Study Shows Increase in Charter Schools To 4% of Public Institutions Nationwide

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The New York Sun

More children than ever are now attending charter schools.


The Center for Education Reform has released a study showing that charter schools now account for 4% of the nation’s public schools. Almost 1.1 million students are enrolled in 3,625 charter schools.


Across the country, 424 new charter schools opened this year, 13% more than the year before. Twenty-one opened in New York State.


Run as independent public schools, charter schools are shielded from many rules, regulations, and union contracts that govern conventional public schools.


In existence for little more than a decade, charter schools are still considered the great unknown in public education. The first school opened its doors in Minnesota in 1992. Since then, 40 other states have signed laws allowing for their creation, along with Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.


In New York City, about 12,000 students attend 47 charter schools.


The study by the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C.-based group that supports charter schools, found that California is leading the charge with 219,480 students attending 592 schools.


The president of the group, Jeanne Allen, called the growth “explosive.”


“There is tremendous potential for these schools to grow,” she said. “This is a pretty significant reform that often gets neglected in conversation.”


Ms. Allen touted rising test scores at the schools and pointed to the recently released National Assessment of Education Progress test scores that showed improvements in charter school students compared with scores from 2003. Fourth-graders in charter schools gained four points in reading, compared with stagnant results among regular public schools, she said.


In order to have its charter renewed, a school must meet certain performance levels. About 11% of schools that were granted charters have closed.


Despite the growing number of charter schools, many people don’t know much about them.


According to a public opinion poll also conducted by the group, only 20% of Americans know that charter schools are a type of public school. The study found that women between the ages of 28 and 45 who are not currently but intend to become mothers are the most supportive of the schooling.


Not everybody is a fan.


Opponents of charter schools argue that they will siphon off important resources from the schools operating as part of the regular public school system. Unions are also often vocal opponents of charter schools in places where they are not beholden to teacher union contracts.


In order to show that charter schools could also be run with teacher union contracts, the United Federation of Teachers opened a charter school in East New York, Brooklyn, this year. It is among the first union-run charter schools in the country. They are also trying to open a high school.


But that effort could be thwarted by a state limit on charter schools. Under the current law, the state can authorize no more than 100 charter schools. Proponents of charter schools in New York, including Mayor Bloomberg and the schools chancellor, Joel Klein, are urging Albany to remove the limit.


The New York Sun

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