What is a Charter School?
"We welcome charter schools into the array of schools in New York City so that we can increase choices and innovation."---Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, speaking for himself and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on December 9, 2002.
Charter schools are public schools that are given considerable freedom in developing their academic program and organizational structure, often bringing innovative new schools to communities where the existing schools are failing to provide students with an adequate education. In return, charter schools are held more accountable for the academic performance of their students than traditional public schools.
In New York City, charter schools educate students at approximately 80% of the cost to tax-payers in comparison to traditional public schools.
Harlem Day Charter School is authorized by the Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York. The Institute has been closely monitoring our performance and has given Harlem Day very positive evaluations in regard to the academic performance of our students and the work of our teachers under the leadership of Gwendolyn Stephens, Head of School.
Harlem Day has only been in operation since 2001, yet the school has already received an overwhelming number of applicants. (FOR EVERY NEW STUDENT ADMITTED TO HARLEM DAY FOR THE 2003-04 ACADEMIC YEAR, 4 REMAINED ON A WAITING LIST.) Please note: as a public charter school, Harlem Day is open to any student eligible to attend public school in New York City.
Currently, most Harlem Day students come from Harlem and the Bronx, the surrounding boroughs with the highest need for effective schools. A 1999 New York State reading test of all fourth graders found that over 75% of the fourth graders in Central and East Harlem did not read at grade level.
Not surprisingly, literacy attainment, the heart of Harlem Day's academic mission, is carried out by the rigorous instruction of our teachers and programs such as the Waterford Early Reading Program.
The following article, published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, explains more about how charter schools operate.
For more information about charter schools and student achievement, you may want to read the following New York Times article on www.nytimes.com:
Sunday, July 20, 2003,
Charter Schools Succeed in Improving Test Scores, Study Says
By GREG WINTER
From the issue dated October 3, 2002
How 'Charter' Schools Are Run: a Primer
By Meg Sommerfeld
Charter schools are public schools that are free of many local and state regulations that govern traditional public institutions. Charter schools, however, are held more accountable than conventional ones for their performance.
The name "charter" derives from the fact that schools are granted charters by a state or local board of education, special charter-school board, or so-called charter authorizer -- an entity such as a nonprofit group, government agency, or university with state authority to grant charters.
Charters are renewable performance contracts that allow institutions to operate as public schools and receive government funds, as long as they meet performance standards agreed upon by the schools and the entities granting the charters. Typically, charters must be renewed every three to five years.
Like regular public schools, charter schools are nonsectarian, do not charge tuition, and must admit all students, regardless of ability. Students can choose to enroll instead of attending a traditional neighborhood school. Charter institutions include elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as some schools that span a wider range of grades, such as kindergarten through eighth grade. If the number of students wanting to attend a charter school exceeds the available spaces, the school typically grants admission through a lottery or on a first-come, first-served basis.
Charter schools tend to have more control than regular public schools over such areas as personnel issues, including collective bargaining; teacher certification; curriculum; budget; discipline; organization of classes and grade levels; and length of the school day, week, and year.
Operating in 36 States
In 1991 Minnesota became the first state to pass a law authorizing the creation of charter schools. The first charter school, City Academy, opened in St. Paul in 1992. Today about 2,700 schools operate in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Three additional states have passed legislation allowing charter schools, but have none in operation.
The Center for Education Reform, a charter-advocacy group in Washington that tracks enrollment figures, estimated that 580,000 students attended charter schools during the 2001-2 school year, when about 2,400 charter schools were operating. That represents about 1.2 percent of all pupils in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States, based on 2000 data from the federal National Center for Education Statistics.
State and local financing of charter schools is usually based on enrollment, but other factors can influence the amount of support. States such as Arizona provide a set amount per pupil, minus 3 to 5 percent for oversight expenses. Other states require charter schools to negotiate the per-pupil figure with authorizing entities, leading to variations in government support.
Like regular public schools, charter schools are eligible to receive federal money tied to the makeup of their student populations. For example, they can receive federal money if they educate large numbers of poor children. They also can compete for federal grants for a wide range of needs, including teacher training, libraries, and bilingual education.
In general, charter schools do not receive government money to acquire, build, or renovate facilities.
Small Classes
Charter schools are in great demand among students and their parents partly because they tend to have smaller numbers of students than traditional schools, according to a 2000 study for the U.S. Department of Education by RPP International, a research and consulting company. The typical charter school has 137 students, compared with 475 in a conventional public school, the study says. In addition, charter schools often group students in nontraditional ways, such as in multigrade classrooms, and many have a theme or unifying focus, such as the arts, math and science, or other disciplines.
Not all charter schools succeed financially or academically, however. The Center for Education Reform, in Washington, reports that as of December 2000, 86 charter schools had closed since the charter-school movement began in 1992; 26 were consolidated into their local school districts; and 50 entities received charters but never opened.
A study by the Brookings Institution released last month found that students at 376 charter schools in 10 states scored significantly lower on state tests measuring basic reading and math skills, compared with students attending traditional public schools.
-- The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Reprinted with the permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
How 'Charter' Schools Are Run: a Primer
By Meg Sommerfeld
Charter schools are public schools that are free of many local and state regulations that govern traditional public institutions. Charter schools, however, are held more accountable than conventional ones for their performance.
The name "charter" derives from the fact that schools are granted charters by a state or local board of education, special charter-school board, or so-called charter authorizer -- an entity such as a nonprofit group, government agency, or university with state authority to grant charters.
Charters are renewable performance contracts that allow institutions to operate as public schools and receive government funds, as long as they meet performance standards agreed upon by the schools and the entities granting the charters. Typically, charters must be renewed every three to five years.
Like regular public schools, charter schools are nonsectarian, do not charge tuition, and must admit all students, regardless of ability. Students can choose to enroll instead of attending a traditional neighborhood school. Charter institutions include elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as some schools that span a wider range of grades, such as kindergarten through eighth grade. If the number of students wanting to attend a charter school exceeds the available spaces, the school typically grants admission through a lottery or on a first-come, first-served basis.
Charter schools tend to have more control than regular public schools over such areas as personnel issues, including collective bargaining; teacher certification; curriculum; budget; discipline; organization of classes and grade levels; and length of the school day, week, and year.
Operating in 36 States
In 1991 Minnesota became the first state to pass a law authorizing the creation of charter schools. The first charter school, City Academy, opened in St. Paul in 1992. Today about 2,700 schools operate in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Three additional states have passed legislation allowing charter schools, but have none in operation.
The Center for Education Reform, a charter-advocacy group in Washington that tracks enrollment figures, estimated that 580,000 students attended charter schools during the 2001-2 school year, when about 2,400 charter schools were operating. That represents about 1.2 percent of all pupils in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States, based on 2000 data from the federal National Center for Education Statistics.
State and local financing of charter schools is usually based on enrollment, but other factors can influence the amount of support. States such as Arizona provide a set amount per pupil, minus 3 to 5 percent for oversight expenses. Other states require charter schools to negotiate the per-pupil figure with authorizing entities, leading to variations in government support.
Like regular public schools, charter schools are eligible to receive federal money tied to the makeup of their student populations. For example, they can receive federal money if they educate large numbers of poor children. They also can compete for federal grants for a wide range of needs, including teacher training, libraries, and bilingual education.
In general, charter schools do not receive government money to acquire, build, or renovate facilities.
Small Classes
Charter schools are in great demand among students and their parents partly because they tend to have smaller numbers of students than traditional schools, according to a 2000 study for the U.S. Department of Education by RPP International, a research and consulting company. The typical charter school has 137 students, compared with 475 in a conventional public school, the study says. In addition, charter schools often group students in nontraditional ways, such as in multigrade classrooms, and many have a theme or unifying focus, such as the arts, math and science, or other disciplines.
Not all charter schools succeed financially or academically, however. The Center for Education Reform, in Washington, reports that as of December 2000, 86 charter schools had closed since the charter-school movement began in 1992; 26 were consolidated into their local school districts; and 50 entities received charters but never opened.
A study by the Brookings Institution released last month found that students at 376 charter schools in 10 states scored significantly lower on state tests measuring basic reading and math skills, compared with students attending traditional public schools.
-- The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Reprinted with the permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
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