| What
is a Charter School |
Charter
schools are driving change across the nation. They are the most vibrant
force in education today. Their legacy will consist not only of helping
millions of families obtain a better education for their children,
but also in renewing American public education itself.
Charter schools are independent public schools, designed and operated
by educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs,
and others. They are sponsored in California by school districts and
county boards of education that monitor their quality and integrity
but allow them to operate free from the traditional bureaucratic and
regulatory red tape that hog-ties public schools. Freed from such
micromanagement, charter schools design and deliver programs tailored
to educational excellence and community needs.
Because they are schools of choice (no one is forced to attend), they
are held to the highest level of accountability consumer demand.
As a public school, a charter school is open to all who wish to attend
it (without regard to race, religion, or academic ability) and paid
for with tax dollars (no tuition charges). Unlike traditional public
schools, charter schools are held accountable for achieving educational
results.
The charter establishing each such school is a performance contract
detailing the school's program, goals, students served, methods of
assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which
charters are granted in California is five years. At the end of the
initial term, the school can obtain a five-year renewal by petitioning
the school board granting the charter.
Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, the local school
district or county school board, to produce positive academic results
and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools
is that they are free to exercise increased flexibility in return
for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results
and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them,
the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them.
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| California
Charter Schools |
California‰s
Charter School Act of 1992 established charter schools as an option
for parents, students, teachers, and community members to design self-governing
schools estab-lished to meet the needs of their community. From zero
charter schools in 1991, the movement has exploded to include more
than 1,700 schools in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico by 1999.
This astonishing growth has surged mainly from the grassroots efforts
of parents and educators. Charter schools cross ethnic and cultural
lines. A study covering 8,400 charter school students found that 63
percent were minorities and that the number of boys and girls was
almost equal. Charter schools now teach the learning disabilities,
pregnant teens, and low-income children. There are on-line, bilingual
and core-curriculum charter schools.
California, charter schools are found throughout the state. The 239
charter schools in operation today are found in South Central Los
Angeles, to the high desert, the booming Sierra foothills, and the
spectacular Northern California coast.
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| Innovations
for Excellence in Education |
Charter
schools are a structural reform in which schools are given the freedom
to reallocate resources of time, talent, and treasure in bold and
innovative ways. In exchange, they gladly become accountable for student
achievement. Clearly, California‰s charter schools are making a real
difference in the lives of children.
CANEC believes it is appropriate to recognize those schools that have
used the possibilities of charter school reform to develop creative
organizational structures that better meet the needs of kids. Toward
that end, CANEC sponsored the First Annual Charter School Innovations
for Excellence Awards. The first of their kind in the nation, these
awards recognize innovative programs and strategies, and honor those
schools that have developed them.
Awards are given in each of the following five categories:
1. Assessment šEvaluating success and accountability of students,
teachers, staff, and school.
2. Time/Resource Management šMaking the most of available time, talent,
and fiscal resources.
3. Design/GovernancešOrganizing and setting up the school for success.
4. Instruction/CurriculumšInnovations that get results in the class-room.
5. Marketing/Community RelationsšBuilding bridges with the community.
A panel of nationally-known charter school experts judged the entries:
Jeanne Allen, Center for Education Reform, Washington, D.C.
James Griffin, Colorado League of Charter Schools
Margaret Lin, National Charter Schools Accountability Network, Washington,
D.C.
Alex Medler, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
Joe Nathan, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota
Jon Schroeder, Charter Friends National Network, St. Paul, MN
Six Charter Schools Honored
Assessment (tie)
Natomas Charter School,
Sacramento Charter Community School, Placerville
Time/Resource Management
San Carlos Charter Learning Center
Design/Governance
School of Unlimited Learning, Fresno
Instruction/Curriculum
Sonoma Charter School
Marketing/Community Relations
Montague Charter Academy, Pacoima
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