THE BIG IDEA:
Every child has the fundamental right to attend an excellent school. High-quality charter schools provide opportunities to students and families that don’t have access to great schools.
WHAT IS A CHARTER SCHOOL?
A charter school is a tuition-free public school that is independently run. It receives greater flexibility in exchange for increased accountability. The school is established by a “charter,” which is a performance contract describing key elements of the school.
The main difference between traditional public schools and public charter schools is that charters have the ability to make their own administrative and educational decisions, such as choosing the requirements for their teachers, using a different curriculum, designing their academic schedule, and deciding how to spend their funding. Because of this freedom, charter schools are able to quickly adjust to meet the needs of their students. Charter schools play an important role in school innovation and improvement.
KEY TERMS:
CHARTER
START-UP CHARTER SCHOOL
CONVERSION CHARTER SCHOOL
AUTHORIZER
MORE READING:
The Quick Facts
The Issue Brief
Thank you to Maureen Moose and the Birmingham Education Foundation for their partnership in producing and publishing these resources.