Why Charter Schools? The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency releases articles on Charter School Financing Opportunities. Elise Balboni, Project Director with LISC's Educational Facilities Financing Center, has written two articles for the series: "Why Charter Schools?" and "Addressing the Finance Gap." Overview Charter schools operate under a charter, or contract, with state-approved authorizing entities, such as local school districts, state departments of education, universities, other nonprofit groups, or specialized chartering boards. Like other public schools, charter schools do not charge tuition and are nonsectarian. In addition, charter schools may not practice selective enrollment. The charter school movement is a response to the deteriorating performance of the public school system, most notably in urban areas, and to a persistent achievement gap between minority or low-income students and their peers. Minnesota passed the nation’s first charter school law in 1991. Since then, the number of schools and the number of students attending charter schools have grown significantly. Today, approximately 5,000 charter schools educate more than 1.6 million students in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Charter schools represent 5 percent of all public schools nationally and serve 3 percent of all public school students. Continued[+]... > Read the entire article here. > Read the full series here. |
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