SURVEY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS 1998-1999

MOST CHARTER SCHOOLS STRUGGLE TO FIND FACILITIES

        When a school is financially secure in its building, it can focus on instruction and learning instead of an ongoing struggle to keep its doors open. Most charter schools struggle to find facilities, and the most successful charter schools are housed in buildings they can sustain financially. Nearly a quarter (21 percent) of charter schools, however, cited their facility as a major challenge. Facilities challenges include finding, outfitting and paying for school locations. 

        Charter schools often demonstrate creative use of space, showing that quality learning can occur almost anywhere. Locations for charter schools include parent-renovated buildings, churches, converted banks and factories, and military bases (Figure 7). 

        Many respondents checked more than one box, noting that more than one definition of their space applied. One charter school, for example, noted that the school is housed in a public university, and thus marked both “public” and “university.” Others operate in privately owned, newly constructed buildings. Finally, some charter schools operating in church facilities also noted that these were private, nonprofit offices. Thus, while Figure 7 shows the kinds of spaces charters occupy, it does not illustrate the exhaustive array of sites that exist. 

        Specific location descriptions covered urban, suburban and rural settings, including portable and modular buildings; a parent-purchased and -renovated 18,000-square-foot building; former schools and office buildings, churches, a former club which was converted to a 6,000-square-foot school; converted bank buildings, factories and government buildings; museums; the middle of Prescott National Forest; shopping malls; military bases; and a riverboat landing. (For more extensive location listings, see the Appendices.)

Figure 7: Location

(272 schools responding)

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING PROMOTES LEARNING

        Charter schools set their own schedules, and many work overtime to deliver quality education, with about one-fifth reporting either extended-day or extended-year schedules. Twenty-one percent of responding schools reported having a longer school day, and 19 percent reported having a longer school year.

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Link to Excerpts of Charter Schools Today Report, including:

• Table of Contents

• Chapter 5: Survey of Charter Schools 1998-1999

Also: Selected Response From Individual Charter Schools:
        Successes
        Challenges
        Growth and Future Plans
        Academic and Other Programs
        Additional Comments

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Survey of Charter Schools 1998-1999 is part of Charter Schools Today: Changing the Face of American Education. The entire report is available for $19.95 + $3.00 shipping and handling. Order your copy on our publications page, or by calling CER at (202) 822-9000.

Charter Schools Today: Changing the Face of American Education is published by The Center for Education Reform [CER] a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1993 to provide support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For more information on charter school efforts, call CER at (202) 822-9000, or visit our Charter School Library.