2 Charter Schools Common Ground

Charter Schools

Common Ground

Stephanie B. Ogden

Responsive Educational Reform

1899John Dewey responds to societal inequities

1982The Reagan Administration responds to global achievement gaps

1989MN responds to AFT founder Al Shanker’s call for local empower-ment, enacting the nation’s first charter school legislation

2001 The Bush administration responds to American achievement gaps

2002 TN enacts “Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act of 2002”

Center for Education Reform

Background: Tennessee Charter Schools Growth

through 2009

Webb, T., December 2008, Tennessee Charter Schools Annual Report to the Tennessee General Assembly as Required in T.C.A. 49-12-120

Today: 30 Tennessee Charter Schools approved

• Memphis: 22 charter schools• Nashville: 6 charter schools• Chattanooga: 2 charter schools• Knoxville: Hometown of TN Charter Schools bill cosponsor, State Sen. Ben Atchley

http://www.tncharterschools.org/

22 Tennessee Charter Schools in operation

What Is a “Public Charter School”?

A public charter school is… • …part of the state program of public education

• …free of charge • …nonsectarian• “…an innovative public school that controls its own curriculum, staffing, organization, and budget…


• “… In exchange for their autonomy, charter schools must deliver the academic results they have promised in their charter contract.”

http://www.tncharterschools.org/index.cfm/pages/page-det/2#what





Charter schools are • … authorized by the Local Education Authority (Knox County Schools)

• … sponsored and operated by a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit foundation

Purposes of Tennessee Charter Schools Law

• Fairness (See purposes 1 & 4)

The purpose of this chapter is to:(1) Improve learning for all students and close the achievement gap between high and low students;

The purpose of this chapter is to:(2) Provide options for parents to meet educational needs of students in low performing schools;

The purpose of this chapter is to:(3) Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods, and provide greater decision making authority to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance;

(4) Measure performance of pupils and faculty, and ensure that children have the opportunity to reach proficiency on state academic assessments;

(5) Create new professional opportunities for teachers;

(6) Afford parents substantial meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.

• Choice (See purposes 2 & 6)• Innovation (See purposes 3 & 5)

Who can attend a public charter school?

• “Students who, in the previous school year, failed to test proficient in the subjects of language arts/reading or mathematics…

• “Free or reduced price lunch students.”


Who can attend a charter school?

• “Students who were previously enrolled in a charter school.

• “Students who are assigned to, or were previously enrolled in a school failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), as defined by the state’s accountability system, giving priority to at-risk students.

Profile of TN Charter Schools

(Tennessee Charter Schools Annual Report to the TN General Assembly)

Matt Throckmorton,Tennessee Charter Schools

Association

• State-level initiatives

• Local initiatives

• Questions?

2 Charter Schools Common Ground

Education

Transcript of 2 Charter Schools Common Ground