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Public Charter Schools - Legal in
Maine |
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August Update:
Maine's
Department of Education and State Board of Education are busy
assuming their new roles implementing the new law.
MACS is
working with both. On August 16 we facilitated a session on
the "authorizing" process at the State Board's annual retreat,
featuring presentations by David Hansen of the National
Association of Charter School Authorizers and Roberta Tenney of
the New Hampshire Department of Education Authorizing Office.
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New Maine Charter School Website
The
Maine Department of Education now has an area of their website
devoted to public charter schools.
Click Here to Visit |
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Founder's Forum
MACS and the
Department of Education have been receiving many requests for
information from people interested in starting a charter school.
It is exciting to witness this burst of creative energy directed
to benefit the public education system in Maine and the children
it serves.
To provide
potential charter school "founders" with the information they
seek, MACS is hosting a forum at the Augusta Civic Center on Sat.
Sept. 17 to discuss the process of opening a public charter school
under Maine's new law and to network with others interested in
founding a school.
FMI, Click Here |
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Public Charter Schools are now
Legal in Maine!
On Wednesday, June 29, in a ceremony in the State House Hall of
Flags attended by Senators and Representatives from both parties,
MACS staff and a number of charter school supporters of all ages,
Governor LePage signed LD 1553,
"An Act to Create a Charter School Program in Maine" into law!
Speakers included:
Governor Paul LePage,
Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen,
LD 1553 Prime Sponsor Senator Garrett Mason, Ed. Committee Chair
Senator Brian Langley, and
Dr. Judith Jones, Chair, MACS' Board of Directors. |
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Thank you Everyone for your
extraordinary effort!
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Click Here to see the Roll Call
Votes.
Senate
-
House
Please thank your Senator and Representative for their support.
To Find YOUR Senator and Representative
Click Here! |
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Maine's charter school bill
LD
1553 has passed at last!
Looking back...
June 29 - Governor LePage signed LD
1553 into law.
June 28 - the Maine Senate, after a
formal action, sent LD 1553 to the Governor for signing.
June 16 - the Maine House voted to
pass LD 1553 with Amendment A in a bipartisan 89 to 55 vote.
June 15 - the Maine Senate voted to
pass LD 1553 in a bipartisan 21 to 15 vote.
May 25 -
Portland Press Herald Editorial:
"Charter School Bill Should be made law".
Click to Read
May 24 -
Bangor Daily News OP ED by Bill Jones
Click to Read
May 20 -
At Work
Session #2
the
Education Committee
endorsed
public charter schools with a bipartisan vote!
Read MACS' Press Release
May 17 -
The
Education Committee
held Work
Session #1
May 14 -
The
Education Committee
held the public hearing on LD 1553 -
Many supporters
made a strong case for charter schools at the Public Hearing
before the
Education & Cultural Affairs Committee.
May 13 -
The Maine State
Board of Education voted unanimously to support LD 1553.
May 10 -
Bangor Daily News Editorial: "Give
Charters a Chance".
Click to Read
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LD 1553 "An Act to Create a
Charter School Program in Maine"
LD 1553 has been printed and posted on the Legislature's website,
but important amendments were unfortunately
omitted. The complete version that was presented to the
Education Committee is available here - click our Legislation
link above or
Click
Here.
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Read MACS
Briefing Papers
See the New Link, Top
Left or
Click Here
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Click to Download & Read:
»
MACS' Tri-fold Brochure
»
MACS' Booklet Brochure |
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Inequity Persists
in Charter School Funding
A new report just released by
Ball State University details an average 19.2 percent disparity in
funding between charter and other public schools – a gap that
grows to more than 27 percent in 40 cities where most charters are
located.
Click Here for the full report
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Free to Lead:
Autonomy in Highly
Successful Charter Schools
The National
Alliance for Public Charter Schools' latest issue brief identifies
seven distinct ways autonomy impacts operational and academic
performance at five highly successful charter schools.
Click Here to Read More
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Disturbing Data
from
the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education
in their February
report to the State Board of Education, "Education is Job #1".
Click Here for MACS' reaction |
Teachers Union Chokes
Off School Reform
by Rep. Richard Cebra, R. Naples in "As Maine Goes"
Click Here for a "no holds barred" explanation of why we still
don't have charter schools in Maine.
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"Administration's
School Reform Bills Fail to Innovate Maine Schools"
The Maine Heritage Policy Center is critical of
Proposed Race to the Top Legislation
Click Here to Read their Press Release
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MACS NEWS
Click Here
for our latest Newsletter which now comes via Constant Contact in
a new format - Check it out & Subscribe if you wish! |
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The Race-2-Augusta
Most candidates
for governor support charter schools! MACS offers all
candidates for office information on charter schools, and works
closely with those who carry our torch in the policy arena.
For this year's Gubernatorial statements on charter schools, follow this link:
http://augustainsider.us/gubnernatorialcharterschools/.
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Congressional Action
Congress has
approved a $40 million increase in the federal Charter School
Grant Program, for a total of $256 million for this year.
Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado has introduced the All-STAR
Act, H.R. 4330, that would support increased funding for
successful charter schools and expand flexibility in using federal
funds.
The role of charter school authorizers has been enhanced through
Congressional legislation that adds three new eligibility criteria
to the Charter School Grant Program. |
FUNDING for AUTHORIZERS!
The National Association of Charter School
Authorizers has established the Fund for Authorizing Excellence to
award grants to improve the work of authorizers.
FMI, see www.publiccharters.org and
www.qualitycharters.org
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Media Support in
2009
Kennebec Journal Article
Nov 10 -
Maine faulted for lacking education innovations
Portland Press Herald Editorials
Nov. 3
- Charter schools should be part of dropout debate
Oct. 17
- Charter schools deserve another look from state
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In
the Press:
Editorial -
Portland Press Herald , Sept. 22, 2010
After decades of school reform, not much has
changed.
OP Ed - The Maine Campus, - Sept. 23,
2010
Charter Schools offer new possibilities,
change |
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Meanwhile ...
To learn about charter schools, please
¬
check out our links top left.
For news of our recent past,
please Click
Here
To Contact MACS: macs@mainecharterschools.org
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Twice as many registered voters favor charter schools as oppose them. The more people learn about charter schools, the more they like them.
Source: State of the Charter School Movement 2005
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