Q: Do Charter Schools Get Better Results Than Traditional Public Schools
At KIPP NYC, our efforts have produced significant results when it comes to high school graduation, college matriculation, and college graduation. Ninety-seven percent of students who attend a KIPP NYC school graduate from high school, and once in college, they graduate at 4X the rate of students from similar neighborhoods and backgrounds.
Why Some Of The Countrys Best Urban Schools Are Facing A Reckoning
Amid a growing backlash against charter schools, leaders within the movement are acknowledging that some criticism of their schools is warranted.
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When the charter school movement first burst on to the scene, its founders pledged to transform big urban school districts by offering low-income and minority families something they believed was missing: safe, orderly schools with rigorous academics.
But now, several decades later, as the movement has expanded, questions about whether its leaders were fulfilling their original promise to educate vulnerable children better than neighborhood public schools have mounted.
When Richard Buery took over last year as the head of policy at KIPP, the nations largest charter network, he began to ask the same questions.
He was used to challenging charter schools after years as a top deputy to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is skeptical of the schools.
Mr. Buery, who is black and grew up in East New York, Brooklyn, noticed that black and Hispanic students in KIPP schools were sometimes being disciplined too harshly by their white teachers. The networks high schools had impressive academic results and graduation rates, but their students then struggled in college. And KIPP executives relationships with elected officials were fraying.
So far, New Yorks progressive politicians seem unconvinced.
Draining Of Resources From Public Schools
Arguments include that innovations in the charter schools should be provided in the non charter public schools, smaller class sizes require more financing and public non charters need that finance, and benefits should be provided to the many students in non charter public schools rather than to just the few attending charters, especially since students who are rejected by charters must be accepted by the public schools, so more support should go to public non charter schools.
However, charter schools receive less per-pupil funding from the State government than do public non charter schools, one legislative leader saying that charter schools have been claiming that being nonunion allows cost-saving.
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Ehow: How Do You Obtain The Actual Charter
Tenner:Once you lay the groundwork, your team is ready to begin the formal application process. Determine which authorizer is best suited for your charter school. Consider whether the state board of education or your local board of education will be the best support for oversight, timeline and application requirements. It’s the authorizer that grants the school’s charter, and although the public entities in your jurisdiction may vary, begin your research by contacting your state board of education. Your team will then construct the actual blueprint for your school, which lays out all that you promise to fulfill based on your academic program model. The process, of course, may vary from one jurisdiction to another however, some public entities require a prospectus that introduces your concept. Resources such as the New York City Charter School Center provide information about writing a prospectus. Once your prospectus is approved, the team is ready to complete the charter application. A capacity interview, or in-person meeting with the board of education, is another step for which your team should be prepared.
S To Starting A Charter School Successfully
1. Understand the Industry
History has it that it was Minnesota that wrote the first charter school law in the United States of America in 1991 and the first charter school to be approved is called Bluffview Montessori School in Winona, Minnesota, starting full operations in 1992. It is on record that the first charter school to operate in the U.S. was City Academy in St. Paul. Ever since 1991, 43 states and the District of Columbia have approved the establishment of charter schools.
Interesting Statistics About the Industry
From the statistics released to the public last year , there are 165 registered charter schools, with over 41,000 students attending in Minnesota. Statistics also has it that in 2014-2015 academic school year, a total number of 6,700 public charter schools were able to serve about 2.9 million students throughout the United States of America. In 2011 / 2012 school calendar year, well over 500 new public charter schools opened their doors, to an estimated increase of 200,000 students.
About a decade ago, August 2005 to be specific, a national report of charter school finance undertaken by the Thomas B. Fordam Institute, a pro-charter group, found out that across 16 states and the District of Columbiawhich collectively enrolled 84 percent of that years one million charter school studentscharter schools receive about 22 percent less in per-pupil public funding than the district schools that surround them.
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Charter Schools In Nyc
As you know from experience, your childs learning environment can have a huge impact on their desire to learn and do well in school. Middle school is an important season its critical for pre-teens to start building confidence in their abilities and setting goals for the future.
You want to make the best decision for your child and choose a middle school where they will thrive. Have you considered the benefits of a charter school?
Perhaps youve looked at charter schools before, or maybe this is your first time. Regardless of where you are, we want you to feel confident as you decide what the best learning environment looks like for your middle schooler. Thats why weve put together this short overview of public versus charter schools in NYC including a glimpse at what St HOPE Leadership Academy, our charter school in Harlem, has to offer. Take a look, jot down your questions, and if you would like to learn more.
Oversight Plan For Board Of Regents
The New York State Board of Regents, through its administrative body, the New York State Education Department, is authorized to oversee and monitor each charter school authorized by the Regents in all respects, including the right to visit, examine and inspect the charter school and its records. To permit the Regents to fulfill this oversight function under the New York State Charter Schools Act and ensure that each charter school is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and the terms and conditions of the charter, each charter school agrees to abide by and implement the oversight plan, the components of which are presented below. Amendments and revisions may be made to the plan by the Department in consultation with the charter school.
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Develop Strategies To Boost Brand Awareness And Create A Corporate Identity
If you are in business and you are not deliberate about boosting you brand and communicating your corporate identity to the general public, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portray your business to be. One of the secret of larger corporations is that they are willing to spend big money year in and year out to boost their brand awareness and to continue to communicate their corporate identity.
In promoting your charter school brand and corporate identity, you should leverage on both print and electronic media. As a matter of fact, it is cost effective to use the internet and social media platforms to promote your charter school brands, besides it is pretty much effective and wide reaching.
Another strategy is to sponsor relevant educational related TV and radio programs, advertise your charter school in educational related magazines and newspapers and also ensure that your school logo / signpost are positioned in key locations in the city where the school is located.
22. Create a Suppliers/Distribution Network
The nature of charter school does not warrant for suppliers / distribution networks.
However, it is necessary to ensure that you lay down strategies that will help you attract appreciable numbers of students at the beginning of every school year, and also to ensure that you have a conducive school environment / working environment that will not only help you attract some of the best teaching staffs in your state, but also to retain them.
Ehow: Who Comprises The Founding Team
Tenner:Developing your academic program model requires more than educators and academic-type experts. Assemble a founding team of resources with varied areas of necessary expertise. You should have team members with expertise in areas such as education, community organization, finance, start-up businesses, project management, writing and school operations. Charter schools are non-profit organizations. Therefore, you need team members with a range of expertise to design it responsibly.
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Charter Schools Thrived On The Freedom To Make Quick Decisions And Appeal To Like
J.D. Tuccille|2.28.2022 8:40 AM
Experience demonstrates that there are a lot of reasons to support school choice, from escaping curricula wars to seeking academic excellence to adopting preferred teaching methods and schedules. But the last couple of years also demonstrated that relatively small institutions dependent on attracting families that can enroll or disenroll at will are more nimble than traditional public schools in responding to crises.
Starting at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes examined how charter schools responded to the public health threat in comparison to traditional public schools. Looking at schools in California, New York, and Washington for the period from March to June 2020 and then for the 2020-21 school year, researchers found that charters were able to pivot from in-school teaching to remote instruction remarkably quickly.
Remarkably, in Spring 2020, charter schools in California took an average of just four days to shift to remote teaching once they closed their doors for fear of viral infection. Charters in New York took an average of three days to make the transition, and those in Washington averaged two days. By contrast, “The Center on Reinventing Public Education found that nearly 70 percent of districts nationally were not providing instruction in spring 2020.”
Decide Whether To Buy A Franchise Or Start From Scratch
If you are looking towards starting a charter school, then you are left with one option that is to start from the scratch. There are no franchise for charter schools for now.
Besides, if you are able to meet the requirement in the state you intend obtain your charter, you can successfully own a charter school in the United States.
6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
Some of the possible threats and challenges that you are likely going to face when starting a charter school is obtaining accreditation from the school board in you district / state or the Charter management organizations . It can be truly be challenging securing a charter for your school.
Other threats and challenges that you are going to face is competing with other schools for funding. The truth is that your school must always meet the performance standard set by the governing authority for charter schools. Besides if you school do not meet the expected standard, you can lose your charter.
7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity
Starting a charter school is more of a social service / philanthropic services than a business which is why you have more of nonprofits owning running charter schools in the United States. So when it comes to choosing a legal entity to use for your charter school, then you should consult Charter management organizations in your state to guide you on the best legal entity to use.
8. Choose a Catchy Business Name
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Decide Which Niche To Concentrate On
These are some of the niches you can find in the book club industry
- Virtual Charter School
- Bricks and Mortar Charter School
- Charter School for the Disable
- Charter School for Mathematics, Science and Technology Inclined Students
- Charter School for Performing Arts
- Charter School for the Blind
- Charter School for Gifted Children
Please note that this industry is flexible and with creativity, you can create your own niche as long as it helps to fill a need in the society.
The Level of Competition in the Industry
No doubt there are competitions amongst chatter schools in the U.S. For example in 2004, the National Bureau of Economic Research made public data that indicated that charter Schools increase competition in a given jurisdiction, hence improving the quality of conventional public schools within the same location.
The fact that charter schools gets funding based on the numbers of students that enrolled in the school and also the overall performance of the school encourages healthy competition amongst charter schools in the U.S.
New York Learning Pods
Micro-schools, pods, pandemic pods, and learning pods all refer to the same concept: students gathering together in a small group with adult supervision to learn, explore, and socialize. Pods themselves can take a variety of legal forms, but in general they can be separated into two categories: self-directed pod and learning support pod. Its important to understand what kind of pod you are signing up for and the requirements that go along with it. Learn more about learning pods.
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Is This Business Right For You
This business is perfect for someone with previous experience in public education. Those who have been teachers, principals, or other administrators in a public school are often able to take what they learned from previous experiences in order to help their charter school thrive.
Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?
Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!
Step : Obtain Necessary Permits And Licenses
Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.
State & Local Business Licensing Requirements
Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a charter school business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBAâs reference to state licenses and permits.
Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.
For information about local licenses and permits:
- Check with your town, city or county clerkâs office
- Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.
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Find A Business Mentor
One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.
Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.
What Is A Charter School
A charter school is basically an independently operated public school that has greater flexibility in its mode of operations, in return for greater accountability for performance. While a charter school system is a local school district that operates under the terms of a charter between the State Board of Education and the local school district. The system receives flexibility from certain state rules and regulations in exchange for greater accountability with greater emphasis on school-based leadership and decision-making.
Whats the Difference Between a Charter School and a Public School?
The basic difference between charter school and other public schools is that charter schools are classified as public schools of choice. It means that each household has the option of choosing them for their wards if they so desire. Charter schools are known to operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are enforced upon district schools in the united states.
Furthermore, it is the practice for charter schools to be held accountable for academic results and for upholding the promises they made in their charters. As a matter of fact, they are required to demonstrate performance in the areas of academic achievement, financial management, and organizational stability. This is so because if a charter school fails to meet the set performance goals, the school is likely going to be closed down.
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Whats Behind New Yorks Charter School End Run Around Teacher Certification
New York is at the frontline of the latest controversy over charter schools, and its growth as a parallel school system using public money to fund privately operated schools largely independent from government and taxpayer oversight.
New Yorks largest charter network, operated by the State University of New York, is intent on creating new charter-only teacher certifications, which they want to be interchangeable with traditional, state-issued licenses. State officials are trying to block this move.
The chair of the SUNY Charter School Committee, Joe Belluck, intends to confer probationary licenses to teachers following three years in a SUNY charter school, which he believes should convert into officially recognized New York state teacher licenses, because they are close enough.
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia is currently the only state official who can make changes to licensing requirements. Elia is standing with opponents of the new avenue to teacher certification, refusing to lower standards. New York charters serve less than five percent of all New York students and offer lower pay, fewer benefits, and zero job security.
The controversy has important implications to the governance of charter schools everywhere.
Because most states require charters to have some or all of their teachers be fully certified, charter schools have to work to attract teachers who might otherwise opt to teach in better-paying public schools.