Center For Education Reform Charter Schools example essay topic
In exchange for this increased autonomy, charter schools are held much more strictly accountable than most non-charter public schools. Charter schools must meet all of the student performance and operational goals listed in their charter, or their charter may be revoked. The term "charter" may have originated in the 1970's when New England educator Ray Buddy suggested that small groups of teachers be given contracts or "charters" by their local school boards to explore new approaches (2). Albert S hanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), then publicized the idea, suggesting that local boards could charter an entire school with union and teacher approval (2). In the late 1980's Philadelphia started a number of schools-within-schools and called them "charters".
Some of them were schools of choice. The idea was further refined in Minnesota where charter schools were developed according to three basic values: opportunity, choice, and responsibility for results. The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1991, with California following suit in 1992. By 1995, 19 states had signed laws allowing for the creation of charter schools, and by 2003 that number increased to 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Today, there are nearly 2,600 independent public charter schools operating nationwide (Richard 1). The charter school reform concept was largely developed by Ted Kold erie, a public policy expert at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The "charter school reform concept is a part of a larger policy effort to fundamentally alter the structure of the public education system in an effort to both enable change-oriented educators to establish and operate new, innovative schools and provide increased competition within the public education sector (3). It's the competitive aspect of the charter school concept that makes it controversial and also powerful. Basic National Statistics o Total number of charter laws: 41, (40 states and the District of Columbia, excluding Puerto Rico) o Most recent states to pass laws: Maryland (2003), Iowa (2002), Tennessee (2002) o Total number of states with schools in operation: 37, excluding Puerto Rico o Most recent states to open charter schools: Indiana (2002-2003), Wyoming (2002-2003) o Total number of schools in operation: 2,695 o Percent increase from the last school year: 15% o Total number of students enrolled: almost 685,000 o States with the most charter schools in operation: Arizona (464), California (428), Florida (227), Texas (221), Michigan (196) The National Charter School Directory 2003, Center for Education Reform Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, usually a state or local school board, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. 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" (4). There usually three types of charter schools, "newly formed charter schools by parents and / or community groups (56 percent of charter schools nationwide), pre-existing charter schools (40-45 percent of charter schools nationwide) that include public schools that are converted to charter schools (33 percent) and private schools that are converted to charter schools (12 percent) and For-profit charter schools that account for fewer than 5 percent of charter schools nationwide ("IDEA" 6).
Charter schools vary from state to state because the individual charters set out unique mission and goal statements and because state charter laws also vary. The laws cover different basic policies and legal areas that include:.