ABC's of Charter Schools

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History


       The concept of community-based, public schools of choice was invented in the late 1980's by many parents and teachers, including Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers.
       By 1990 the term "charter" was used to designate the performance contract which created these schools.  The key concept of a charter was "accountability for learning" - exchanging flexibility in how each individual school is organized and operated for demonstrated student achievement
       Growth of public charter schools has been phenomenal.  Federal, bi-partisan support has been continuous.
       (See the graphs below).

First Charter Law: Minnesota, 1991
States w/ Charter Laws: 41 pluc D.C. in 2011
Charter Schools: Over 5,000 in 2011
Charter Students: Over 1,600,000 in 2011
Charters Closed: 10% of those opened since 1992
Median District School Enrollment: 539 students
Median Charter School Enrollment: 269 students
New (Start-up) Charter Schools: 72%
Public District Conversions: 18%
Private School Conversions: 10%

 

Text Box: Annual Increase from 1995 to 2005
Text Box: Bi-partisan Support Increased from 1995 to 2005

 

       For more information, see the US Department of Education's website on charter schools: http://www.uscharterschools.org/

       To received a free copy of the US Department of Education’s June 2004 publication, "Successful Charter Schools," which highlights 8 diverse charter schools around the country, send a request to
macs@mainecharterschools.org.

 

To contact MACS: macs@mainecharterschools.org

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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