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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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Report Calls for Business Community to Actively Support Public Charters
A new report issued this week by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workforce is calling for businesses and chambers of commerce to actively support the expansion of public charter schools to help meet the national need for a highly educated workforce. "With far too many of our public schools producing students unprepared for further education and the jobs of the 21st Century, the number-one challenge for American businesses has become the availability of high-quality human talent," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Arthur Rothkopf. "However, businesses and chambers of commerce at the local level can help reverse this trend by assisting the dynamic growth of public charter schools that are making a difference in the lives of millions of young students." The report, "Corporations, Chambers, and Charters: How Businesses Can Support High-Quality Public Charter Schools," recommends several actions for the business community, including, building a robust supply of high-quality new schools in the communities that need them and forging charter-friendly public policies through state and local lawmaking.
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, (10/21/2008)
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Public Charter Schools in Florida Offering Many Foreign Language Opportunities to Students
Traditional public schools offer foreign language classes, often popular options like Spanish and French, but some public charter schools in Florida are offering their students the opportunities to study multiple languages. Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, and Greek are some of the languages currently being offered. The foreign language push comes as U.S. students struggle to keep up with their peers internationally and prepare for a future that is more globally interconnected. ''It also shows other people that we as Americans respect other people and their languages and cultures and, lo and behold, Americans can actually learn other languages,'' said Nancy Rhodes, director of foreign language education at the nonprofit Center for Applied Linguistics. At Ben Gamla Charter School, in Hollywood, which has daily Hebrew language classes, some students have never spoken the language prior to coming to the school. "It's new, and children love things that are new," said Principal Sharon Miller. "It almost is very aesthetically appealing to them because the letters look almost like an art form." At the International Studies Charter High School in Coral Gables, which offers Spanish, French and Italian programs, students graduate with a regular diploma as well as a diploma from the country of their chosen language. At the A-rated school, which has 255 students, students study their language and also take humanities and literature classes in that language. Students in the French program also take math in the language.
Source: Miami Herald (free registration required), (10/19/2008)
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Public Charter Schools Get Attention from Presidential Candidates
No matter who wins the White House, public charter schools will have strong support from the nation's new President. In the October 15 presidential debate, both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain emphasized their support for the public charter school movement. Moderator Bob Schieffer said that indicators show the U.S. trailing most countries in educational performance and asked both candidates what solutions they will propose. Both found common ground with public charter schools. McCain said, "So choice and competition amongst schools is one of the key elements that's already been proven in places in like New Orleans and New York City and other places, where we have charter schools, where we take good teachers and we reward them and promote them....Charter schools aren't the only answer, but they're providing competition." Obama said, "I doubled the number of charter schools in Illinois despite some reservations from teachers unions. I think it's important to foster competition inside the public schools." "It was remarkable that finally education got its five minutes of fame," said Michael J. Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
Source: Washington Post (free registration required), (10/17/2008)
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Some Public Charter Schools Feeling Impact of National Economic Crisis
The Washington Post reports that the rapid growth of the District of Columbia's public charter school movement, which now accounts for more than a third of the city's public school enrollment, is experiencing a slow down because of the national financial crisis. Efforts to expand public charter schools may face longer roads to completion and schools might have trouble securing lines of credit to meet regular business expenses. Allison Fansler, KIPP DC's president and chief operating officer, said that financing for the renovation of leased properties is difficult in the best of circumstances because of the lack of collateral for a bank to fall back on if a loan goes bad. But Fansler said the public charter community's traditional banking partners, such as Bank of America, have been tentative. "We're reaching out to build as many relationships as we can," said Fansler, who remains optimistic that a deal can be struck. "There are a lot of ways we can mitigate this, but it's just more complicated and expensive." In Los Angeles, Mike Piscal, founder of the Inner City Education Foundation, said "So far, deals that would be done with 20 percent down now require 30 percent. Deals that would take two to three months are now taking five to six months." Public charter school officials in D.C. said they were particularly concerned that some of the new schools that opened this fall with small numbers of students and no track record might have difficulty securing credit for working capital.
Source: Washington Post (free registration required), (10/16/2008)
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Poll Shows Montana Residents Want Public Charter Schools
A new public opinion survey taken in Montana finds that residents want public charter schools. The state is one of the ten remaining states without public charter schools. When asked, “If it were your decision and you could select any type of school, what type of school would you select in order to obtain the best education for your child,” 28 percent selected public charter schools. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice undertook the study on behalf of several organizations.
Source: The Laurel Outlook, (10/15/2008)
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Success of Public Charter Schools in Tennessee Leads to Call for More
All three of Nashville's public charter schools met state standards this year and had waiting lists. The success of the schools ability to help at-risk students work on grade level is drawing unprecedented attention after years of lukewarm reception from policymakers. Local leaders, including Mayor Karl Dean, and other advocates are working to make the city more inviting for public charters. "I've looked at a variety of cities, and those at the forefront of urban reform, charter schools are playing a role there," Dean said. "They provide parents and students with choices and alternatives, and are a place for innovation and reform. I don't think it is a panacea, but it is part of a portfolio." Dean said he would help finance and find space for new programs eyeing Nashville. "When a charter program with a national reputation is looking for a facility, there is a perception publicly the system is not going to help them," he said. "That is the exact wrong message to send." Advocates worry that the state public charter school legislation is still too restrictive and threatens the long-term success of public charters. Only students from low-performing schools, or who are failing themselves, can enroll. "When it comes to student eligibility, Tennessee has the most restrictive laws in the nation," said Matt Throckmorton, executive of the Tennessee Charter School Association. "There's a good intent behind it, but there's a lot of students that would thrive in a charter school, but they don't know their test scores or they live in the wrong address."
Source: Tennessean, (10/13/2008)
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Georgia State Board of Education Votes to No Longer Limit Number of Public Charter School Districts
Earlier this month, the Georgia State Board of Education rejected a proposal to continue limiting the number of new public charter school districts approved each year. The state legislature had restricted the state board to approving no more than five public charter school districts during the first year of implementation, but that year has passed. "To put a quota on the number would send a message and put a cap on the initiative and enthusiasm local systems are doing," said board member Mary Sue Polleys. "It would be equivalent to a teacher saying I can only give five A's regardless of how hard students work."
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution, (10/09/2008)
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