New Orleans Struggle with Special Education Challenges
The Times Picayune reports that charter schools are facing challenges in meeting the needs of special education students. The vast majority of students arrive without any paperwork, and many charter schools lack the necessary administrative and financial support. Growing and strengthening the charter school programs is particularly critical in New Orleans, where more than half of the city's public school students attend charter schools. "There's a sense of real urgency," said Matt Candler, chief executive officer of New Schools for New Orleans, a nonprofit that provides support to many of the city's charter schools and is currently supporting a survey of the charter schools' special education programs. "We're very emphatic in saying, 'It doesn't matter how well your school runs. If you don't serve children who have special education needs well, you jeopardize the whole charter movement.'" In a letter to all Recovery School District charter schools, Superintendent Paul Vallas reminded them that about 10 percent of their students should receive special education services or they could violate their contracts with the state. Vallas said he thinks the schools are doing a much better job this year than last, but he noted: "The charters know we have to adhere to special education mandates. If they don't, we're going to be facing one big class-action lawsuit. . . . They know, and we know, that the clock is ticking."
Source: The Times-Picayune, (01/06/2008)
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Ohio Charter School Asks Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit Filed by Attorney General
Lawyers for New Choices Community School, one of three in the Dayton area that Attorney General Marc Dann sued last year, said Dann's attempt "to assert regulatory power over public education runs afoul of separation of power principles in the Ohio Constitution.” They argued, in a motion filed with Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, that the Attorney General's powers do not allow him to close a charter school simply because he believes that the school is not satisfactorily attaining its charitable mission. House Speaker Jon Husted, a charter school advocate, has raised similar objections to the lawsuits, saying Dann has crossed into territory that should be reserved for state lawmakers and the Department of Education. Lawyers representing the school also object to the relationship between Dann's office and the state's largest teachers' union, the Ohio Education Association, which dropped its lawsuit against the state over its charter school program after Dann took his own legal action.
Source: Akron Beacon Journal, (01/04/2008)
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Charter School Advocates in Wyoming Seeking Change to State Law
Charter school supporters in Wyoming are seeking to change state law to allow agencies other than local school boards to approve charter schools. "Asking a school district's trustees to approve a charter school is like asking Lowe's to open a Home Depot," said Amy Edmonds, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Public Charter Schools. "There's competition there. It's just a fact," said Edmonds, who also is a state representative from Cheyenne. Some district leaders want a change, too. In October, Laramie County School District 2 trustees passed a resolution asking the Legislature to change the charter school law. They sent the resolution to the Wyoming School Boards Association, whose members defeated it during a delegate assembly in November. The Laramie board said the current charter approval process takes time and creates antagonism and they wanted to set up a statewide charter granting agency. Edmonds expects the issue will be addressed in the 2009 legislative session.
Source: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, (01/04/2008)
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Program to Ease Teacher Shortage Expands to Charter Schools
The Indianapolis Teaching Fellows program, an initiative of the Indianapolis district that selects and trains professionals who want to make the transition to the classroom, will expand next year to include charter schools. The program targets math, science, special education and Spanish. It is highly selective. There were 862 applications this year to fill the first 40 slots. The Fellows receive training during the summer and take courses toward teacher certification during their first two years of teaching.
Source: WTHR-Indianapolis, (12/31/2007)
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Tulsa District Asks Court to Declare Charter School Law Unconstitutional
Lawyers for the Tulsa School District have filed suit against the state Education Department seeking to have the statute that permits charter schools in Oklahoma declared unconstitutional. They claim the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act of 1999 violates the state constitution because it singles out which school districts are required to allow charter schools. The law requires districts to consider charter schools only if the district has more than 5,000 students. Under the original law, however, two districts (Norman and Yukon) were made exempt, although they have more than 5,000 students. Tulsa School District spokeswoman Tami Marler said the objective of the lawsuit is not to shut down charter schools. "This is not an anti-charter suit," Livingood said. "We have three charter schools - all performing well. This is not aimed at them." Although district officials say the lawsuit's intent is to have all districts treated the same, not to shut down the district's charters, school district attorney Doug Mann said charters statewide would be forced to close if the lawsuit succeeds.
Source: The Oklahoman, (12/29/2007)
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Predominantly Hispanic Charter Schools Named Among 'America's Best High Schools’ by U.S. News and World Report
Two Miami-Dade County predominantly Hispanic charter schools, Mater Academy High School and Doral Academy High School, are listed among the nation's top 500 high schools in U.S. News & World Report's first-ever ranking of "America's Best High Schools." "Mater and Doral Academy students, parents, and staff deserve to be congratulated for years of hard work and dedication. Their tireless efforts have been rewarded with this extraordinary accomplishment," said Fernando Zulueta, president of Academica, a charter school service and support organization that works with schools in Florida, Utah and Texas.
Source: Hispanic Business, (12/28/2007)
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