understanding ohio's charter schools

UNDERSTANDING OHIO’S PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

For questions, please contact: Marianne Lombardo Vice President, Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (614) 744-2266 ext. 201

What is a Public Charter School?

Public Charter schools, also known as

community schools, are PUBLIC, nonprofit, nonreligious, tuition-free schools operating

independently of a school district.

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Why do we have Public Charter Schools in Ohio?

Ohio’s Law passed in 1997, to: � Increase Innovation

� Improve Public Education � Give Parents a Public School Choice

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Every public charter school in Ohio has a Governing Board that has a contract with a legally-approved Sponsor that is evaluated by the Ohio Department of Education.

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What is a Sponsor?

9academic performance 9financial operations

9governance

Sponsors (also known as Authorizers) are nonprofit entities that assure compliance with rule and law and with the terms of the contract. Sponsors approve the opening of new public charter schools, provide technical assistance, and monitor:

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Sponsors also make decisions regarding renewing and closing schools.

Who is responsible for a Public Charter School? The Three Legged Stool of Accountability

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Gov

erni

ng B

oard

Serves Students

and Families

Sets policies, approves spending

Assures compliance

Public Charter School

Overseen and evaluated

by the Ohio Department of

Education

Annual financial audits by the

Ohio Auditor of State

Federal audits including Special

Education

Automatic Closure Law

Annual Report Card

Who are the Sponsors?

43 School Districts,

63 schools

13 Educational Service Centers,

113 schools

1 University, 1 school

1 University Designee, 52 schools

Ohio Department of Education, 13 schools

1 Career Tech Center and 1 Joint Vocational

School, 2 schools

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62% of Ohio’s Public Charter Schools are Sponsored by a Public Entity

6 Education- related Nonprofit Organizations,

146 schools

Both public charter schools and districts must: • Follow Health & Safety, Ethics, Public Records and Privacy Laws • Admit all students* • Undergo annual financial and program audits • Adhere to core curriculum & state graduation requirements • Administer state assessments & receive a Local Report Card • Have certified, licensed and highly-qualified teachers • Report data on staff, students, and finances to the state • Employ a licensed treasurer • Comply with Open Meetings laws • Follow special education rules & regulations • Provide State Teachers/School Employees Retirement • Follow due process for suspensions and expulsions

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* Within residency parameters and unless given permission to serve a specific population

Greater autonomy in exchange for

greater accountability

The Charter Promise: 9

Public Charters are freed from some regulations in order to try new things, but are held to performance outcomes Increased Autonomy Increased Accountability

9 Can have a specific mission, focus or curriculum

9 Can be closed for Health & Safety violations

9 Teachers can teach outside their area of certification

9 Can be closed for fiscal mismanagement

9 Have greater control over staffing decisions and pay

(are typically not unionized)

9 Can be closed for academic reasons or other contractual nonperformance

9 School leaders can make local decisions

9 Financial viability depends upon sustained enrollment

9 Exempt from laws that are not applicable

9 Are paid monthly only for students that are validated as enrolled & attending

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Public Charters differ from Districts in that they:

• Can’t access Local Funds and are provided State Funds solely based on students they serve (districts are provided both Local and State funds for students served and for additional factors*)

• Can’t access Ohio School Facilities Commission funds • Must hold a lottery if oversubscribed • Have Boards that are appointed, rather than elected • Receive no transportation funding (except in limited cases) • Must rent or purchase facilities • Have limited access to extra-curricular activities

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• creating a funding differential of about $3,000 per student, on average

Type of public charter schools: Management 12

For-Profit Management

Company 34%

Nonprofit Management

Company 25%

Independent "Mom-and-Pops“ (e.g.,

teachers, parents)

26%

District/ESC 14%

Juvenile Court Partnership

1%

59% of charters have a

Management Company

that oversees

daily operations

2/3 of Ohio’s Public Charter schools are run by a nonprofit or public entity or operate independently

How many Public Charter Schools are there in Ohio?

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

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As of January 2014

There are currently 390 Public Charter Schools in Ohio.

Type of charter schools: Structure

Conversion schools are part of a traditional

public school or Educational

Service Center building. These schools may be established in

any district in the state.

There are 74 Conversion

Charter Schools.

Start-up schools are

independent of a district and may

be located only in a challenged

school district, which are the lowest

performing districts in the

state. There are 316

Start-up Charter schools.

20%

80%

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Type of charter schools: Delivery

7%

93%

364 are Site

Based or “Brick and

Mortar” schools

26 are Online or Virtual Schools

(eschools)

15

Dayton

Cincinnati

Columbus

Toledo Cleveland

Youngstown Akron

Canton Mansfield

Springfield

Lima

16

Warren

Marion

Where are Charter Schools located? 88% of Ohio’s public charter schools are in Challenged Districts.

Big 8 Districts in bold

How many students attend Charter Schools?

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10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

110,000

120,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

brick and mortar students eschool students

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121,000+, 7% of total public enrollment. 1/3 in online schools

Who can attend Public Charter Schools?

• Most public charters serve students living anywhere in the state (although lack of transportation and distance can limit access to brick & mortar schools)

• One Charter School has permission to selectively admit students*

• ALL other Charters must admit ALL students that apply, if there is space

* Menlo Park, started by parents, is allowed to serve only gifted students. Students from 44 different districts attend the school.

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How does this differ from District schools?

• Students are assigned to a district school based on where they live

• 80% of Ohio districts allow students that reside outside their district to attend their schools • 70,000 students attend a district school outside their

resident district through Open Enrollment • 20 of the 27 top scoring districts do NOT allow open

enrollment • 40 schools in the Big 8 Districts have Selective Admissions criteria (only admit students scoring in the top 90% in assessments, for example)

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Why do Parents choose public charter schools? � safe, orderly, caring environment � higher quality education � escape bullying* & negative peer

influences � flexibility � smaller and more personalized � desire the educational program

offered

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*50% of online students report “bullying” as why they left their district school

Better meets their child’s needs

Type of public charter school: Program/Focus 21

General

Dropout Recovery

25%

College Ready/Early

College Online (eschool)/

blended

Arts Cultural/Language Experiential Gifted Intergenerational

1/3 of Ohio’s public charter schools serve students with exceptional educational needs

Special Education 10%

Dropout Recovery/Prevention Schools At-Risk Students • Age 16-21 • Behind grade level or have crises

that interfere with academic progress

• Individual Career Plan • Counseling and support provided Held to an Alternative Accountability rating and automatic closure system

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90 schools 16,000 students

Examples: Life Skills, Mound Street Academies, District Conversion schools

Special Education schools At least 50% of Students have Individualized Education Plans

9 Autism and Asperger’s 9 Special Education 9 Physical Disabilities

Currently protected from

automatic closure

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39 schools 4,000 students Examples: Summit Academies, The Autism Model School,

Oakstone Academy, Brookwood Academy

College Ready/Early College schools The Goal is for EVERY child to graduate from college � relentless pursuit to “Close

the Achievement Gap” � highly structured � Math/Science focus � extended day/year

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44 schools 14,000 students

Examples: KIPP, Columbus Collegiate Academies, Breakthrough Schools, Columbus Preparatory Academy, Dayton Early College Academies, Charles

School at Ohio Dominican University, Horizon Science/ Noble Academies

Online Schools Individualized instruction

• flexibility for travel, training, family obligations, parenting

• students with medical needs • escape negative peers/bullying • “blended” combines group and

online instruction • high level of mobility

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26 schools 36,000 students

Examples: Ohio Connections and Nexus Academies, Ohio Virtual Academy, Insight School of Ohio, Mosaica Online

Arts Infused Education “The art of learning” • engaged students • stimulates creativity, problem-

solving and critical thinking • builds self-confidence & self-

discipline

Examples: Toledo School of the Arts, Arts & College Preparatory Academy, and Falcon Academy of the Arts

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7 schools 2,400 students

Cultural/Language schools 27

7 schools 1,400 students

Provides an educational program designed to meet the unique needs of a particular culture ¾ Somalian ¾ Hispanic ¾ Amish ¾ Arabic A large percentage of English Language Learners/new immigrants

Examples: Zenith Academy and Zenith Academy East, Beacon Hill Academy, Columbus Bilingual Academies, The International Academy of Columbus

Experiential or Expeditionary Learning “Live your education” • creative, curious & project-based • service learning & internships • self-discovery through challenge • real world experiences • Expeditionary Learning Network

(Outward Bound) • applied skills (Maritime Academy’s

Marine Technology Program)

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7 schools 1,500 students

Examples: Graham Primary, Middle and High Schools, Citizens’ Leadership Academy, Wildwood Environmental Academy

The Intergenerational Schools Multigenerational communities of lifelong learners • children learn in time frames

suited to their individual capabilities

• students progress through stages • connect community members • knowledge is socially constructed

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2 schools 400 students

Examples: The Intergenerational School, Near West Intergenerational School

Public Charter Schools have a slightly higher percentage of Special Education students

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15% 17% 17%

0% 2% 4% 6% 8%

10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%

Statewide Brick and Mortar charters

eschools

Percent Special Education

2013 Annual Report, ODE.

Public Charter Schools have a much higher percentage of Economically Disadvantaged

students

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47%

86%

65%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Statewide Brick and Mortar charters

eschools

Percent economically disadvantaged

2013 Annual Report, ODE.

Brick & Mortar Public Charter Schools serve a much higher percentage of minority students

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26%

75%

22%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Statewide Brick and Mortar charters

eschools

Percent minority students

2013 Annual Report, ODE.

How do Public Charter Schools Perform on Measures of Academic Achievement? Compared to Districts statewide, public charters underperform

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

All Charters

All Districts

A B C D F

Performance Index , 2013 results

But, comparisons need to be FAIR

Most public charter schools are located in Challenged Districts and serve a much higher percentage of historically academically challenged students: ¾Students in Dropout Recovery Schools ¾Students in Special Education Schools ¾Economically Disadvantaged students

Some district schools selectively admit top students

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Apples to Apples = Similar Students

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District Schools in Challenged Districts that

do not selectively admit students

Public Charter Schools located in

Challenged Districts that do not serve a

special population

Comparing Achievement in Similar Schools Public Charter Schools perform better than District Schools

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

A B C D F

Big 8 District Schools

Public Charter Schools in Big

8 Districts

Performance Index Big 8 District Schools, 2013 results

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Value Added Big 8 District Schools, 2013 results

A B C D F Public Charter Schools in Big

8 Districts

Big 8 District Schools

Comparing Academic Growth in Similar Schools Public Charter Schools perform better than District Schools

Case Study: Cleveland Schools, 2013 results

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9%

13%

Cleveland District Schools

78% 68

schools

41%

28%

Cleveland Public Charter Schools

31% 15

schools

High to Good Performance, High to Good Growth

High Performance, Low Growth or Low Performance, High Growth

Low Performance, Low Growth

The Cleveland Transformation Plan Cleveland’s Mayor, the Cleveland Municipal

School District, and area Public Charter Schools are partnering together to increase

the number of children attending high performing schools, regardless of type, and to

share successful practices.

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Case Study: Columbus Schools, 2013 results

14%

26%

Columbus District Schools

60% 66

schools

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33%

36%

Columbus Public Charter Schools

31% 14 schools

High to Good Performance, High to Good Growth

High Performance, Low Growth or Low Performance, High Growth

Low Performance, Low Growth

Case Study: Toledo Schools, 2013 results 41

High to Good Performance, High to Good Growth

High Performance, Low Growth or Low Performance, High Growth

Low Performance, Low Growth

16%

25% 59%

Toledo City Schools

14%

36% 50%

Toledo Public Charter Schools

Case Study: Dayton Schools, 2013 results

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12%

23% 65%

Dayton District schools

6%

35% 59%

Dayton Public Charter schools

High to Good Performance, High to Good Growth

High Performance, Low Growth or Low Performance, High Growth

Low Performance, Low Growth

Case Study: Cincinnati Schools, 2013 results

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High to Good Performance, High to Good Growth

High Performance, Low Growth or Low Performance, High Growth

Low Performance, Low Growth

21%

36%

43%

Cincinnati City Schools

28%

28%

44%

Cincinnati Public Charter Schools

2013 State Awards

2013 Schools of Promise • Village Preparatory Academy • Citizen’s Academy (6th year) • Arts & College Preparatory Academy (4th year) • Columbus Preparatory Academy (2nd year) • King Academy Community School • Constellation: Lorain Community Elementary • Toledo Preparatory and Fitness

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2013 State Awards

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2013 High Performing Schools of Honor The Intergenerational School (2nd year) T.C.P. World Academy 2013 High Progress Schools of Honor Arts & College Preparatory Academy (2nd year) Columbus Preparatory Academy (2nd year) Constellation Schools: Elyria

Conclusions

• Public Charter Schools are held to the same financial and academic accountability standards as districts

• Public education entities are involved with the opening, oversight and operation of Public Charter Schools

• There are a wide variety of Public Charter Schools and reasons why parents choose them

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Conclusions • When similar schools are compared, Public Charter Schools, overall, outperform urban district schools on achievement and growth

• Public Charter Schools outperform district schools in Columbus and Cleveland

• Public Charter Schools in Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati and Youngstown perform slightly better than or as well as district schools

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