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National Charter Schools Week 2014

May 2, 2014 By

To celebrate National Charter Schools Week, CER is highlighting charter school success stories from across the country.We will also be taking the celebration to Twitter and Facebook, sharing stories from schools, parents, and advocates on the ground, along with a litany of facts and figures, all showing how charter schools are helping students.

Once considered just a fad, charters now represent the fastest, most successful reform in public education today, with over 2.5 million students in over 6,500 charter schools across the nation.

DID YOU KNOW?… A Few Facts About Charter Schools

• 73% of Americans support charter schools

• The length of average charter school wait list is nearly 300 students

• Charter schools receive 36 percent less revenue on average per student than traditional public schools

• 61 percent of charter schools serve a student population where over 60 percent qualify for the federal Free or Reduced Lunch Program

• The total number of charters has increased over the last decade at an average rate of 340 schools per year

• In 2012-13, there were 335 new charter campuses in states with “A” or “B” grade charter laws, compared to only 13 in states earning “D” or “F”

 

Check out these charter school success stories! The first one will appear here May 4, with a new story posted daily throughout the week!

Story #1: Friendship PCS
Story #2: Boys’ Latin Charter School
Story #3: Charter School Potential
Story #4: Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT)
Story #5: CHAMPS Charter School of the Arts
Story #6: Charlotte Secondary School
Story #7: Great Hearts Academies

 

For more information on charter schools, see CER’s most recent charter school publications and the area of edreform.com dedicated to choice & charter schools:

Choice & Charter Schools
Everything you need to know about charter schools! Get facts and information, as well as answers to questions like what states have charter school laws, what constitutes a strong charter school law, are charter schools working, and more.

2014 Charter School Law Rankings & Scorecard
The 15th edition of charter school laws across the states shows fewer than half of state charter school laws in the United States earn above-average grades.

2014 Survey of America’s Charter Schools
CER’s national overview of the day-to-day operations of charters reveals that charter schools are experiencing stronger parental demand than ever before, with the length of the average waiting list increasing from 233 in 2009 to 277 in 2012.

America’s Attitudes Towards Education Reform: Public Support for Accountability in Public Schools
Majorities of Americans support education policies that promote accountability, according to a nationwide survey released by The Center for Education Reform.

America’s Attitudes Towards Education Reform: Executive Summary
The American People Want Power and They Want Options. A plurality of Americans says that parents should have more power over their child’s education, including access to information and data about their child’s school.

 

Looking for a charter school near you? See CER’s Charter School directory.

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

State of Education Around the World

May 2, 2014 By

CER President, Kara Kerwin, discussing the education crisis in America on CCTV’s The Heat.

Click on the image below to watch the full video.

Filed Under: CER in the News

Charter Funding: Inequity Expands

April 30, 2014 By

Charter schools receive significantly less per-pupil funding than traditional public schools, according to an April 2014 study from the University of Arkansas.

On average, charter schools receive 28.4 percent less for each student than their traditional counterparts, amounting to $3,814 less per year.

Over time, the funding disparity between districts and charter schools has increased by 54 percent in eight years, as charter enrollment has continued to grow.

Funding gaps vary from state to state, but researchers found that the gap is widest at the local level, where on average charter schools receive $1,780 per pupil from local sources, compared with $5,230 received by traditional schools.

Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that state funding inequities are structural in nature, and charter funding can’t possibly be resolved without starting over.

These findings validate those from the 2014 Survey of America’s Charter Schools, which reported that charter schools receive on average 36 percent less revenue than their traditional school counterparts.

The University of Arkansas study is current up to the 2010-11 school year, and researchers collected, reviewed and audited financial statements from 30 states plus the District of Columbia.

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

Inside Success Academy’s Fight for Children

April 30, 2014 By

Campbell Brown, New York Post

Campbell Brown, a member of the board of the Success Academy Charter Schools, was honored at Success’ spring benefit Monday night. These are excerpts from her remarks.

Like a lot of others here tonight, I’m just a soldier in Success Academies CEO Eva Moskowitz’s army. And I want to talk about why I joined the fight.

It is a fight. We have to fight for these schools. I wish we didn’t. It amazes me that there could be anything controversial about the achievements of these extraordinary kids — or about the accomplishments of Eva and the team who make all of this possible.

It amazes me that anyone would dare try to choke one of the most exciting, innovative things happening in public education.

But if we’ve learned one thing recently, it’s that keeping these schools open, operating and growing is a battle every single day.

And it’s not going away — because no compromise is possible.

As a reporter for 14 years, I went to work believing that basically both sides had some merit and deserved a fair hearing — and my job was essentially to referee the match.

But sometimes you stare at a problem and you say, “I’m sorry, both sides don’t have merit.” And when the lives of children are literally hanging in the balance, you can’t play referee.

If we believe that charters serve the best interests of children, then every attempt to stop or limit them is a limit on that good influence — and why should we ever accept a compromise like that?

Those on the other side keep saying charters aren’t the answer. They ask, “What about the 95 percent of kids who can’t attend charters?” Well, no one’s saying that every public-school student should be moved into a charter. All we say is that the excellence of our charters should be moved into every public school.

It is a fairness issue: There’s no reason all kids shouldn’t be held to the same high standards as kids in charters, or have the same challenging curriculum. There’s no reason teachers in all public schools shouldn’t face the same accountability as teachers in charters, and get the same support and professional development.

In a rational world, regular public schools would see the example of Success Academy and follow it. In a rational world, principals could put the best people in the classrooms, without rules restricting them that have nothing to do with the quality of learning.

In a rational world, the schools chancellor would have the power to fire a school employee found guilty of sexual misconduct with a child.

We don’t live in a rational world.

That last issue is actually the one that made me an activist in the fight.

A couple of years ago, I saw a list of 14 teachers who still had their jobs after being found guilty of sexual misconduct with kids. I was horrified: Can you imagine your child in that teacher’s class?

A crazy state law took the power to fire out of the hands of the most senior leadership and gave it to an arbitrator who the union has a say in choosing. So even the worst offenders — people you’d never let near your kids — have kept their jobs after a guilty verdict.

As a mother, this offended me deeply, largely because I knew I could protect my kids from this — I had the means and the power. The victims are the most underprivileged children in this city.

So we developed a campaign to bring attention to this outrage and change the system — who (I naïvely thought) would dare defend a system that puts the rights of child molesters before the rights of kids?

We got some attention, but we have yet to change a damn thing. We haven’t convinced our legislators that we can compete with the teachers union, so no one in Albany wants anything to do with it.

Think about the absurdity here. We actually had to wage a campaign to win political support to remove sex predators from our classrooms. And we haven’t succeeded yet.

This is a screwed-up system. It is corrupt. It is failing. And the other side is nothing if not relentless in keeping control over it.

Which means we have to be just as relentless in the mission that brings us together here tonight. It’s a simple shared belief: If any parent wants to find a better school to give their children a better life, that should be nobody’s choice but theirs, and no one should stand in the way.

The good news is, we’re gaining strength. Eleven thousand parents got on buses and went to Albany and made their voices heard and the governor came out to join them. We’re starting to win a few battles.

A few very influential people don’t like it. They have the power to stop change, close doors, shut things down. But they ran out of arguments decades ago.

You can tell who’s on the losing side of an issue when what they fear most is competition. They hate charter schools like Success Academy because the example shows what every school can be, for every girl and boy.

By saving children and giving them a chance, these schools remind everyone what those kids are being saved from — an education system that lost its way.

Filed Under: Opinions

NEWSWIRE: April 29, 2014

April 29, 2014 By

Vol. 16, No. 17

A “GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS STORY” was how Education Secretary Arne Duncan described the state of education in America in testimony before Congress on the Obama administration’s budgetary request, as the federal government continues to try and find its footing on a proper role in advancing education. That’s a fair description, provided the good news is a result of state-based policies that facilitate choice and accountability in schools, and the bad news is there are still millions of parents and students without access to the educational options they deserve. While administrative requests are wide-ranging, priorities outlined in Duncan’s written testimony still manage to miss the mark on how leaders at the federal level can truly boost student outcomes. Duncan alluded to the federal government’s rich history of incentivizing states and localities to “invest in education.” But this means incentivizing states to take the initiative and enact reforms such as strong charter school laws, all the while resisting the urge to create a one-size-fits-all definition of what constitutes quality in schools. It’s critical that Secretary Duncan and members of Congress recognize that the management of education and what’s best for students is best left to those closest to our families and communities.

PARENTS STEP UP IN SPARTANSBURG. Upon hearing that their local elementary school was closing, parents and community members of Spartansburg, PA decided to take matters into their own hands to make sure their kids still have a viable, local school option. So, they decided to start the process for opening a charter school. They even went so far as to decide it should have a unique agricultural focus. In a true showing of grassroots and community spirit, the neighborhood fire department hosted an auction and bake sale in support of the charter school, one of several fundraisers slated to take place (let’s not forget, after all, that charter schools get 37 percent less funding than traditional public schools). The efforts in Spartansburg epitomize the concept of a parent-driven charter school, and why charter laws at the state level need to be structurally reformed to meet growing demand.

GROUNDBREAKING. CER had the good fortune of attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the innovative Mundo Verde Charter School in Washington, DC, which provides students with an eco-friendly and bilingual educational experience. The event wasn’t all pomp and circumstance, since students were in hard hats as part of their expeditionary learning project focused on ‘construction.’ On top of the many testimonials from parents and educators on the benefits of this exciting and quality option, one student professed in perfect English how he began his education only knowing Spanish, and Mundo Verde educators allowed him to learn a new language while preserving his cultural heritage. Environmental consciousness is a laudable trait for any school, and DC charter schools are putting kids on a sustainable path in furthering their education.

CHOICE IS CHOICE. Could it be that when a parent opts to utilize a scholarship program, the only factor that goes into that decision is doing what’s best for the education of their child, rather than making a wider statement on partisanship and school systems? In the case of Florida single-mom, Faith Manuel, and many other parents nationwide exercising their right to choose, that’s the guiding principle in their no-strings-attached thought process. Manuel, whose oldest son is currently studying at a Florida college  to become a teacher, wonders why the statewide tax credit scholarship program has been twisted into something so controversial by school choice opponents, given the program’s proven benefits. Whether it’s a network of parents in Florida or aspiring charter school applicants in small-town Pennsylvania, parental access to educational options is a civil right, not a political football.

NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK will be here before you know it, so now is the time to start thinking of how you’ll increase awareness of the widespread benefits that charter schools offer. CER will be doing its part on Twitter and Facebook in sharing stories from schools, parents, and advocates on the ground, along with a litany of facts and figures, showing how charter schools are helping students. Every. Single. Day. Official start date of National Charter Schools Week is this Sunday, May 4th.

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly, Newswire

U.S. Needs to Expand “Top-Rated” Schools

April 25, 2014 By

Charter schools make an impressive showing on the U.S. News & World Report’s list of America’s Best High Schools, accounting for 24 percent of the top 100 high schools on the rankings. For the rankings, U.S. News & World Report evaluated 500 top schools. Of these 500 schools, 84 are charter schools, totaling 17 percent of the ranked schools.

U.S. News & World Report evaluated the schools based on highest college readiness, a specifically defined measure of what constitutes a “top-rated” school. However, the reality is there are actually many factors that determine what constitutes a quality school; restricting quality to a formula leaves little room for innovation, the very hallmark of charter schools. For instance, if U.S. News & World Report were to rate top schools based on parent satisfaction, there is little doubt that charter schools would constitute an even larger share of the top 100 public schools.

Issues with ranking criteria aside, there’s still much to be said for the fact that despite making up just six percent of all public schools, charter schools composed a large share of these “top-rated” schools. The fact that there is a disproportionately high percentage of charters on this list shows how effective charter school innovation truly is.

Charter schools prove again and again that they work.  With the nation’s current proficiency rate in reading and math at 34 percent and an influx of 11 million students in the near future, we need more schools that have the freedom and flexibility to meet each student’s unique needs through inventive methods. We need MORE quality schools making up the “top-rated” list (and more measures to indicate what makes a “top-rated” school!), and we will get there by creating strong laws, giving parents options and access to data, and most importantly, allowing for innovation in schools.

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso

Washington State Loses Waiver

April 25, 2014 By

The Federal Department of Education is pulling Washington State’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver because the state has not fulfilled the department’s requirements for reform, mainly linking teacher evaluations to student performance.

Washington State Superintendent Randy Dorn blames the teacher’s unions because they “felt it was more important to protect their members than agree to that change and pressured the Legislature not to act.” Kim Mean, president of the Washington Education Association, argues that the removal of the waiver is due to a failed federal policy rather than failure within the school system.

In its waiver application, Washington committed to making significant student growth in teacher and principal evaluations by the 2014-15 school year, which would only be possible with legislative reform. Current legislation states that Washington schools can choose to use classroom, district or statewide tests to tie student growth to teacher evaluations. Dorn and Washington Governor Jay Inslee proposed a bill earlier this year that proposed the use of statewide tests in teacher evaluations, but asked the Federal Department of Education to delay the requirement until 2017.

Now with the loss of the waiver, local districts will likely be required to spend their federal Title I funds on private tutoring services for at-risk students and professional development and training for teachers. Washington will have less flexibility when choosing what schools to directly fund with federal money. Also, the revocation of the waiver means that nearly all Washington schools will be labeled as failing under NCLB.

Washington State is now preparing a list of schools with especially low-test scores and wide achievement gaps. Once the list is formalized, those “priority” schools will hopefully receive state intervention.

Secretary Duncan has stated that if the state pursues reform, he will reconsider the waiver but as of now, Duncan says, “if folks aren’t fulfilling their commitments — I want to absolutely clear so nobody can say they didn’t know or were surprised — I would bet we will have to, as early as this summer, pull at least one if not more waivers.”

Filed Under: Federal Policy

Neugebauer visits Lubbock charter school

April 25, 2014 By

Natalie Gross, Lubbockonline.com

Just two days after the U.S. House of Representatives Education Committee discussed changes to charter school operations, U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, took a tour of Lubbock’s Rise Academy.

The school’s founder, Rick Baumgartner, took Neugebauer on a tour of the campus, starting in the kindergarten classroom where the students read the congressman the story of “The Three Little Pigs.” Next was a stop in third grade where three students recited the school’s pledge from memory.

Neugebauer ended his tour by talking with eighth-graders. He answered a few of their questions about serving in government — and if he plans to run for president — and joined in their discussion of the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this month, the education committee held a hearing on HR 10, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, which consolidates the current Charter School and Charter School Credit Enhancement programs.

According to information provided on the education and the workforce committee website, HR 10 “refocuses the new program to promote high-quality charter schools at the state and local level and allows states to use federal funds to start new charter schools as well as expand and replicate existing high-quality charter schools.”

Baumgartner had concerns about the bill and passed on information to Neugebauer from the Center for Education Reform stating the bill is “nothing more than a natural progression of the federal government becoming too involved in charter school policy.”

Neugebauer said he was not prepared to speak on the topic since he is not on the education committee, but said he does see value in charter schools and favors local over federal control.

“I think that you don’t just isolate charter schools and public education,” he said. “I think one of the things that we want to do is figure out what works. I think charter schools are an important piece of education, as are our public schools. I think one of the important things that we have here is we’re providing choices for parents, and I think that’s an important part of that.”

Neal Marchbanks, Neugebauer’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming November election, said he had not read the legislation, but in general, he doesn’t care for charter schools.

“They don’t help the majority of our district,” Marchbanks said, explaining 26 of the 29 Texas counties he hopes to represent in Congress are mostly rural, and people living there don’t have the opportunity to enroll their children in charter schools.

Marchbanks also said he prefers local control.

Neugebauer enjoyed his time at Rise Academy and said he was impressed with the students’ reading, writing and reciting skills they showcased for him. He gave the school with a copy of the children’s tale “House Mouse Senate Mouse” and an American flag that had flown over the Capitol.

Rise Academy is a charter school offering preschool through eighth grade. It was founded in 1999 and has an enrollment of about 240 students.

Filed Under: CER in the News

Charter Schools a Force for Education Reform

April 24, 2014 By

Jared Burkhart, The Detroit News

Twenty years ago, parents and students in Michigan were given a choice for education. Children could attend a traditional public school, or they could choose a public charter school. Since then, tens of thousands of parents have been making the deliberate decision to send their child to a charter public school. Instead of being forced into a school based on their ZIP code — parents have chosen a charter public school that fits the needs of their child. As a result, charter school enrollment has dramatically increased in Michigan.

In 1993, Michigan’s charter school law passed, allowing new public schools to be chartered by state universities, community colleges, intermediate school districts and traditional school districts. Nine charter schools opened in the fall of 1994. Twenty years later, there are 297 charter schools in Michigan and charter schools educate about 9.5 percent of students in the Michigan public school system.

Michigan residents strongly support charter schools as an alternative to traditional public schools. A poll conducted this month by MRG shows that 68 percent of voters support charter schools.

Despite early worries that charter schools would only accept “the cream of the crop,” charter schools have been actually providing education to many students who have not had a choice of where they went to school. Charter schools are an alternative for at-risk children, who are historically underserved. Some 71 percent of charter school students in Michigan are eligible for free and reduced meals.

There are many reasons why parents are choosing to send their children to charter schools. For some, they see charter schools as more accountable and responsive. For others, charters can be more innovative and flexible, and provide safe learning experiences.

Charter schools are similar to traditional schools in that they are subject to the same laws and regulations.

Yet after 20 years, charter schools currently receive about $1,400 less in per-pupil funding than traditional public schools in Michigan. When asked in the recent poll about the discrepancy in funding, 70 percent of state residents believe that all public school students should receive equal state funding.

Despite the deficit in funding, Michigan charter schools have received high marks from groups all across the country. In early 2013, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University confirmed students in Michigan charter schools are experiencing nearly two additional months per year of learning gains in math and reading and three months of additional learning gains in Detroit – which becomes extremely significant when compared to their peers in traditional public schools. Additionally, Michigan’s charter school law received one of only five A grades by the national Center for Education Reform last March.

One reason for the success of Michigan charter schools is the Michigan model of authorizing. Our model is built on multiple statewide, independent authorizers with autonomy and accountability. Universities and colleges that have the expertise and resources to provide high standards of accountability and technical assistance authorize most of our charter public schools.

Authorizers play a primary role in assuring student growth and performance in charter schools. Authorizers competitively issue a performance contract to a new charter school, and then hold the school accountable for results.

Ultimately, it is the authorizer that determines if the charter school is performing as it should and makes a decision as to whether the school should continue to operate.

The actions of our authorizers in Michigan show their accountability to the public. Some 78 charter schools have been closed over the past 20 years, due to poor performance. That is a track record that is not matched in other areas of education.

 

Filed Under: CER in the News

Charter Schools Make Strong Showing on America’s Best High Schools List

April 23, 2014 By

U.S. Must Accelerate Conditions in Which Quality Schools Can Thrive as Number of School-Aged Children to Increase Over Next Twenty Years 

CER Press Release
Washington, D.C.
April 23, 2014

Despite making up just six percent of the nation’s public schools, charter schools made a statistically impressive showing on U.S. News & World Report’s list of America’s Best High Schools, on newsstands this week.

Charter schools account for 24 percent of the top 100 high schools on the 2014 rankings*. U.S. News & World Report awards gold status to the top 500 schools in its ranking based on highest college readiness, and of these 500 schools, 84 are charter schools, or a total of 17 percent.

“While this is an impressive showing for our nation’s charter schools, it’s essential we don’t rest on our laurels as a nation,” said Kara Kerwin, president of the Center for Education Reform.

“With only 34 percent of U.S. students proficient in reading and math, and an influx of over 11 million students over the next 20 years according to the U.S. Census, we must accelerate the pace at which innovative schools like charter schools are able to address our nation’s educational needs.”

“Regardless of whether one agrees with the criteria for these rankings, as there are many factors that actually determine what constitutes a quality school, the fact that there’s a disproportionately high percentage of charters on this list shows that charters work by bringing badly needed educational options to scores of American families, and it should also bring confidence to policymakers across the nation who are considering improving or expanding their charter school laws,” said Kerwin.

The Center for Education Reform annually ranks the quality of state charter school laws, provides a charter school directory and Parent Power Index with information about schools, and assesses the charter school environment as a whole nationwide in its Survey of America’s Charter Schools publication.

*A list of the 24 charter schools in the top 100:
#2 BASIS Scottsdale (Arizona)
#3 Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (Georgia)
#5 BASIS Tucson North (Arizona)
#21 Signature School (Indiana)
#24 International Studies Charter High School (Florida)
#25 Pacific Collegiate School (California)
#28 YES Prep North Central (Texas)
#30 IDEA Academy and College Preparatory School (Texas)
#41 KIPP San Jose Collegiate (California)
#42 The Preuss School (California)
#44 American Indian Public High School (California)
#47 Coeur D’Alene Charter Academy (Idaho)
#53 University High School (California)
#55 Hawthorne Math and Science Academy (California)
#59 Lennox Mathematics, Science & Technology Academy (California)
#63 KIPP Austin College (Texas)
#64 Albuquerque Institute of Math & Science (New Mexico)
#66 Peak to Peak Charter School (Colorado)
#67 KIPP King Collegiate High (California)
#81 YES Prep East End Campus (Texas)
#85 Idea Frontier College Preparatory (Texas)
#89 Harding Charter Preparatory High School (Oklahoma)
#95 YES Prep Southeast (Texas)
#100 Archimedean Upper Conservatory Charter School (Florida) 

Filed Under: Press Releases
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