I. Background
Created in 1997 by WestEd, in partnership with
the U.S. Department of Education and the Charter Schools Development Center at California State University's Institute for Education Reform, the US Charter Schools web site is a place where charter school developers, authorizers, and operators can meet and exchange ideas. The web site provides a wide range of information and links to resources to guide charter schools in every phase of their development — from start-up, to expansion, to renewal.
The US Charter Schools web site is the most widely used and comprehensive online resource available to public charter schools. The site currently hosts over two dozen state and national online discussion groups and provides searchable profiles of more than 900 different charter schools. It receives an average of 9,000 users per week and has over 3,500 participants.
II. Major Sections of the Site
The site has four major sections:
1) Startup and Assistance
Formerly known as "Starting and Running," this section provides technical assistance information on several key charter school topics. Through this section, you can learn how to write and gain approval for a charter, develop a mission statement, identify and secure funding, interpret state guidelines and laws, set up sound governance structures, and create an accountability plan.
2) State & School Information
This section provides a concise overview of public charter schools in each state, along with key state-level contacts, a list of profiles created by charter schools, a list of web site participants, and a summary of the charter school legislation.
3) Resource Directory
The Resource Directory contains over 1200 resources on charter schools, including guidebooks, funding opportunities, service providers, research reports, and sample documents for charter school developers, operators, and authorizers. You can access the resources listed in the directory through each of the Startup and Assistance topic pages, the Federal Resources page, or by conducting your own Search of the database.
4) Charter Community Exchange
Formerly known as the "Interactive Area," the Charter Community Exchange offers users numerous tools for participants to interact with each other. By joining, you can participate in more than two dozen e-mail discussion groups on topics such as accountability, governance, and special education; create personal and school profiles to represent you and your school to other site visitors; and receive regular e-mail announcements about activities and opportunities for public charter schools nationwide. As a participant in the Charter Community Exchange, you can also enter a much larger online network of educators through EdGateway.
III. Acknowledgments
The intitial development of the US Charter Schools web site involved input from numerous individuals in the charter school movement from across the country. In 2000, staff at WestEd redesigned the site to improve its graphic design, make it faster, and add new interactive features. We would like to thank and acknowledge both our current advisory group and the design team.
Advisory Group
Jeanne Allen, Center for Education Reform, District of Columbia
Brad Bylsma, Colorado Department of Education, CO
Julie Cruit, California Network of Educational Charters, CA
Tom Drexel, Presidio High School, AZ
Jim Ford, Charter School Development Initiative, National Council of La Raza, D.C.
Michael Goldstein, Media and Technology Charter High Scool, MA
Kin Griffith, Colorado Virtual Academy, CO
Robert Haag, Florida Consortium of Charter Schools, FL
Bryan Hassel, Public Impact, NC
Steve Hirakami, Hawaii Association of Charter Schools, HI
Ginger Hovenic, Business Roundtable for Education, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, CA
Margaret Lin, Consultant, VA
Lawrence Patrick, Black Alliance for Educational Options, District of Columbia
Dan Quisenberry, Michigan Association of Public School Academies, MI
Greg Richmond, Chicago Public Schools, IL
Design Team
Robert Montgomery, Project Director, WestEd
Grace Yang, Applications Developer, WestEd
Allison Reilly, Content Developer, WestEd
Jessie Johnson, Web Designer, WestEd
Deborah Woo, Intern, WestEd
IV. Browser Options
The US Charter Schools Web site has been designed for a 15 inch monitor, 800 x 600 resolution. We feel this is the standard size of the majority of our users. It is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x, 5.x or Netscape 4.x.
