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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Closing the Skill Gap: New Options for Charter School Leadership Development
With several hundred new public charter schools opening each year and approximately 20 percent of existing public charter schools experiencing leadership turnover in a given year, the public charter school movement needs a much larger pool of leaders. This document examines 13 public charter school leadership training programs and offers recommendations on building a stronger public charter school leadership pipeline. The authors find that the public charter school leadership training programs offer a distinct approach to school leadership preparation - less lecture and more real-world experiences and they successfully address critical issues such as topics such as human capital, financial management, and academic accountability. They also find, however, that many of the training programs fail to adequately address the topics of community engagement, fundraising, finance management and district negotiations. To help create a larger pool of high-performing public charter school leaders, the authors encourage expanding successful professional development programs, tapping into local university public administration, nonprofit, and business leadership training programs, and expanding online training options.
NACSA Member Salary Survey, 2008
This first annual authorizer salary survey, conducted by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, finds that most public charter authorizing work is conducted by a small staff of between one to five employees that work solely on public chartering issues as well as a select number of staff that assume non-charter duties as well. The leadership position of an authorizing office is generally held by an experienced individual with advanced education who has an average annual salary of $92,500. The typical public charter school office budget is under $1 million. The most difficult human capital challenges facing authorizing organizations were identified as lack of qualified staff and fulfilling authorizing duties within the allocated budget.
Performance of SUNY-Authorized Charter Schools, 2007-08
Students in public charter schools authorized by the State University of New York (SUNY) performed well on 2007-08 state assessments. Ninety two percent SUNY-authorized public charter schools outperformed their local district in the state's 2007-08 standardized exam in mathematics. Seventy six percent of SUNY-authorized public charter schools outperformed their local district in the state's 2007-08 standardized exam in English language arts. Twenty-eight SUNY-authorized public charter schools exceeded the state-wide average of 81 percent of students at proficient or advanced levels in mathematics. Fifteen SUNY-authorized public charter schools exceeded the state-wide average of 69 percent of students at proficient or advanced levels in English language arts.
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The Color of Success: Black Student Achievement in Public Charter Schools
This issue brief offered by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools finds that strong public charter schools with their flexibility in hiring teachers, data-driven decisions, and high-quality curriculum are contributing to increased levels of achievement by Black students. A growing number of public charter school studies are analyzing student performance by race and ethnicity and, in terms of Black student achievement in public charter schools, the evidence has been encouraging. For example, a report by the Florida Department of Education, shows that public charter schools in Florida are closing the achievement gap between Black and White students at a faster rate than traditional public schools in key subjects and grade levels. In addition to discussing recent data, the report profiles seven public charter schools in six cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Memphis and Milwaukee).
A Framework for Academic Quality: A Report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Academic Quality
This inaugural report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Academic Quality, a group of two dozen education reform professionals and foundation executives playing leading roles in the public charter school movement nationally, recommends key indicators of academic quality in public charter schools. The report is designed to be a practical resource guiding improvement in public charter schools across the country -- and applicable to all schools regardless of their specific mission or student body. It is the first publication in a series of initiatives of the three-year Building Charter School Quality project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. For each of the four indicators (student achievement level, student progress over time, post-secondary readiness and success, and student engagement), the broad framework includes specific measures, metrics, targets and benchmark comparisons.
Florida Charter School Conference, Orlando (November 20-21)
The Twelfth Annual Florida Charter School Conference, hosted by the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, will take place November 20-21 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Orlando. The theme is "Charters: Providing Choice, Creating Change.”
Arizona Charter Schools Conference, Carefree (November 10-11)
At its 2008 conference,“Excellence by Design,” the Arizona Charter Schools Association is hosting more than 40 educational sessions led by state and national experts tailored to the needs of public charter leaders, administrators, business managers, teachers and board members. Attendees are encouraged to join round-table discussions, build peer-to-peer networks, and share best practices. The conference features Entrepreneurial Leadership Specialist Gregg Vanourek, Director of School Leadership Development for the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence Glenn Liebeck, Rebecca Gau of the Arizona Charter Schools Association and Dr. Yvonne Chan, who has consistently pushed the limits of education for nearly 40 years as an educator, school leader, and the founder of the first conversion charter school in the nation.
Michigan Charter Public Schools Conference, Detroit (November 3-4)
Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA) will host the 11th annual Michigan Charter Public Schools Conference on November 3-4, 2008 at Cobo Hall in Detroit under the theme "The Call for Greatness." The two-day event is geared for educators, school board members, parents and potential public charter school founders. More than 100 speakers will cover topics for all levels through seminars, breakout sessions and table talks. Plus, vendors will be on hand to provide resources and new educational tools.
National Association of Charter School Authorizers Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN (October 27-28)
NACSA’s 8th Annual Conference, themed "Setting the Pace," will take place on October 27-28, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis. It will feature practice-oriented workshops focused on public charter school authorizing, as well as policy, research and strategy sessions.
Partners in Closing the Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support High-Quality Universal Pre-K
This policy brief encourages pre-k advocates and state policymakers to seize the opportunity to include public charter schools in the development of high-quality public pre-k programs. The author highlights that public charter schools are well-positioned to combine the benefits of both community- and school-based pre-k providers. Focusing on pre-k as education rather than childcare, public charters can deliver a seamless educational experience from pre-k through the early grades. At the same time, public chartering allows an increased diversity of providers to enter the pre-k public education space, supports parental choice among pre-k providers, and offers promising new strategies for improving early childhood accountability and better aligning pre-k with early elementary instruction. Several policy recommendations are outlined, including eliminating state policies that bar public charter schools from offering pre-k; allowing public charter schools equitable access to state and federal pre-k funds; ensuring state pre-k programs provide adequate funding to support; including pre-k public charters in the Federal Charter Schools Program; and eliminating caps on the numbers of public charter schools that can be opened.
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