Charter Public Schools: An Essential Component of Education Reform
Educational choice should be for all of us, regardless of our financial or religious status. Charter schools provide an educational choice for everybody.
Choice is a powerful weapon for parents seeking educational equity and equal access to quality educational opportunities for their children. Many parents who seek alternatives for their children, would like to find a better option within the public school system, or who may not be able to afford private school, have found an answer in charter public schools. Parents are voting with their feet enrolling more than 21,000 of their children in charter public schools; 14,700 sit on wait lists
Charter public schools are succeeding academically.
Charter public schools are setting higher standards with higher test scores. In 2004, a higher percentage of students in charter public schools scored proficient or advanced on nine out of ten MCAS tests. Several urban charters with high percentage of minority and poor students scored among the best in the state - sitting right alongside the state's best suburban schools.
Charter public schools are held to extremely high standards.
Charter public schools first go through a rigorous application process, and then are evaluated every year by the Massachusetts Department of Education. Their charters are up for renewal every five years. If the schools do not perform up to standards, they are shut down. Massachusetts' application process and oversight practices have been rated the toughest in the nation.
There is no loss of public school funding because charter schools are public schools.
Charter public schools are funded by taking a slice of total education spending and reallocating it from district to charter when parents choose to enroll their children. A new funding formula ensures that the amount of money that charter public schools receive reflects the demographics, grade levels, and special education needs of the students that are enrolled. The state reimburses districts for the money that is transferred to charters: 100 percent the first year, 60 percent the second, and 40 percent the third. This gives them time to adjust their budgets. Charter public schools are an essential component of education reform.
Charter public schools are a major reason for the progress our public schools have made over the past ten years. They are promoting real change in traditional school systems providing benefits not only for students who attend them, but for all public school students.
For more information, see http://www.masscharterschools.org/.