|
ABC's of Charter Schools
Maine's Need
Maine's Legislation
Get Involved!
National Charter Schools
Related Educational Issues
MACS Information |
Key Features
Charter Schools are:
|
Public Schools |
Free to Parents!
-
No Tuition
Free to Students -
No Admission Tests
Free of Religious
Affiliation |
|
Schools of Choice |
Students & Teachers
must freely choose a Public Charter School.
No student or teacher is ever assigned. |
Independently Managed
|
Schools can develop
their own curriculum, instruction, assessment techniques,
personnel policies, budgets, scheduling, and calendars
Teachers may try new
and different approaches to best meet the needs of their
students. |
Highly Accountable |
A charter (performance contract)
spells out the school's goals and objectives.
Charters are renewed
only if a school's performance meets expectations. If not,
the school closes. |
|
...
to Parents
|
Parents may choose other
public schools if their child's needs are not being met.
A
school will lose operating funds if a child transfers out.
If too many children leave, the school may have to close. |
|
... to an
Authorizing Agency |
Chartering agencies must
require financial, enrollment and academic reports. They must
conduct a major review every 5 years prior to contract renewal.
Charter schools can be closed for mismanagement or not meeting
the goals of the contract. |
Key Concepts
-
Parent involvement, a key indicator of a child's success in school,
will increase when public school options are available.
-
Each public charter school is locally
controlled by a community-based board of trustees responsible for the
design and management of the school, and accountable for student success.
-
A public authorizing agency, local school board, or
University of
Maine unit reviews and approves proposals, monitors each charter school's
progress and performance, both academic and financial, and decides whether
to renew the charter contract every five years.
-
Families of all income levels will have a chance to send their
children to public schools that meet the needs of their children.
They won't have to move to towns that have "better" schools, or to towns
that don't have district schools, and therefore have "tuitioning out".
-
Charter schools may focus on fine or performing arts; foreign language
immersion; math, science, and technology; college prep liberal arts,
ecology, etc. Many states have charter boarding schools, charter schools
for students who have dropped out of traditional schools, and charter
schools for children with disabilities.
-
In Maine, under
LD 1640, charter schools will focus on expanding opportunities for
children at risk. They may adopt a wide variety of approaches to
reach struggling students.
-
Since 1990, public charter
schools have proved to be a powerful force for the improvement of public
schooling for all children.
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 |
