CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS
 "Many experts on school reform and school facilities see a fundamental mismatch between how schools need to operate and the buildings most schools occupy. In one publication after another, both state and national experts characterize existing school facilities as obstacles to educational improvement." Ed Source
Educators and designers intuitively understand that there is a link between the environment and student achievement. Studies have shown the affect of daylight on test scores. Acoustics, temperature, ergonomics (comfort of furniture) and the size and shape of classrooms are all being studied in detail as we test new ways of developing learning environments.
"Research evidence and common sense both indicate that there is a minimum level of quality for a school facility below which student and teacher effectiveness can be seriously compromised. A variety of studies conducted since 1982 throughout the United States indicate that students achieve less in school buildings which are situated on noisy streets, have too many students for their capacity, or cannot be adequately and safely maintained." Ed Source
Exciting Alternative for Public Education
A charter school is a public school, providing instruction from kindergarten through 12th grade. Charter schools are not private schools and the charter law prohibits the conversion of a private school to a charter school. Charter schools must be nonsectarian in their programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations. Charter schools may not charge tuition and may not discriminate against any pupil on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability
Charter schools offer an opportunity for design exploration and reform. The jobs we educate young people to fill require a different organizational model for schools. The lecture format of most classrooms does not prepare students to compete in the individual and collaborative environment of most of today's workplaces.
A group of parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders or a local community-based organization typically creates charter schools. This group must write a petition and submit it for approval to the local school board or county board of education for a charter to open an independent school in their community. There are also conversion charters where an existing school petitions their district for permission to become a charter school.
Charter schools are funded in the same way that all public schools are funded directly from the state of California. All public schools receive funding based on their average daily attendance (ADA).
Charter schools have their own boards of education and operate independently of local school districts. Local school districts and county boards of education, however, have an oversight responsibility over charter schools and review the progress of charter schools. Local school districts, county boards of education and the state can revoke charters.
A charter school is generally exempt from most laws governing school districts, except where specifically noted in the law.
Charter schools in California are required to participate in the statewide assessment test, called the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) program. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor - usually a state or local school board - to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability.
There are currently 574 charter schools operating in California, serving over 200,000 students. Nationwide there are more than 1 million students attending more than 3,600 charter schools. The number of students attending charter schools is increasing at a rate of about 15 percent a year in the United States.
Public charter schools offer an important and timely public school option to address the challenges facing our traditional education system.
Charter schools are an exciting and high-potential alternative for the following reasons:
- Most efforts to reform high-need public schools in California have failed. Charter schools provide parents the opportunity to offer real input in their child's education.
- Charter schools give educators freedom to try new strategies to inspire student achievement.
- Charter schools, less encumbered by the bureaucratic barriers that face other public schools, have the potential to spark system-wide change.
- Charter school facilities will model new ways to connect what is being taught with the physical spaces that support that goal.
Charter School Facilities
As of November 2003, the passage of Proposition 39 required that school districts provide equivalent facilities for charter schools operating in their district. Even so, the majority of California charter schools have struggled to find adequate locations for their schools and many of them lease commercial space.
State funding has been limited and less than successful to date. Proposition 47 was passed in 2002 and Proposition 55 in 2004. Only a handful of charter schools have successfully begun the process of building a facility with these funds. While charter schools are released from some state requirements, like the Field Act, when they build facilities with private funds, they must comply with the state building requirements when state funds are utilized.
SB 740, The Charter School Facility Grant Program, helps charter schools with rent or lease expenses. To be eligible, a charter school must have at least 70% of its pupils eligible for free/reduced lunch or be located in an attendance area with the same kind of student population.
Despite the lack of funding for facilities, charter schools are exploring new ways of defining learning space and the school community at large stands to benefit from this innovation and creativity.
Case Studies
High Tech High, San Diego
Leadership High School
Kipp Schools, National
- JoAnn Koplin
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