WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) today announced that thousands of teachers, school leaders, district officials and advocates will gather to celebrate 20 years of public charter schools at the 12th annual National Charter Schools Conference on June 19-22 in Minneapolis, MN. The largest gathering of charter school leaders in the nation, the conference will kick off a week-long celebration of the charter school movement featuring Bill Cosby as the keynote speaker.
The first public charter school, City Academy, opened in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1992. Its creation ushered in a new movement allowing communities to create independent public schools that provide parents with more public school options and teachers greater flexibility in order to better serve the diverse needs of students. The movement grew in its first 15 years to reach one million students by 2006, taking only five more years to surpass two million. Despite this recent increase, hundreds of thousands of students still remain on waiting lists to attend the charter school of their choice in the more than 5,600 charter schools which operate across 41 states and the District of Columbia. These past 20 years have proven that in communities across the country, public charter schools are delivering on their promise to provide innovative education and drive student achievement, said Ursula Wright, interim president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. We are excited not only to celebrate the movements milestones, but also to ensure we continue progressing forward until every state allows for effective and accountable public charter schools for their children. The conference celebrates the opening of the nations first charter school and the many milestones which have occurred in the 20 years since. Highlights include:
Congress provided funding to allow communities to start charter schools in 1994.
President Bill Clinton called for the creation of 3,000 charter schools in his State of the Union address in 1997.
Over half the states in the nation permitted charter schools by 1997.
President George W. Bush reauthorized charter school start-up funding in 2002.
NAPCS was formed to establish national leadership on quality and accountability for the charter school movement in 2005.
National charter school enrollment surpassed one million students in 2006.
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain both pledged support for charter school expansion during a live presidential debate in 2008.
National charter school enrollment surpassed two million students in 2011 with the largest increase in enrollment (over 200,000 additional students) in a single school year.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools allowed the freedom to be more innovative, while being held accountable for improved student achievement. These open enrollment schools foster a partnership between parents, teachers and students that lead to improved results. Public charter schools have achieved bipartisan support over the years, currently enrolling five percent of the nations public school students. Research from a RAND study, as well as a Betts and Tang meta-analysis indicates that charter schools increase high school graduation and college acceptance rates, and provide significant benefits to students from low-income neighborhoods or students who are struggling in traditional public schools.
About the National Alliance
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org
