School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. It is the subject of fierce debate in various state legislatures across the United States.
Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines was 171,178 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people in 2015.
Charter schools in the United States are primary or secondary education institutions that are public schools which are publicly funded and operate independently, rather than being controlled by local school districts. Charter schools have a contract with local school districts or other authorizing bodies which allow them to operate. These contracts, or charters, are how charters schools bear their name. They do not charge tuition, as they are funded with public tax dollars. Charter schools are subject to fewer rules than traditional state schools in exchange for greater accountability. Proponents argue that they are meant to serve underserved communities that wish to have alternatives to their neighborhood school. All charters are tuition free and open to all students, with the vast majority being either freestanding and independent and run as a non-profit organization. However, there are some for-profit management organizations that hold charters, though these are only allowed in Arizona. Only non-profit charters can receive donations from private sources, just the same as traditional public schools.
The Sturgis Charter Public School is a dual-campus charter school located in the village of Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. The school received its charter in February 1998 and opened in September for the 1998–1999 academic year with 162 freshman, 15 faculty and staff, a newly renovated facility, and a $1.2 million budget. The school philosophy is International Baccalaureate for all students.
Noble Schools, is an open enrollment, public charter network of high schools and middle schools serving students throughout Chicago. Noble was co-founded in 1999 by Michael Milkie and Tonya Hernandez through a partnership between Ron Manderschied, President of Northwestern University Settlement House. Noble's first expansions, Rauner College Prep and Pritzker College Prep, opened in 2006. There are currently 18 schools in the charter school network: 1 middle school and 17 high schools. Noble schools are public and open to all students in Chicago and there is no testing required for admission.
The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for Washington, D.C.. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter schools in the city.
The Knowledge is Power Program, commonly known as KIPP, is a network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory schools in low income communities throughout the United States. KIPP is America's largest network of charter schools. The head offices are in San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
Renaissance 2010 was a program of the Chicago Public Schools school district of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Pushed by for-profit education companies, Renaissance 2010 initiative was announced in June 2004 by the Chicago Public Schools and the City of Chicago. Renaissance 2010 called for 100 new schools by 2010. Under Renaissance 2010, the Chicago Public Schools closed over 80 public schools, and sought to create 100 charter schools by 2010. These schools were to be held accountable for test score performance through 5-year contracts while following one of three governance structures: charter, contract, or performance.
The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) governs the public school system that serves New Orleans, Louisiana. It includes the entirety of Orleans Parish, coterminous with New Orleans.
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) is a public charter school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1996 as part of the Massachusetts Educational Reform. It was originally located in Hadley, Massachusetts, but relocated to South Hadley for its tenth year in 2005.
William Penn Charter School is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be operated by the "Overseers of the public School, founded by Charter in the town and county of Philadelphia" in Pennsylvania. It is the oldest Quaker school in the world, the oldest elementary school in Pennsylvania, and the fifth oldest elementary school in the United States following The Collegiate School, Boston Latin School (1635), Hartford Public High School (1638), and Roxbury Latin (1645).
The New Jersey Department of Education administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered in the Judge Robert L. Carter Building in Trenton.
The South Shore Charter Public School (SSCPS) is a public charter school located in Norwell, Massachusetts, United States. SSCPS serves students from grades K–12. The K–12 system is divided as follows: Level I (K–2), Level II (3–4), Level III (5–6), Level IV (7–8), and High School (9–12). The school's student population, as of the 2022–2023 academic school year is 1,009 students in grades Kindergarten-12.
Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School (BART), located in Adams, United States is a tuition-free, college-preparatory public school serving 6th through 12th grade students in Berkshire County. Students may enter in 6th through 10th grade, no new students are accepted in the 11th or 12th grade year.
The Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers is one of several Horace Mann Charter Schools in the Boston Public Schools system. On April 25, 2010, the school was renamed to honor the late senator, Edward M. Kennedy.
Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School is a K–12 school located at 10 New Bond St., Worcester, Massachusetts, United States in former Heald Machine Company buildings. The school was founded in 1998.
Pittsburgh Public Schools is the public school district serving the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and adjacent Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania. As of the 2021–2022 school year, the district operates 54 schools with 4,192 employees and 20,350 students, and has a budget of $668.3 million. According to the district's 2021 budget, based on the 2010 U.S. Census, the combined land area served is 55.3 square miles (143 km2), with a population of 309,359.
Washington Initiative 1240 "concerns creation of a public charter school system" was an initiative that appeared on the Washington state general ballot in November 2012. Originally filed with the Washington Secretary of State on May 31, proponents and paid signature gatherers collected enough signatures to be certified for the ballot on July 25, making it one of the fastest initiatives ever to do so, at an estimated cost of more than $6 per signature. Proposed charter schools would receive public funding but not be governed by local school districts. An August 2012 financial impact study by the state Office of Financial Management estimated "an indeterminate, but non-zero, fiscal impact to local public school districts" and "known state agency implementation costs" of at least $3 million in the first five years. The initiative was approved by voters in November 2012.
Success Academy Charter Schools, originally Harlem Success Academy, is a charter school operator in New York City. Eva Moskowitz, a former city council member for the Upper East Side, is its founder and CEO. It has 47 schools in the New York area and 17,000 students.
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autonomy for accountability, that it is freed from the rules but accountable for results.
