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.
Maryland Begins to Embrace Public Charter Schools
Despite a slow start for public charter schools in Maryland, except for the city of Baltimore, local districts in the state are starting to embrace them. "I think [the law] was not universally applauded. So I think school systems have not, with the exception of Baltimore City, been particularly proponents," said state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. But now, she said, districts have generally approved new public charters when the applications were sound. Baltimore County's first public charter school expects to open this week, and public charters already operate in Harford, Frederick, St. Mary's and Anne Arundel counties. The newest additions will bring the statewide total to 34 schools and nearly 8,000 students. Public charter schools recently received a large financial boost from the Maryland Court of Appeals. It ruled that school districts should provide public charters with 98 percent of the amount spent on a student in that district. Previously, public charters had to negotiate the per-pupil amount they would receive from a district.
Source: Baltimore Sun, (08/24/2008)
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Idaho Receives Federal Grant for Public Charter Schools
Idaho has received a $3.4 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help plan, design and start public charter schools. "The Charter School Program grant will help promote the growth of high-quality charter schools throughout the state of Idaho, including a new generation of charter schools that target underserved populations," said Tom Luna, state superintendent of public instruction. New York, Florida, Oregon and Utah also received the federal competitive grants.
Source: Idaho Statesman, (08/23/2008)
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Caprice Young Leaving California Charter Schools Association
Caprice Young, who developed California's Charter Schools Association into a powerful advocacy and support group with a $12 million budget, is leaving the organization to become a vice president at Knowledge Universe, a Michael Milken education firm. As president, Young leveraged the association into "a major player in state education policy" and has been "a forceful voice for quality, not just in California but around the country," said Nelson Smith of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. "She redefined what these organizations are about." Young transformed what once had been a libertarian-leaning, suburban-oriented, and loosely coordinated group of education entrepreneurs. She pushed to start public charters in neighborhoods where schools had been low-achieving for generations. "This is a huge loss for charter schools," said former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, who once employed Young as an assistant deputy mayor and later helped fund her election to one term on the L.A. Unified Board of Education. "Caprice made people aware of how well charter schools are doing, and she opened up the door for all schools to challenge and help each other." Young's new role at Knowledge Universe will include developing primary and secondary schools here and abroad.
Source: LA Times (free registration required), (08/21/2008)
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NYC Center for Charter School Excellence's James Merriman Answers Questions About Public Chartering in New York
During the week of August 18, James Merriman IV from the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence answered New York Times' readers’ questions about public charters. Merriman said he believed that the greatest challenges facing public charters are receiving equitable funding, political challenges, and "doing the work of teaching students who come to school with the disadvantages of poverty." Chartering, he says, has three distinct advantages over the traditional public school system. "Leaders and teachers have the ability to organize themselves in a maximally efficient way around student achievement. In turn, and because of this, these schools are attracting highly skilled people to them. Third, charter schools have built-in accountability, in that if they do not succeed, they will lose their charter, thus putting the adults on notice that their job depends on student achievement." He notes, "Nothing of course, but politics, stops school districts from adopting these practices."
Source: New York Times (free registration required), (08/20/2008)
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Mark Your Calendar for the 9th Annual National Charter Schools Conference, June 20-23 (Washington, DC)
The Annual National Charter Schools Conference, the only national conference devoted exclusively to public charter schools, is expected to attract outstanding school leaders and the nation's top public officials next June. The four-day conference (June 20-23) will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington. More information about programs, lodging and reservations will be provided soon.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (08/20/2008)
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Eighteen New Public Charter Schools to Open in New York City
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that 18 new public charter schools will begin operating in the city this fall. The new schools, the largest number to open in the city in a single year, will bring the number of charter schools in the city to 78, serving 24,000 students, up from 17 schools with 3,200 students in 2002. Bloomberg offered praise for public chartering. "It is the charter schools that will get the public to demand that the rest of them come up," he said. "It's the charter schools that let parents vote with their feet and tell us what the parents think about the quality of the education, of the schools. And I can tell you, one of the reasons that the public schools in the city have gotten better is because the charter schools exist and give parents an alternative and let parents see that you can do something better."
Source: New York Times (free registration required), (08/19/2008)
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National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Cosponsors Outburst!
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has signed on as a partner in Outburst! - a series of six high-tech interactive civic forums for young people focusing on national public policy issues. The sessions are being held at the locations of the national political conventions and presidential debates. The first forum was held August 24 at the University of Denver. Additional forums are to be held in St. Paul, St. Louis, and New York City in September and October. “Outburst is a dynamic, interactive event demonstrating to young students just how important it is to learn about issues, participate in the political process and make your voice heard,” said National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith. “The Alliance is delighted to team up with Outburst to get students involved in our nation’s civic dialogue.” For more details and how to attend, visit the Outburst! website.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (08/18/2008)
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