What is a Public Charter School?
Working together to provide innovative public education options to NH families.The Charter School Advantage
State-legislated Charter Schools are legally independent, innovative, outcome-based, public schools. In 1991, Minnesota became the first state to enact charter school legislation. Introduced by Democratic state senator Ember Reichgott Junge in 1989, the Minnesota charter school law was designed to give parents greater flexibility in defining and managing education. A public charter school is a publicly funded school that, in accordance with an enabling state statute, has been granted a charter exempting it from selected state or local rules and regulations. Charter schools are held strictly accountable to the state for performance and for providing a quality education. A school's charter is reviewed every 5 years and can be revoked if guidelines on curriculum and management are not followed or the standards are not met. Charter schools have the flexibility to create educational programs with curriculum, teaching and organizational structures that differ from many traditional public schools. Charter schools are mission-driven schools created by educators who envision a school committed to a particular purpose and philosophy.
Charter schools in New Hampshire were designed as living laboratories for educational innovation within the public education system and as an educational option for parents. In order to fulfill this aspect of their purpose, the existing charter schools in New Hampshire have formed the New Hampshire Public Charter School Association (NHPCSA). The two part purpose of the non-profit association is to provide a structure for charter schools to share best practices with all public schools and to work together to identify and secure resources for charter schools in NH. NHPCSA was formed by charter school leaders all over the state and built on the informal networks that had already been established.
The Association expects to host an annual conference to share best practices with district schools as well as seek other ways to help charter schools and public school to connect. Roberta Tenney, a Department of Education Administrator from the Bureau of Accountability, has said of the Association, "Charter schools in New Hampshire have matured to the point where an affinity group like the association makes sense. NHPCSA will help charter schools learn from each other and disseminate their innovative ideas about education to all public schools." The Advantage to New Hampshire
Charter Schools offer the students, parents and teachers a public school option that can often address issues and special areas of emphasis that can’t readily be supported in regular public schools and add to students abilities to flourish as learners. Different approaches which accommodate divergent student learning styles can allow a student to thrive rather than falter. Particularly in the early years, a lifelong self confidence and love of learning can be acquired that will support the individual throughout their lives. Charters in NH augment the efforts of traditional public schools and are limited to 10% of any town’s population per grade. Charter schools provide public education options for all NH families.
Charter schools enhance the NH economy by offering public education options to retain families currently living here or interested in moving to NH. A community is only as rich as the options it offers its citizens. Charter schools support state growth by supporting a NH student population that is engaged in their learning environments and therefore less like to become disinterested and drop out. If students become disengaged from their education, they and their parents need options. In many states, charter schools play a key role in addressing high school dropout prevention by finding alternative ways of engaging students. Several New Hampshire charter schools specifically target high school dropouts and others do so simply by providing an option for students.
The following figures from the Alliance for Excellent Education state analysis from October 2007 help illustrate the potential economic benefits to individuals and the state of addressing the prevention of high school dropouts of investing in an improved high school system that better prepares all high school students for graduation.
• More than 4,000 students did not graduate from New Hampshire’s high schools in 2007; the lost lifetime earnings in New Hampshire for that class of dropouts alone totals more than $1.1 billion.
• New Hampshire would save more than $63 million in health care costs over the course of the lifetimes of each class of dropouts had they earned their diplomas.
• New Hampshire households would have over $216 million more in accumulated wealth if all heads of households had graduated from high school.
• More than $51 million would be added to New Hampshire’s economy by 2020 if students of color graduated at the same rate as white students.
• If New Hampshire’s high schools graduated all students ready for college, the state would save over $13 million a year in community college remediation costs and lost earnings.
• New Hampshire’s economy would see a combination of savings and revenue of over $15 million in reduced crime spending and increased earnings each year if the male high school graduation rate increased by just 5 percent.
The National Perspectives on Charter Schools
Today there are over 4,000 charter schools operating in 40 states plus the District of Columbia serving over one million students. There are many national organizations supporting the establishment and growth of charter schools, including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Democrats for Education Reform, the Center for Education Reform. Even teacher’s unions, which have traditionally been portrayed as opposed to charter schools support them as a vehicle for education reform. The National Education Association, in Resolution A-29, "supports innovation in public education,” agreeing that “The core assumptions that inform the charter school concept -- i.e., innovation, autonomy, and accountability -- indicate that charter schools have the potential to facilitate these reforms, and be positive change agents by developing new and creative methods of teaching and learning that can be replicated in mainstream public schools.”
The Funding Issue
Currently, the NHPCSA is working with legislators from the NH House and Senate to provide permanent, sustainable funding for the educational options that charter schools provide. Charter schools have built a solid foundation with federal startup grant funding but need state support to continued operation. In the United States there are over 4,000 charter schools operating in 40 states plus the District of Columbia serving over one million students. Nationally on average, charter schools receive 80% of the sending districts tuition. Without a change in the funding, many believe that the charter schools will start to close, eliminating vital options for New Hampshire parents and students. Please call 603-498-2386 to learn more about how you can support charter schools options for NH families.
New Hampshire Public Charter School Association