The table below is an update to our Details from the Dashboard report on CMOs and EMOs with data from the 2010-2011 academic year. Schools operated by non-profit charter management organizations (CMOs) continue to experience the highest levels of growth in terms of the number of schools and number of students enrolled. Of note, CMO charter schools accounted for 20 percent of the new charter schools that opened in 2010-2011. With growing interest in replication of existing models, it will be interesting to see if this percentage increases in future years. While the number of schools operated by for-profit charter management organizations (EMOs) appears to be slowing down, enrollment in existing EMOs continues to grow (likely due to a significant percentage of virtual EMO charter schools that can enroll large numbers of students).
Number of Charter Schools and Students Enrolled in Charter Schools
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Total number of charter schools
CMO
494 (11.5%)
620 (13.4%)
775 (15.8%)
1,047 (19.9%)
EMO
440 (10.2%)
639 (13.8%)
637 (12.9%)
650 (12.3%)
Freestanding
3,363 (78.3%)
3,379 (72.8%)
3,507 (71.3%)
3,575 (67.8%)
Growth in the number of charter schools
CMO
25.5%
25.0%
35.1%
EMO
44.2%
-0.3%
2.0%
Freestanding
0.5%
3.8%
1.9%
Number of new charter schools
CMO
70 (16.0%)
80 (16.7%)
51 (11.6%)
106 (20.3%)
EMO
36 (8.2%)
66 (13.8%)
18 (4.1%)
38 (7.3%)
Freestanding
331 (75.7%)
332 (69.5%)
371 (84.3%)
378 (72.4%)
Total number of students enrolled in charter schools
CMO
124,525 (9.6%)
168,596 (11.7%)
228,273 (14.0%)
331,438 (18.2%)
EMO
205,042 (15.9%)
302,738 (20.9%)
334,945 (20.6%)
365,819 (20.0%)
Freestanding
957,149 (74.0%)
966,738 (66.9%)
1,054,820 (64.8%)
1,107,095 (60.7%)
Growth in the number of students enrolled in charter schools
CMO
35.4%
35.4%
45.2%
EMO
47.6%
10.6%
9.2%
Freestanding
1.0%
9.1%
5.0%
Source: Compiled by NAPCS using the Public Charter Schools Dashboard and reports on CMO and EMO management organizations from the National Education Policy Center.
