National Charter Schools Week is May 7-11
National Charter Schools Week is May 7-11 and we’re happy to take this opportunity to recognize and raise public awareness for charter schools, the academic success of charter school students, and the charter school movement as a whole.
The charter school movement has been growing steadily since the first charter law passed in 1991 in Minnesota. To date, 44 states and D.C. have charter schools, 3.2 million students attend charter schools, there are 7000 public charter schools nationwide receiving $400 million in funding and employing 219,000 charter school teachers.
This year, during National Charter Schools Week, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is highlighting “Change Makers”— these are the teachers, leaders, elected officials, advocates, families, students, and alumni who make up the charter movement. They are encouraging schools and advocates alike to join in the celebration by hosting/attending local rallies, inviting elected officials to classroom visits, and sharing your voice and the voices of “change makers” through blog posts, media outlets, and social media posts.
Get some awesome resources, social templates, and guides here.
Some Shareable Facts!
Looking for ideas on what to post to your social circles? Why not use some of these facts? Or, whether you are a school leader, a teacher, parent, etc., the National Alliance has compiled some specific messaging tailored for you here.
- In 2017-18, there are more than 7,000 charter schools. (National Alliance, 2018)
- Charter schools serve nearly 3.2 million students in 43 states and D.C. (National Alliance, 2018)
- Charter schools serve 6 percent of the 50 million public school students in U.S.
- In 2015-16, 67 percent of charter school students identified as students of color, compared to 51 percent of district school students. (CCD)
- In 2016-17, 60 percent of charter schools were independently managed and 26 percent were part of a non-profit CMO.
- Students in urban charter schools gained an additional 40 days in math and 28 days in reading per year compared to their district school peers—low-income Black and Hispanic students showed even more progress. (CREDO, 2015)
- In 2017, 6 of the 10 best high schools were charter schools. (U.S. News, 2017)
- According to a nationally representative survey, nearly 80 percent of parents want public school choice. (National Alliance, 2016)
- There are more than 5 million additional students who would attend a public charter school if they had access. (PDK, 2017)
- 47 percent of U.S. adults support public charter schools, 29 percent oppose them, with the rest having no opinion. (EdNext, 2018)
Our team will be following along and featuring some of these National Charter Schools Week activities on our social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We invite you to join the conversation as well by using the hashtags #CharterSchoolsWeek and #WeLoveCharterSchools so we can help amplify your voice and the voice of the movement!