FAQ

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Charter Schools

The following are answers to frequently asked questions regarding Charter Schools and how they effect to days students, educators, schools and communities. The answers to these FAQs are intended to provide only an introductory overview of key issues.

What are Charter Schools?

Charter schools are independent public schools, designed and operated by educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs and others. They are sponsored by designated local or state educational organizations who monitor their quality and integrity, but allow them to operate freed from the traditional bureaucratic and regulatory red tape that hog-ties public schools. Freed from such micro-management, charter schools design and deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and community needs. Because they are schools of choice, they are held to the highest level of accountability - the state and public demand.

How Do Charter Schools Differ From Traditional District Public Schools?

Charter schools operate from 3 basic principles:

Accountability:

Charter schools are held accountable for how well they educate children in a safe, responsible environment, and compliance with state regulations. They are judged on how well they meet the student achievement goals established by their charter, and how well they manage the fiscal and operational responsibilities entrusted to them. Charter schools must and do operate lawfully and responsibly, with the highest regard for equity and excellence. If they fail to deliver, they are closed.

Choice:

Parents, teachers, community groups, organizations, or individuals interested in creating a better educational opportunity for children can start charter schools. Local and state school boards, colleges and universities, and other community agencies interested in fostering innovation and excellence in schools sponsor them. Students choose to attend, and teachers choose to teach at charter schools.

Autonomy:

Charter schools are freed from some but not all of the traditional bureaucracy and regulations that divert a school's energy and resources toward compliance rather than excellence. Instead of jumping through procedural hoops and over paperwork hurdles, educators can focus on setting and reaching high academic standards for their students.

Why Are Charter Schools So Popular?

Charters provide opportunity for better child-centered education. They provide the chance for communities to create the greatest range of educational choices for their children. Operators have the opportunity and the incentive to create schools that provide new and better services to students. And charters, bound only by the high standards they have set for themselves, inspire the rest of the system to work harder and be more responsive to the needs of the children.

How Are Charter Schools Funded?

Charter schools are open enrollment schools. Most charters are created by groups of educators, parents and community leaders. Some have been converted from existing public schools. A small number of charter schools were once private schools. Like district public schools, they are funded according to enrollment (also called average daily attendance, or ADA), and receive funding from the state according to the number of students attending. However, in a number of states, they do not receive the full equivalent of their district counterparts: Charters School for the most part must negotiate their funding in their charter contract, often below the level of funding of their counterparts.

Unlike traditional schools, most charter schools do not receive funding to cover the cost of securing a facility. Conversion schools begin with established capital, namely the school and its facilities. A few states provide capital funding to start-up schools, and some start-up schools are able to take over available unused district space, but most must rely on other, independent means. Recent federal legislation provides funding to help charters with start-up costs, but the task remains imposing.

How Do Charter Schools Manage if They are Underfunded?

Many charter schools improvise by converting spaces such as rented retail facilities, former churches, lofts and warehouses, into classroom, cafeteria, assembly and gym space, supplemented by the local YMCA, the public library and park, and the diner down the street. Once they are more established they are able to acquire loans and move to more suitable or permanent facilities. State legislation and loan agencies are beginning to tackle this problem by providing start-up funding and providing charter schools with the information needed to obtain favorable loans.

The same is true of capital needs beyond bricks and mortar. School founders have managed on an ad hoc basis with the help of private funds or alternative credit routes, and especially the sweat equity of enthusiastic volunteers, parents and local professionals. The charter concept has become more recognized and successful, banks and corporations have developed ways to provide capital to charter schools at favorable rates.

Operational costs:
Charter schools receive a portion of the state operating funds generally based on student enrollment counts. The portion is determined by the state legislation, and, in some states, is negotiated in the charter contract.

Categorical aid:

Also significant in operational expenses are categorical federal education grant funds. These funds generally follows one of two routes before reaching schools: (1) either distributed directly by the U.S. Department of Education through its own application process, or (2) channeled through state education agencies that then distribute the funds in a variety of ways. Typically, state agencies distribute funds based on whether a charter school is recognized as its own local education authority or not. If it is recognized as such, then charter schools may receive the money directly. The route is ultimately determined by the state legislation.

Do Charter Schools Take Money from Public Schools?

Charter schools are open enrollment schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations

For more information on common misconceptions surrounding charter schools, see Charter School Myths and Realities: Answering the Critics, excerpted from The Charter School Workbook: Your Roadmap to the Charter School Movement.

How Do Charter Schools Impact the Public School System?

Charter schools provide a variety of services to children that places healthy pressure on the district to provide equal or better services. For more on the positive impact of charter schools, see CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY: Changing the Face of American Education.

Do Charter Schools Work?

Yes. In addition to the positive pressure they put on the public school system as a whole, charter schools satisfy and serve their primary constituents (teachers, parents, and students) by providing exciting and viable new educational in an inclusive, individual manner. The Center for Education Reform's 1996-1997 Charter School Survey found that 65% of the charters surveyed had a waiting list, averaging 135 students. The Hudson Institute's 1997 report Charter Schools in Action also found high satisfaction levels. Among its major findings:

Charter schools are havens for children who had bad educational experiences elsewhere. Among students performing "poorly" in their previous school (as judged by their parents), nearly half are now doing "excellent" or "above average" work.

Charter schools are very popular with students, parents, and teachers.

Families and teachers are seeking out charter schools primarily for educational reasons. Satisfaction levels are highest for all three groups when it comes to educational matters (curriculum, teaching, class size, etc.)

Charter school teachers are diverse, but nearly all are finding personal fulfillment and professional reward. The teachers feel empowered.

(Link to the full report: Charter Schools in Action Project Final Report, 1997)

Charter schools serve their constituents well. Academic rigor is one of the primary reasons for the charter school movement. While it's too early to measure charter schools' broad academic success, anecdotal evidence suggests that students are learning and excelling.

For more on charter school successes, see CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY: Changing the Face of American Education.

For a summary of charter school research findings -- overwhelmingly supporting the viability and success of charters -- see WHAT THE RESEARCH REVEALS ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS.

Where Can I Find Charter Legislation and Charter Schools? As of June 1999, 36 states and the District of Columbia had passed charter school laws:

Minnesota (1991), California (1992), Colorado (1993), Georgia (1993), Massachusetts (1993), Michigan (1993), New Mexico (1993), Wisconsin (1993), Arizona (1994), Hawaii (1994), Kansas (1994), Alaska (1995), Arkansas (1995), Delaware (1995), Louisiana (1995), New Hampshire (1995), Rhode Island (1995), Texas (1995), Wyoming (1995), Connecticut (1996), District of Columbia (1996), Florida (1996), Illinois (1996), New Jersey (1996), North Carolina (1996), South Carolina (1996), Mississippi (1997), Nevada (1997), Pennsylvania (1997), Ohio (1997), Oklahoma (1999), Oregon (1999), Utah (1998), Virginia (1998), Idaho (1998), Missouri (1998), New York (1998).

For more on charter school law profiles and rankings, see About Charter School Legislation and Laws, excerpted from The Charter School Workbook: Your Roadmap to the Charter School Movement.

As of September, 1999, 31 states and the District of Columbia are home to nearly 1,700 operating charter schools, serving 350,000 students.

For a current tally of exactly where charter schools are up and running, see Charter School Highlights and Statistics. For a profile of operating and approved charters schools around the nation, see the National Charter School Directory.

For More Information, See About Charter Schools.

From CER's publications list you can order: CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY: Changing the Face of American Education; Charter School Information Pack; The Charter School Workbook: Your Roadmap to the Charter School Movement; and the National Charter School Directory.