Financing Reform

Charter Schools

• Definition - What Are Charter School?
• History
• Charter School Accountability
• Teacher Accountability in Charter Schools
• What Are Some Arguments For and Against Charter Schools?
• Types of Charter Schools
• Charter School Finance
• Charter School Policy
• Readings on Charter Schools
  • Charter Schools in Canada
  • Ten Problems with Charter Schools
  • Charter Schools: A New Paradigm for Public Education
  • Charter Schools
  • What are Public Charter Schools?
  • On-line Publication and Articles on Charter Schools
  • Books

 

Definition - What Are Charter Schools?

The Education Commission of the States (1996) offers the following comprehensive definition: "Charter schools create an alternative form of public schooling. The goal of charter schools is to lift restraints from public schools so they can pursue innovative teaching methods that will improve student performance. They are designed to give significant autonomy to individual schools and, in turn, to hold those schools accountable for results. A charter is essentially a contract, negotiated between those people starting the school and the official body authorized to approve the charter. The charter spells out how the school will be run, what will be taught, how success will be measured and what students will achieve. As long as the school meets the terms of its charter, it is free from many of the rules and regulations that apply to other public schools. And unlike other public schools, If the school fails to meet those terms, the charter can be revoked and the school closes."

Purposes for creating charter schools also vary. Many educators are using charter schools to breathe new life into existing public schools. Other persons, such as those obtaining charters for home schooling purposes, or companies entering the deregulated charter arena to boost profits, could have a harmful effect on public education

Charter schools are public schools operated under a charter (contract) between a public agency and groups of parents, teachers, school administrators, or others who want to create more alternatives and choice within the public school system. The contracted agencies are expected to produce agreed-upon levels of student achievement within a certain period (usually three to five years). If they don't, their sponsors may end their charters. Charter schools give parents, students, and educators public school alternatives based on the idea that competition will bring new educational ideas. This brochure provides an overview of the charter school movement and directs you to additional sources for more information.

Sources: 

• National Education Association Charter Schools a Tool for School Reform

• Charter Schools Overview

• Charter Schools: Early Learnings

• Timely Topic: Charter Schools

History

The roots of the charter movement are vast and complex. Each state and locale may imply different histories, in a critical sense. 1960's community control movements, alternative school movements, site-based management, magnet schooling, public school choice movements, privatization, community-parental empowerment movements, and a variety of other decentralization and deregulation movements offer important backdrops to the charter phenomenon.

The charter school movement was born in Minnesota with state "charter" legislation in 1991. The term "charter school" was officially coined by Al Shanker in the late 1980's, referring to new innovative schools. Ray Budde had also been writing regarding the notion of chartering public schools throughout the 80's. By 1991, a new version of the notion took root in Minnesota, placing more emphasis on deregulation, public school choice, and the creation of entire schools. The "movement" emerged with Minnesota's law, as the idea there represented more than just "chartering" schools, expanding the notion of who could/should participate. As of January 1998, the Center for Education Reform reports that 30 states have charter laws, accounting for over 750 operational charter schools serving over 150,000 students. Almost 60% of charters are new schools, according to a national study.

For more statistics at http://edreform.com/

 

Charter School Accountability

In charter schools, accountability means different things, especially given the wide disparities in the states with charter laws. Charter schools are accountable to the sponsors that grant them charters--such as districts, state education agencies, or universities. They are accountable both for student achievement and for their finances and operation.

A charter-school accountability plan should be designed to provide information needed to measure and track the school’s progress toward its goals, make program adjustments when needed, and report to parents, the community, and the chartering authority on performance and progress. The accountability plan is the mechanism through which the school indicates the goals (outcomes) and performance levels it elects to be held accountable for attaining. However, it is important to recognize that the performance will be compared by the public and the media to that of traditional public schools and with other public charter schools. The design of your accountability plan needs to acknowledge and prepare for this inevitable comparison.

Source:

• Accountability: The Key to Charter Renewal A Guide to Help Charter Schools Create Their Accountability PlansBy Bruno V. Manno March 1999

 

Teacher Accountability in Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools that operate with a great deal of autonomy, free from many of the regulations of traditional public schools. One difference is that teachers in charter schools generally have less job security - by design. They have no tenure, work under year-to-year contracts and risk dismissal if they fail to contribute to student achievement as judged by the school. In return, however, they usually have more teaching flexibility, less paperwork and participate more fully in decision making. If Arizona's charter school experience is typical, they also often earn more than their public school counterparts.

Source:  national Center for Policy Analysis, Idea House, Brief analysis No285

What Are Some Arguments For and Against Charter Schools? 

Some people hope that charter schools might provide both new models of schooling and competitive pressure on public schools that will improve the current system. Others fear that charter schools might, at best, be little more than a way to relieve pressure for genuine change and, at worst, add to other forces that threaten public education.

There are many arguments for and against charter schools (McCotter, 1995; Harrington-Lueker, 1994; Molnar, 1996; O'Neil, 1996; and Sautter, 1993). Reasons for starting charter schools include encouraging new ideas in teaching, creating professional opportunities for teachers, promoting community involvement, and improving student learning and making students responsible for their own performance (Molnar, 1996). 

Supporters like the movement because they believe that charter schools:

• Allow increased attention to students because they are smaller than public schools.  

• Are public schools operating outside the establishment, which could help change existing public schools.

• Emphasize performance and standards.  

• Take creative and innovative approaches without excessive structure and rules.  
• Stand for something, such as a particular set of values or learning styles.  
• Offer more options for parents and children.  
• Operate under the direction of parents and community members.  
• Can reach dropouts and other at-risk students.
• Replace failing school.

Opponents warn that charter schools:

• Are unable to waive rules seen as barriers (such as health and safety rules or contract laws).  
• Create competition, which means economic--not educational--ideas dominate.  
• Are just about impossible to establish in poor areas because their creation might decrease the resources available to the existing public schools.  
• Increase the potential for use of public funds for private or home schooling.
• Increase competition for scarce dollars and result in a net financial loss to a school district because students' attendance at the new school does not always lower the sponsoring organization's costs.
• Risk becoming elite facilities, doing little for at-risk students.  
• Create isolation based on race or ethnic background.
• Have shown neither a logical nor a demonstrated relationship to higher achievement.
• Are less accountable.  

Source: The Educational Resources Information Center/Parent Brochure

Types of Charter Schools

The converted charters are one subgroup. But the newly created charters usually fall into four categories: do-gooder charters, ethnic charters, profit motive charters and disgruntled parents' charters

Do-Gooder Charters

These newly created charter schools are formed by educators passionate about serving at-risk children (whom they call "at-promise"). For example, at the Charter Schools National Conference in Denver last March, five teachers talked about the inner-city charter school they created in Connecticut to address at-promise African-American children. Another woman, who described herself as a preacher’s wife and mother to two African-American children, talked about her peace academy that primarily serves among students.

Ethnic Charters

A sizeable number of newly created charters serve either poor African-American or poor Hispanic students. These charters, many started by members of a church in a poor urban neighborhood, often offer a fundamental education bolstered in a big way by a multicultural curriculum. (The curriculum of University of Washington Professor James Banks was cited frequently by African-American participants at the charter schools conference.) That is to say, these schools put a big emphasis on the children’s culture and/or language.

Converted charters

These are the regular public schools that converted. Little is known about this group of schools because no one seems to be studying them. But two noteworthy Los Angeles principals who are themselves leaders of converted charters make a case for learning more about this category. They are: Yvonne Chan, principal of Vaughn New Century Learning Center, and Joe Lucente, principal of the Fenton Avenue Charter School.

Profit-Motive Charters

The Edison Project is the most visible example of a charter operator that is driven by a profit objective. It operates a rapidly growing number of charters. One of its representatives said Edison isn’t a profit-making company, but wants to be. Clearly, Edison and other profit-makers are dumping resources into charters with little expectation of earning a quick profit. What Edison and other profit-makers are gambling on is the likelihood that their self-proclaimed successes with charters will enhance their ability to obtain contracts to operate regular public schools. It’s no accident that most of these profit-making companies are trying to work with charters serving at-risk populations. These companies know that many state legislators and local school boards could be tempted to issue contracts to corporate firms to run low-performing schools or entire school systems serving at-risk students.

Disgruntled Parents’ Charters.

For a variety of reasons, some public school parents don’t like the regular schools their children attend. In many cases, their children don’t fit in. In other cases, the children are significantly behind their classmates on academics. Therefore, the children frequently lack self-esteem, act up and generally cause their concerned parents considerable anguish.

Source: American Association of School Administrators  

 

Ten Problems with Charter Schools

• What are charter schools?

• Charter schools create two-tiered education. 

• Charter schools encourage social fragmentation rather than common experiences. 

• Charter schools aren't the answer to inequalities in Canada 

• Charter schools don't encourage system reform and improved quality 

• Charter schools don't reduce spending on administration 

• The concerns of most parents can be addressed by the current system 

• Marketing, rather than educational improvement, becomes a central focus 

• Charter schools may exclude students with special needs 

• Hidden impediments get in the way of real choice 

• A charter school could mean the end of a neighborhood school 

Source: Ten Problems with Charter Schools by Larry Kuehn, Director, Research and Technology, British Columbia Teachers' Federation, 1995

 

Charter Schools: A New Paradigm for Public Education

Charter schools can bring diversity and choice to public education

Thirty years ago there seemed scarcely any limits to what education could contribute to society. There was a rare unanimity of view between educators, sociologists and economists about the substantial value to be gained from education. It was also widely accepted that a strongly interventionist role for government was necessary to capture the full range of social benefits from education. Today there is widespread concern about rising costs and inadequate performance. Australian students are not performing well by the standards of our Asian neighbors. In the latest international comparisons of achievement in science and Maths, Australia finished below Singapore, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong in almost every grade and subject category.

Source: Education Review – The Journal of Australian Education

Charter Schools: Publications and Articles

• Online Publications

• Books

  • Accountability for Student Performance: An Annotated Resource Guide for Shaping an Accountability Plan for Your Charter School

    Abstract: This report suggests that charter schools need to consider six critical questions as they develop a student accountability plan for their school

     

  • Charter Schools: national Context, California Experience

    Authors: Linda Bond, Gary K.Hart, Sue Burr, candy Friedly, Kathleen Beasley

    Abstract: Because charter schools by their very nature are individualistic, there is no easy way to define the charter school experience, add up all of the data and reach sweeping conclusions.