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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% | |
  
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.
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