Re: "Waiting For Superman" - a documentary about the sorry state of our education sys
In Florida, charter schools don't measure up when compared to district schools:
•
The state has 334 charter schools, up more than 10 percent
from the 2004–05 school year.
• Nearly 1 out of 11 public schools is a charter school.
• Nearly 3.5 percent of students attend a charter school.
Over half of all charter school students are pre-K and
elementary school-age children.
•
In the 2004-05 school year, charter schools served a student
population demographically similar to district schools: 52
percent of children enrolled in charter schools are children of
color, compared to 51 percent in district schools.
•
Six percent of charter schools are conversions from district
schools.
•
Just over 50 percent of charter schools received grades of A
or B under the state accountability system in 2005, compared
to 66 percent of district schools. Twenty-six percent of charter
schools received a D or an F, compared to only 11 percent of
district schools.
•
As of January 2006, 62 charter schools have been closed,
more than 15 percent of all the charter schools that had been
opened. (Nationally, the rate is closer to seven percent.) More
than a third of the charter schools closures in Florida have been
due to financial mismanagement. The other major reasons
include lack of enrollment and school governance issues.
•
In the 2005-06 school year, 69 percent of charter applicants
whose district denied their application appealed their case to
the State Board. In 53 percent of those cases, the State Board
ruled on behalf of the charter schools.
•
Charter schools in the state are small: The average charter
elementary school enrolls 292 students, compared to 674
students in the average district elementary school. Seventy
percent of charter schools enroll fewer than 300 students.
One‑third enroll fewer than 100 students.
•
During fiscal year 2003, charter schools received 11.4 percent
less funding than district schools: $7,831 vs. $6,936 per pupil.
•
Seventy-six percent of charter school funding comes from the
state, compared to 45 percent of district funding. Forty-three
percent of charter schools are not eligible for state capital
outlay funds.
•
Sources: J. Allen, and M. Looney, Charter School Closures: The Opportunity for
Accountability, The Center for Education Reform, October, 2002; Meagan
Batdorff, Chester E. Finn, Bryan Hassel, Larry Maloney, Eric Osberg, Sheree
Speakman, and Michelle Terrell, Charter School Funding: Inequity’s Next Frontier,
Thomas B. Fordham Institute, August, 2005.
This is a sidebar from Florida Charter School Report:
http://www.educationsector.org/usr_doc/Florida_Charter_School_Report.pdf
Regards from Rosie