The Connecticut Charter Schools Network

National Support for Charter Schools: Research & Reports

THE WHITE HOUSE

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT CLINTON
May 4, 2000
City Academy
St. Paul, Minnesota

"Surveys show the vast majority of parents with children in our 1,700 charter schools think their children are doing better academically in those schools than they were in their previous schools. There are long waiting lists to get in most charter schools all across the United States.

Now, does that mean every charter school is a stunning success? No. But I don't think that anyone can cite any endeavor of life where everybody is doing a great job. The idea behind the charter schools was never that they would all be perfect, but that because they were unlike traditional schools they had to be created with a charter and a mission that had to be fulfilled. If they were not successful in that mission, they could be shut down or changed or the children could go somewhere else.

...Let me finally say that there are some people who criticize charter schools by saying that even though they are public schools, they amount to draining money away from other public schools. That's just not true. You would be in school somewhere. And if you were, whether your school was doing an effective job or not, the tax money would be going there. The charter school movement, if it works, can help to save public education in this country, by proving that excellence can be provided to all children from all backgrounds, no matter what experiences they bring to the school in the first place. That's what this whole thing is about.

...I ran for President in 1992 pledging that if the people voted for me, we would have more of these schools. And over 1,700 schools later...my commitment I think has been fulfilled and American education has been advanced. I only hope that my presence here today will help to get us to 3,000 and will help to get us to the point in America where every school operates like a charter school."

Accountability Via Transparency
by Chester E. Finn, Jr., Bruno V. Manno, and Gregg Vanourek
Education Week
April 26, 2000

"Today's modal form of public school accountability depends on rules and compliance: Make schools follow lots of regulations, micromanage their activities, and ensure that enforcers and bureaucratic controls keep anyone from doing anything untoward. When something goes awry, another regulation or enforcer is put in place to ensure that such a thing never happens again.

...Charters invite a different approach: accountability propelled mostly by public marketplaces in which a school's clients and stakeholders reward its successes, punish its failures, and send it signals about what needs to change. The main function of such a system is to furnish parents, policymakers, taxpayers, and others with plentiful information about each school's workings and effectiveness so that good schools can be found and sustained while bad ones can be repaired or removed.

...Much remains to be done on the accountability front throughout U.S. education. But the country stands to learn from the charter experience what education accountability can actually mean, why it matters, and how besides regulatory compliance it can be achieved in public education. If the charter movement accomplishes only that, it will have been a worthwhile undertaking."

Center for Education Reform News Alert
Washington, DC
February 11, 2000

NEW REPORT FROM CER FINDS CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT ON NATION'S SCHOOLS; NATIONWIDE CHARTER SCHOOL SURVEY RESULTS ALSO RELEASED

"Although public schools outnumber charter schools by more than 40 to 1, the ripple effect being created by charter schools is being felt. Wherever a large number of charters are clustered, traditional schools have begun to behave differently in order to keep up, and in many states their presence is accelerating system-wide school improvement.

...To date, more than 50 reports on the progress, success rates and achievement of charters have been completed by states, universities, and regional and national groups. More than 80 percent show that charter schools are achieving their goals.

...A relative handful of charter schools have failed. As of the end of 1999, 39 charter schools had closed their doors, representing 2.3 percent of the 1,713 charter schools that have opened for business. Far from being an indictment of charter schools, however, these closures are evidence of accountability, one of the great strengths of the charter school movement."

National Governors Association
"Charter Schools: Challenging Traditions and Changing Attitudes"
Education Policy Studies Division
September 1, 1998

"Recent reports from the U.S. Department of Education and the Hudson Institute allay the fear that charter schools siphon top-performing students from traditional public schools. Most charter schools tend to address the needs of disadvantaged students. Although percentages vary among states, nationally every racial/ethnic category is represented in charter schools approximately in proportion to its percentage in the remaining public schools. The Hudson Institute reports that half of charter school students belong to minority groups, while between 34 percent and 41 percent come from low-income families. Further, some states have enacted explicit policies for charter schools to serve at-risk or minority students. For example, many states give preference in the charter approval process to schools designed to serve at-risk students or low-achieving students...Connecticut has placed more emphasis on reducing the racial, ethnic, and economic isolation of students by requiring charter applications to describe what admission criteria the school will use and how the school will promote a diverse student body."