Charter Schools 101

Parents Education League Lecture

February 5, 2015

Sarah Angel, Managing Regional Director of Advocacy for Greater Los Angeles

CCSA

• The California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) is a non-profit, statewide organization dedicated to advancing the charter school movement through state and local advocacy, leadership on accountability, and resources for member schools.

• CCSA’s overarching strategy is to leverage the collective advocacy power of the growing charter school movement to achieve several objectives, including: growing new charter schools, strengthening existing charter schools and ensuring accountability.

What Is A Charter School?

Key Characteristics Of Charter Schools:

• Public schools of choice• Tuition-free• Non-sectarian• Open to any student who wishes to attend• Enjoy more flexibility and greater accountability than

traditional public schools• Accountable to their authorizer

Why Were Charter Schools Created?

Charter Schools BackgroundThe Charter School Act of 1992 is the legislation that gave origin to charter schools in the state of California. According to this legislation, charter schools were created for the following purposes:• Provide parents and pupils with expanded choices in

the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system

• Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods

• Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site

Why Were Charter Schools Created?

Charter Schools Background (cont’d)• Improve pupil learning• Increase learning opportunities for all pupils, with

special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for pupils who are identified as academically low achieving

• Provide vigorous competition within the public school system to stimulate continual improvements in all public schools (Education Code Section 47601).

How Do Charter Schools Differ From Traditional Public Schools?

Charter Public School Traditional Public SchoolGoverned by an autonomous, non-profit board of directors

Governed by the local school board

Exempt from certain state and local rules and regulations in exchange for a higher level of accountability

Must adhere to all state and local rules and regulations

Flexibility to implement innovative programming in order to provide educational options to parents and students

Must adhere to the state-mandated curriculum and programming for students

Key Distinctions

How Do Charter Schools Differ From Magnet Public Schools?

Key Distinctions

Charter School Magnet SchoolOperate independent of the local school district, but authorized by school districts

Operate as a part of the school district (but are distinguishable from traditional public schools because they offer unique instructional programming not typically offered at other traditional public schools)

Open to all students notwithstanding need or merit

Not open to all students; applicants must meet certain admission criteria (e.g. test scores or teacher recommendations)

Charter School Landscape

The Numbers – California/LAUSD in 2014-15

• California: California has the highest number of charter schools of any state in the country with 1,130 schools serving over 500,000 students

• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD): 285 charter schools 143,187 students enrolled in charter schools,

representing 22% of the total number of public school students in LAUSD

36,300 students on waitlists for charter schools

Charter School Landscape

Charter School Landscape

Charter School Outcomes

CREDO Study• In 2014, Stanford University’s Center for Research on

Education Outcomes (CREDO) released the results of an in-depth study on the performance of charter schools in Los Angeles.

Big Takeaway• The CREDO study found that “the typical student in a

Los Angeles charter school gains more learning in a year than his or her district school peer, amounting to about 2.5 months more days of learning in reading and an additional 4 months of learning in math.”

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Types of Charters

Charter schools vary greatly in organizational type including:• Conversion (converted from a traditional district

school to a charter) v. Start-up (started as a charter)• Independent (has all of the autonomies allowed by

the law) v. Dependent (has some of the autonomies)• Single-Site (operates on its own) v. Charter

Management Organization (CMO) (a CMO operates/manages a number of schools)

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Types of Charters (cont’d)A few of the curricular models include:

• College-Preparatory• Dual Language Immersion• Performing Arts• Blended Learning• Montessori• Vocational• Online

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Resources• CCSA

General Information: http://www.calcharters.org/ Charter School Search Database:

http://www.calcharters.org/schools/ School Academic Accountability Report Cards and Regional

Snapshots: http://snapshots.calcharters.org/ Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.calcharters.org/understanding/faqs/

• LAUSD Charter Schools Division General Information: http://achieve.lausd.net/ Charter Schools Directory: http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/1827

• National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) National Statistics and Data on Charter Schools:

http://www.qualitycharters.org/about-nacsa/why-nacsa.html

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Resources• CCSA Charter School Search Database:

http://www.calcharters.org/schools/

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Resources (cont’d)• LAUSD Charter School Directories:

http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/1827

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Resources (cont’d)• LAUSD Charter School Directories:

http://achieve.lausd.net/Page/1827

Finding A Charter School For Your Child

Charter School Admissions

Admissions Policy

• Charter schools are open to ALL children and are committed to serving a student body that reflects the local community

• Charter schools cannot have admission processes that unlawfully discriminate against students

• Charter schools may not select students based on need or merit

• If more students want to attend a charter school than there are seats available, there is a lottery to determine who is admitted.

Charter School Admissions

The Application Process1) Do your research.2) Identify several schools that you believe are a good

fit for your student. (Use CCSA’s Academic Accountability Report Cards; link is on slide 13)

3) Fill out an application for each school of interest prior to the date of the school’s lottery.

4) Follow up with each school to ensure that your application was received.

5) If you have not heard from your schools of interest after the selection date, reach out to the school and ask for a status update.

Questions And Answers