Are you ready for Nashville? Thousands of charter school teachers, leaders, policy experts, and other supporters will be in Nashville from June 26-29 for the 16th annual National Charter Schools Conference. The theme of the conference is Big Ideas for a Brighter Future. We’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the movement and highlighting the ways charter school innovation is reshaping public education. Featured speakers include Andre Agassi, Howard Fuller, Governor Bill Haslam, Secretary of Education John King, and Sugata Mitra. I am particularly excited to have our board member and former Senator Mary Landrieu and Roland Martin as our emcees this year. We’ll also present just our second ever lifetime achievement award, induct three new members into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame, and announce the winner of the 2016 Broad Prize (more on all of these below).
We’re thrilled to be in Nashville because of what charter schools are accomplishing in that city and throughout Tennessee – and we hope to see you there! There’s still time to register, so if you haven’t done so already, click here to join us. If you can’t join us in person, be sure to follow us @charteralliance and use #NCSC16 to follow the conversation! Warmly, Nina ReesPresident and CEO
Charter Schools Turn 25! June 4th was the 25th anniversary of the day Minnesota passed the nation’s first charter school law back in 1991. Since then, 43 more states and the District of Columbia have joined our movement. We’ve grown to 6,800 schools serving nearly 3 million students who are being taught by 150,000 teachers. Everyone who has been a part of our movement’s growth and success should be proud of the impact on students’ lives. As we think about the future, one way to expand our reach is to be more effective at sharing our successes with traditional public schools. In an op-ed for The Seventy-Four, Nina and Catherine Brown of the Center for American Progress explain how.
30 Days of Grad It’s graduation season! Tens of thousands of students are graduating from charter public schools and heading off to college or into promising careers. All this month we’re sharing some of the most inspirational graduation stories from around the country as part of our annual 30 Days of Grad feature. Check them out here.
Federal Update The Senate Appropriations Committee once again showed strong bipartisan support for charter public schools by approving $343 million for the Charter Schools Program for fiscal year 2017 – a $10 million (3 percent) increase. Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) spearheaded the bill, along with subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The House should act on similar legislation in the coming weeks. We anticipate that final details about the spending bills will wrap up after Thanksgiving. Click here to read the National Alliance press release.
Progress in the States Massachusetts: Massachusetts charter school advocates have been pushing the state legislature to increase the number of new charter schools allowed annually. Governor Baker proposed lifting the cap to allow 12 new charter schools per year, but the state Senate and House were not able to agree on the specifics. Charter advocates gathered almost 65,000 signatures to put the issue in front of voters in a November ballot initiative. Initial polling indicates that voters favor increasing the number of charter schools. Michigan: Lawmakers in Michigan approved a bailout measure that will keep the Detroit Public Schools out of bankruptcy and create a new school district run by a locally elected school board. The measure does not include the Detroit Education Commission that could have halted charter school growth and was opposed by many state charter school advocates. Missouri: Charter school families in St. Louis are fighting a lawsuit that would bar charter schools from receiving desegregation funding that goes to other public schools. The lawsuit also seeks to recoup funding previously sent to the city’s charter schools. Nina co-authored an op-ed with Howard Fuller explaining the historical context of the case, as well as charter schools’ role in improving educational opportunities for students of color. They warn about the terrible impact a revocation of funding could have on the city’s charter school students. Read their piece here.
Research Roundup Chicago Charters Doing More with LessNew data shows that Chicago charter schools, which don’t receive local or capital funding for facilities, have been able to construct facilities at less than half the per-pupil cost paid by Chicago Public Schools. Local charter school COO Dan Alexander explains in the Education Post. In Milwaukee, More Autonomy Produces Better Results for Students and TaxpayersThe Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty released a new report showing that Milwaukee public schools with more autonomy achieve better student outcomes per taxpayer dollar spent. Study co-author William Flanders explains the findings in an op-ed. Charter Schools Top District Schools on Graduation Rates in Most Big CitiesHow do charter public schools stack up against traditional public schools when it comes to graduation rates? National Alliance Senior Director of Research and Evaluation Susan Aud Pendergrass takes a close look at the numbers and finds that in most of the cities with the largest number of charter school students, charter schools are notching higher graduation rates than traditional public schools. National Alliance Brief on BackfillingA new policy brief from the National Alliance looks at the issue of backfilling, or enrolling new students in a charter public school when current students leave prior to graduation. The paper reviews arguments for and against backfilling, as well as policies in place in several states and charter schools, and offers recommendations for how states and cities can move forward depending on their own policy preferences. Read the paper here.
Lifetime Achievement Award and 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees At the 2016 National Charter Schools Conference, the National Alliance will present the Charter Schools Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, former chief of staff to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is just the second time the National Alliance has bestowed a lifetime achievement honor. The first recipient was President Bill Clinton in 2011. We also will induct three new members into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are Bill Kurtz, CEO of the Denver Schools of Science and Technology; Dr. Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education; and Kim Smith, CEO and founder of the Pahara Institute and co-founder of NewSchools Venture Fund. Click here for more information on all of this year’s honorees.
Broad Prize Finalists The $250,000 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, awarded to the best-performing charter management organization in the country, will be presented at the National Charter Schools Conference in Nashville. This year’s finalists are IDEA Public Schools, Success Academy, and YES Prep Public Schools. Click here for more information on the Broad Prize and the three finalists.
The National Alliance is hiring! Join our team! We’re looking for a Director of Research, Communications Manager, and a Development Manager. Click here for more information about all positions, and please forward the info to great candidates you may know.
