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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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 Schools in Los Angeles Receive Financial Boost from Philanthropist
Philanthropist Eli Broad announced he is donating $23.3 million to support 17 new charter campuses run by charter management organizations KIPP and Aspire Public Schools. Broad's gift is believed to be the largest by any private donor to the area's charter schools and underscores his goal of creating effective public schools outside the direct jurisdiction of the L.A. Unified School District. In an interview, Broad said that creating more charter schools became an essential fallback when L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa retreated from pursuing control of the nation's second-largest school system. "In other cities, those with mayoral control -- Chicago, New York City, Boston -- things are happening from the top down," Broad said. "And they've made great progress in all those cities. Here, we've got a different situation. If we want to see improvement here, charters are a route to get there. We think doing things from the bottom up, with charters, will help all public schoolchildren." L.A. Unified has 128 charter schools, more than any school system in the nation, enrolling an estimated seven percent of the district's 700,000 students.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (01/22/2008)
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Georgia Charter School Serves Refugee Children from Over 40 Countries
More than half the 380 students at the International Community School, a public K-6 charter school outside Atlanta, are refugees from some 40 countries. The other students come from low-income families in the community, and from middle- and upper-middle-class families in the surrounding area who want to expose their children to the unique opportunities at the school. Students collectively speak about 50 languages and the school's weekly newspaper is offered in six languages. "The fact that we don't have anything in common is what we all have in common," said Shell Ramirez, an American-born parent with two children at the school. "My children don't just know about the Iraq war; they know the difference between Kurds and other Iraqis." The school also has classes for the parents and older siblings of refugee students. On Thursday nights, there are free computer classes. On Saturdays, the school offers English classes and tutoring. Not only is the school helping to meet the community's needs, it recently was applauded by the Georgia Board of Education for closing the performance gap between low- and high-scoring students.
Source: New York Times (free registration required), (01/21/2008)
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Judge Tells North Carolina District to Pay $1.3 Million to Five Charter Schools
Last week, a judge ruled that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System had shortchanged public charter schools and that it must pay almost $1.3 million to five of them. "They've looked for ways to hoard as much as possible and give as little as possible to the charter schools," said former Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot, a board member of Sugar Creek Charter School, which was named in the ruling. The dispute concerns whether all local public school students are required to get an equal share of county money for public education, whether they attend district or charter schools.
Source: Charlotte Observer, (01/20/2008)
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Charter Schools in New Jersey's Low-income Districts Will Soon Receive More Funds
Under New Jersey's old funding formula, charter schools were not entitled to Abbott funds -- aid that went to the state's 31 historically poor districts. "That was something we thought was extremely unfair because charter schools are serving the same kids," said Jessani Gordon, executive director for the New Jersey Charter Public Schools Association. New legislation requires that 90 percent of what used to be considered Abbott aid follow each child to their charter school. The new formula eliminates the Abbott distinction and spreads the funding for low-income pupils among non-Abbott districts as well. Charter schools then receive 90 percent of that funding for each pupil. Nearly 80 percent of the New Jersey's charter schools are located in Abbott districts, which means all of those charter schools will receive more state funding under the new formula. Those schools in districts with a lower concentration of low-income pupils are not sure what the changes mean for them. "I don't know what is going to happen to these suburban districts that do not have a high percentage of (low income) kids," said Gordon. "It's very nerve-wracking. I have a lot of school leaders who are just not sleeping until they find out how this is going to impact them."
Source: Home News Tribune, (01/19/2008)
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Report Finds Charters in Five Ohio Districts Outperform Traditional Schools in Performance Growth
Using "value-added" data from the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) found that public charter schools outperformed traditional public schools in five districts - Youngstown, Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo - in terms of performance growth in reading and math. Only the Canton and Cleveland district schools outperformed the charter schools in their areas, according to OAPCS. "The news here is that community charter schools in Ohio's Big 8 districts - home to 66 percent of all Ohio charter schools - are performing well and, in most cases, exceeding the performance of the traditional schools," said Bill Sims, OAPCS president and CEO.
Source: Youngstown Vindicator, (01/19/2008)
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Ohio Attorney General Sues Another Charter School
Claiming Harmony Community School has a record of academic failure, financial mismanagement, ethical lapses, and consumer fraud, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann filed a lawsuit last week seeking to shut it down. The lawsuit is the fourth that Dann has filed seeking the closure of charter schools in the state. In a prepared statement, the executive director of the school, Deland McCullough, said, "He is attempting to replace the judgment of the Ohio General Assembly and the Ohio Department of Education with his own judgment, instead of allowing the legal and regulatory process to take place for Harmony's children."
Source: The Enquirer, (01/18/2008)
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New Hampshire Charter Schools Launch State Association
New Hampshire's public charter schools recently formed the New Hampshire Public Charter School Association (NHPCSA). The new association hopes to provide a structure for charter schools to share best practices with all public schools and to advocate on the charters' behalf. One of the first tasks facing the association is to collaborate with state legislators to secure permanent and sustainable funding for charters. Without a change in the funding formula, many believe that charter schools will be forced to close.
Source: Fosters, (01/16/2008)
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Charter School Law Deskbook (2007 Edition) Now Available
It is with great pleasure that the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools introduces the Charter School Law Deskbook, 2007 Edition! This first of its kind publication serves as a complete reference guide for those working on initiatives related to charter school law. It includes a comprehensive catalog of both federal and state resources along with a wide-ranging question-and-answer section, all in one volume. The individual state sections include the applicable laws and regulations for each state. A useful 50-state chart allows for comparison from state to state. Purchase your copy by visiting http://bookstore.lexis.com/bookstore/product/63600.html or by calling 800-533-1637.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (12/25/2007)
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