WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today is the first day of National Charter Schools Week. In celebration of the week, President Barack Obama has issued a proclamation declaring May 4 10, 2014 National Charter Schools Week. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are both strong supporters of public charter schools and regularly promote the innovation and opportunity charter schools bring to our schools and students.
The proclamation notes:
During National Charter Schools Week, we pay tribute to the role our Nation’s public charter schools play in advancing opportunity, and we salute the parents, educators, community leaders, policymakers, and philanthropists who gave rise to the charter school sector. As independent public schools, charter schools have the ability to try innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the classroom. This flexibility comes with high standards and accountability; charter schools must demonstrate that all their students are progressing toward academic excellence. Those that do not measure up can be shut down. And those that are successful can provide effective approaches for the broader public education system. They can show what is possible — schools that give every student the chance to prepare for college and career and to develop a love of learning that lasts a lifetime…
I commend our Nation’s charter schools, teachers, and administrators, and I call on States and communities to support high quality public schools, including charter schools and the students they serve.
Click here to read the full presidential proclamation.
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.
For more information about National Charter Schools Week, please visit publiccharters.org/charterschoolsweek.
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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