Special daily briefing for National Charter Schools Week, 2002
From the Center for Education Reform

CHARTER SCHOOLS: CHANGING THE FACE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

STUDENT APPRECIATION DAY
Thursday, May 2, 2002

Breeding a Culture of Achievement

Black River Public School, Holland, Michigan

        Black River Public School's seniors have more reason to brag than other students in their area. Why? Because these students consistently beat both the state and local test scores on the most recent Michigan High School Proficiency tests. They exceeded their local counterparts by between 5 and 24 percentage points in the five areas examined - math, reading, writing, science and social studies. Their scores surpassed the state average in all five categories, including a 23-point margin in science and 32-points in social studies. Eighty-six percent of the students taking the tests met or exceeded state standards in math, reading and writing, with 23 of the 31 students scoring high enough to earn $2,500 Merit Scholarships from the state. Black River serves over 300 students in grades 4-12, with most of this year's graduating seniors having remained after starting there as 6th graders. Beyond the state tests, Black River students have produced impressive results on the national PSAT and ACT. As the school's board president reported, "this tells us that the school is working," while the school's director of academics put it more emphatically: "[the scores] make it particularly satisfying."

Breeding a Culture of Achievement

Community Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

        This school has continued to excel at improving the academic achievement of the urban, high-risk students it seeks to serve, and has recently added a new K-3 lower school, increasing its student capacity to 405 students. The school's math and reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests continue to exceed those of students in the area's other public high schools. The students' performance on these tests earned the school a $42,000 School Performance Award from the state. Out of 45 schools in the Philly area, only Community Academy and two traditional schools, both of which have selective admissions criteria, demonstrated a 100 point increase in reading scores over a one year period. This gain is particularly impressive since many students enter the school two to four grade levels behind in reading. One other important note: Since it's founding, eight former graduates have returned to the school as staff members, including the Chief of Staff and the Dean of Students.

At the Head of the Class

Various Colorado Charter Schools
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/charsurv.htm

        Colorado charter school results are noteworthy; in the first-ever ranking of schools' academic performance on state tests, the 77 charter schools outpaced the pre-set limits for the state ratings. Of this total, 62 percent (48 schools) were rated as "High" or "Excellent," with 27 percent (21 schools) rated as "Excellent." The charter schools scoring excellent exceeded the state's expectations by over ten percent. While charter schools served less than three percent of the total public school enrollment, and accounted for less than five percent of all Colorado public schools in 2000-01, at least one (and in some cases seven) of the top 10 performing schools in 3rd through 9th grade assessments were charters. On top of that a number of these schools received prestigious John Irwin awards for high performing schools, while others were awarded Governor's recognition for their school's improvement on the assessments. WHEW! And we keep hearing that there isn't evidence that charter schools succeed…wonder where that comes from?

Various Michigan Charter Schools
http://www.charterschools.org

        In April, six Michigan charter schools were presented Golden Apple Awards for their improved student achievement on the state's test. To qualify, a school's composite fourth and fifth grade score must have increased by at least 60 points in the past three years, or be among the highest in its academic class. Each school was awarded between $10,000 and $50,000 for school improvements. The winners were: A.G.B.U. Alex & Marie Manoogian School (Southfield), David Ellis Academy (Detroit), Discovery Elementary (Fennville), Grattan Academy (Belding), Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Center (Detroit) and Thomas-Gist Academy (Inkster). A.G.B.U. Alex & Marie Manoogian School was the highest achieving school in its class for the second year in a row. Detroit's Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Center offers before and after-school help for students and all new students are encouraged to attend a six-week summer school.

Today's Notable Events

Washington, D.C.:  

Salt Lake City, UT: U.S. Department of Education Deputy Education Bill Hansen will tour Center City School and meet with local policymakers and charter school leaders. Center City Charter School opened fall 2000. 

Los Angeles, CA: Education Department General Counsel Brian Jones speaks at the Los Angeles Public Charter School Symposium sponsored by the California Network of Educational Charters. http://www.canec.org.

For a listing of other events, go to: http://www.charterfriends.org/csweek-events.html

For more on the week, go to CER's National Charter Schools Week 2000 Home Page. To visit other charter schools online, go to CER's links to over 700 Charter School Websites Across the Nation.

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The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization providing support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.

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