WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released a new reporton the top 25 congressional districts by number of charter school students and schools. The reports findings show that within the 435 congressional districts in the United States, 67 districts have more than 10,000 students enrolled in public charter schools and 102 districts have 20 or more public charter schools.
This report is a valuable resource for members of Congress to better understand the prevalence of public charter schools in their districts and states, said Nina Rees, President and CEO. Public charter schools are now serving students in more than 80 percent of our nations congressional districts and it is important that members know the number of public charter schools and students they represent.
The report also lists the current member of Congress for each of the top districts and how they voted on H.R. 10, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, which passed the House of Representatives with wide bipartisan support on May 9, 2014.
We were pleased to see such strong bipartisan support for theSuccess and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, continued Rees. As members of Congress continue to learn more about the accomplishments of public charter schools, their support has only grown. This is a very encouraging trend and one that will serve our students well as we continue to look for ways to further support the growth of high-quality public charter schools.
The top five congressional districts by number of public charter school students are:
Rank
Member
District
# of Students
Vote on H.R. 10
1
Brad Sherman (D)
CA-30
38,501
YES
2
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)
DC-01
34,554
N/A
3
Cedric Richmond (D)
LA-02
31,824
NO
4
John Conyers (D)
MI-13
30,486
YES
5
Bobby Rush (D)
IL-01
29,568
DID NOT VOTE
The top five congressional districts by number of public charter schools are:
Rank
Member
District
# of Schools
Vote on H.R. 10
1
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)
DC-01
105
N/A
2
Ed Pastor (D)
AZ-07
74
YES
3
Ron Barber (D)
AZ-02
71
YES
3
Cedric Richmond (D)
LA-02
71
NO
4
Joyce Beatty (D)
OH-03
68
YES
5
Kyrsten Sinema (D)
AZ-09
67
YES
Click here to read The Numbers Add Up: Congressional Districts with the Most Charter Schools and Charter School Students.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, all but one independent research study has found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center for Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public 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.
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