Florida’s charter school laws continue to get middling rankings from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. The state’s rating remains unchanged in the group’s latest national report, leaving it tied with Arizona for the 18th-best charter school oversight policy in the country. The state’s executive branch is trying to[Read More…]
Tag: charter school authorizing
A different look at Florida’s debate over a state charter school authorizer
Last school year, Florida charter schools were more likely to close, and more likely to close early, than the national average. Some Florida school districts are exemplars for charter school oversight, and have almost all of the 12 “essential practices” identified by the National Association for Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) in place.[Read More…]
Report: Fewer new Florida charter schools approved
Florida school boards received fewer applications for new charter schools last year than in any year since 2008, and they approved just one in four — the lowest rate in at least a decade. Overall, school boards approved 50 of the 199 charter school applications they received during the 2014-15[Read More…]
Report grades Florida charter school oversight
From new laws to constitutional amendments, Florida lawmakers will have a raft of charter school changes to consider when their annual session convenes next month. Many of those proposals are aimed at improving charter school oversight, which is also the focus of a new report on state charter school laws by the[Read More…]
The numbers behind a charter school in crisis — and a possible fix
Teachers fired. Parents confused. Warning signs debated. Last week, turmoil at Paramount Charter School became the latest South Florida crisis to draw a rash of media coverage, complete with an adversarial TV interview in the school parking lot and attention from charter school critics on liberal blogs. There’s a lot we don’t know about what’s[Read More…]
More lessons emerging Acclaim Academy charter schools’ collapse
The Florida Times-Union takes a deep dive this morning into the collapse of the Acclaim Academy charter school network. We took a look at the chain’s unraveling here, but the newspaper adds important details, including one that appears to have gotten the attention of Duval County school board members. Dennis Mope, Acclaim’s CEO, had previously filed[Read More…]
Setting a high bar for charter schools, without unnecessary burdens
Charter schools were first conceived as a bargain. Teachers (or, in the case of some of Florida’s oldest and most successful charters, parents) would receive the freedom to start new schools and experiment with different educational models. In exchange, they would face greater accountability for their academic results. That bargain is[Read More…]
Charter school advocates look to rein in unqualified operators
Last week, a once-growing network of Florida charter schools shuttered with little warning. As former students scramble to find schools for the final weeks of the school year, some of the state’s leading charter school advocates say the case of Acclaim Academy should strengthen their case for changes aimed at reining in[Read More…]