With many states’ legislatures in session, there are plenty of recent developments affecting charter schools across the nation.

In Georgia, a proposed constitutional amendment has made it out of committee and is headed to rules to be placed on the House calendar.  The amendment would effectively move money from public school districts into charter schools.  In order for the amendment to pass, it must first be placed on the calendar, debated, and passed by both Houses with a 2/3 majority–all before it goes to voters for approval.

Michigan legislators recently lifted the cap on charter schools in the state, providing the opportunity for authorizers, including Michigan’s most active authorizer, Central Michigan University, to approve an even greater number of new schools.  CMU has committed to the education community and the public writ large that will only approve the best new charter schools.

Idaho lawmakers are looking to follow suit.  A bill before the state legislature proposes that the current cap on new Idaho charter schools also be lifted.  Proponents of the bill say that removing the cap will allow grant money and other national funds to flow more freely into Idaho charter schools.  Additionally, advocates of the new law say that there is a pent up demand for charters in the state.  Every charter school in the state currently has a waiting list, according to pro-charter Idahoans.

Connecticut Governor, Dannel P. Malloy, has recommended that legislation be drafted, which would increase state funding to charter schools.  One obstacle that many charter schools face nationally is that they are not funded, per pupil, on equal footing with public schools, making it very difficult to operate a highly functional school.  However, this new Connecticut law would come closer to closing that funding gap, which the governor and his bipartisan supporters believe will help to close the well-recognized achievement gap in the state.

Finally, on a note less political in nature, the Miami-Dade County Commissioner praised a Miami, Florida charter school, North Park High School, for what they are doing for Florida students.   Mr. Suarez, the commissioner, recognized that one complaint often brought against charters is that they tend to cater to a select, usually more affluent and higher-achieving, segment of the population rather than the broad base of students from all socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnic groups that public schools educate.  However, Suarez says that North Park High is a glowing example and proof that this complaint is unfounded.  North Park’s student base is nearly 98% African-American, and a high percentage of the school population has also been identified as “at-risk.”  Regardless, the school’s culture of discipline, high expectations, and strong student-teacher-administrator relationships is making it an example to public, charter, and private schools across the state.

According to Market Watch, a division of the Wall Street Journal, a recent national survey shows that charter school closure rates dropped during the 2010-2011 school year.  While this trend may be partially attributable to authorizers not shutting down schools that technically should be shut down, it seems more probable that other factors are contributing to the decreased closure rates.  Some of those factors include state laws influencing charter oversight, an improvement in the quality of teachers, and positive changes in authorizing practices.

To ensure that the quality schools are being permitted to open stay open and that poor charter schools are being closed, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers has issued a set of 12 practices essential to proper authorizing.  These guidelines can be found in the NACSA’s Index of Essential Practices.

The National Alliance for Charter Schools also provided positive indicators for charter schools when they recently released their annual report detailing their assessment of charter school law and policy throughout the United States.  Among other noteworthy landmarks, the report shows that Maine has become the 42^nd jurisdiction in the United States to enact charter school legislation.  In fact, Maine’s statues ranked #1 in the nation in their first year.  Impressive.

Regarding building and financing charter school facilities, HighMark School Development’s specialty, The Alliance noted that 10 states improved their support for charter school funding and facilities, Indiana and Texas being chief among them.

Finally, the annual report concluded that the positive changes that are being made are facilitating what the charter school movement needs most—the marriage of growth and quality.

Bipartisan Support for Charter Schools Increasing

Much to the chagrin of Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers’ Union, Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s notoriously Democratic mayor, has spoken out clearly supporting charter schools in Chicago and the state of Illinois.  Historically, the Democratic Party and Teachers’ Unions have been in lock step.  However, Mr. Emanuel and other Democratic politicians are increasingly supporting the charter school movement, breaking formation with the Unions, illustrating the bipartisan support that charter schools have been seeking for so long.

Parents Empowered In Indiana?

Recent state legislative sessions across the country have produced policy that empowers parents to be able to “trigger” the conversion of a failing public school into a charter-operated school.  The trend began in Los Angeles in 2009 and has spread to other states, including Texas and Mississippi.  In addition to Indiana, Arizona and Florida are also considering the legislative change this year.

The new law essentially gives parents the power to petition the state to take control of a failing school and to convert it into a charter school, so long as the parents have the support of at least 51% of all parents whose children attend the school in question.

On paper the law seems to work, but assembling 51% of the parent population, in addition to potential court battles, have made the parental empowerment provision difficult to act on.  Only two schools have attempted to use it—an elementary school in Compton, California, which led to incessant litigation, and a rural California school called Desert Trails, whose parent-petition was just submitted days ago.

Hundreds of students, parents, teachers and staff filled Prospect Ridge Academy’s pristine new digs at 2555 Preble Creek Parkway Monday night for the K-6 charter school’s long-awaited grand opening in Broomfield.
The Adams 12–approved school, in its first year of operation, has been pushing to open in north Broomfield for more than a year. After a public battle over zoning regulations with Broomfield City Council and the Adams 12 school board in 2010 and a first semester spent at a temporary facility in a Thornton strip mall as the new building was constructed, on Monday, the Prospect Ridge Miners came home. Classes started at the new building on Tuesday.
“It’s amazing. It just such a neat thing to see the staff come together and the community come together and just to see the looks on the kids faces when they walk into our building,” said Prospect Ridge Board President Ken Rooks.
Rooks, who, with his wife, Renee, founded the charter school three years ago, has two daughters at the school now and his youngest, Natalie, will be part of its kindergarten class next year. Hs said he is especially excited about the estimated $8 million facility’s gymnasium, and that the school will begin competing in middle school sports next year, while most Adams 12 middle schools have eliminated sports because of budget cuts. Prospect Ridge already has elementary-aged students competing in recreation league basketball in Erie, Rooks said.
The school’s principal, April Wilkin, sporting the Miners’ black and gold colors on Monday, said she is excited about the school’s science lab, which, with its 30 microscopes, will soon be exposing kids in every grade, including kindergarten, to scientific experiments.
“(I’m excited about) the science lab and all the technology we can offer,” Wilkin said last week. “Kids are going to receive that exposure to science and higher level thinking that some people don’t even get exposed to in high school.”
With a math and science focus built in to its mission statement, Prospect Ridge’s building is heavy on technology, Rooks said, with a computer lab full of new iMac computers and each classroom outfitted with three iPads for student use. Every classroom has a digital projector and audio enhancement technology, whereby each teacher will be amplified through a wireless microphone, Wilkin said.
There are personal touches to show off at the 45,000-square-foot schoolhouse, too. Five-hundred and sixteen of the school’s inaugural students painted a square-foot tile with an image of what the school means to them, as part of a what Wilkin calls a “student- impact project.” The tiles were permanently placed along the school’s hallways during construction, and many students scurried around the school Monday evening to find their tiles and show their parents.
Siblings Kaylee and Jacob Boyer were among the students who sought their tiles Monday. A self-described “big space fan,” sixth-grader Jacob put a space shuttle on his tile, he said, and was excited to get into the school’s science lab when classes began Tuesday. Third-grader Kaylee, meanwhile, painted a girl on a balance beam, because she enjoys gymnastics.
Mom Naomi Boyer also has a first-grader at Prospect Ridge this year, son, Matthew. The Anthem resident said she has been waiting a long time for the new school to open near her house, but agreed with the sentiment of many Monday who said driving their kids to the temporary Thornton location last year helped foster a strong school community. Still, she called the new building “wonderful” and “amazing,” especially the science lab and music room.
As Kaylee Boyer succinctly put it, “I’m excited about everything. How we finally have a building.”
While this week will focus on settling in and celebrating the new building, Rooks said Prospect Ridge already is looking ahead to next year. Because of high demand and an enrollment waiting list, the school next year will grow to a K-7 school of nearly 800 students.
This summer, Rooks said an estimated $2 million, 15,000-square-foot annex will be added to the building to accommodate expansion. The school also plans to hire a secondary principal in the summer to manage its middle and high school grade levels as it works to expand to a K-12 school by the 2017-18 school year.