RD247 - A Report on Public Charter Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia for 2007-2008


Executive Summary:
The evaluation of the public charter schools of Virginia examines the three public charter schools in operation in the state during the 2007-2008 school year. All three schools in operation in Virginia are designed to provide alternative and experiential learning opportunities for students who are at risk. However, differences among these schools include: the histories of the schools, characteristics of the communities served, characteristics of the students enrolled, size of the student bodies, grade levels served, resources available, and educational approaches and priorities. A fourth charter school, approved in 2007, used 2007-2008 as a planning year and opened for students in August 2008. The fifth charter school, approved in June 2008, is waiting for contract approval before opening in July 2009.

Key Observations and Findings

National

• Legislation. Forty (40) states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws in place.
• Schools. Of the more than 130,407 public K-12 schools nationally, 4,225 are charters.
• Students. A total of 1,242,427 students are enrolled in public charter schools. The total United States public school enrollment is 49,113,000. (*1)

Virginia

• Schools. Three charter schools operated in Virginia in 2007-2008. As of June 2008, the total enrollment for the three charter schools was 248 students.
• Staff. The three schools reported a total of 35.5 staff members including principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, and guidance counselors. The average student-to-teacher ratio was 10 students per teacher.
• Progress in Achieving Goals. Progress as reported in terms of improved academic achievement, average daily attendance, and decreased dropout rates varies from year to year and among the schools. All three schools, Murray High School, Hampton Harbour Academy, and York River Academy achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) performance targets under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for the 2007- 2008 school year based on data from spring 2007. For 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008, Murray High School and York River Academy were fully accredited. Hampton Harbour Academy was conditionally accredited for the 2007- 2008 school year. In 2006-2007, the school status was “Accreditation Withheld/Improving School Nearing Accreditation.” For 2004-2005 and 2005- 2006, the school was accredited with warning.
• Average Daily Attendance and Dropout Rates. The overall average daily attendance rate in the charter schools has improved slightly during the last several years and is presently at 91 percent. The state rate for 2007-2008 is 95.2 percent. While dropout rates in the public charter schools have historically been higher than comparable rates for the divisions in which they are chartered, dropout rates in 2006-2007 were at zero percent in two of the schools and 1.1 percent in the third school. Official dropout rates for 2007-2008 will be available from the Virginia Department of Education after October 1, 2008.
• Comparison of Student Performance. The performance of pupils in charter schools as compared to students in other schools is reported in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment results. Assessment results indicate that in some cases, student performance in the charter schools exceeds that of the more traditional school; in other cases it does not. The three schools also self-reported that the students in the charter schools are generally performing better than if they had remained in a traditional school.
• Impact on the Community. All of the schools reported programs to achieve parental and community involvement. The perceptions of the schools, community awards, other forms of recognition, and parental surveys suggest success in these efforts. Survey results suggest that the small size, individualized instruction, and innovative approaches to education found in these schools have had a positive impact on the communities they serve.

The Code of Virginia and Charter Schools

The Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 2311, Public Charter School Fund, during the 2006-2007session that amended the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1- 212.5:1, establishing a public charter school fund. The purpose of this fund is to establish a mechanism whereby gifts, grants, bequests, or donations from public or private sources can be paid into the state treasury and credited to the fund for establishing or supporting public charter schools in the Commonwealth that stimulate the development of alternative public education programs. Criteria for making distributions from the fund were approved by the Virginia Board of Education on January 10, 2008. To date, no gifts, grants, bequests, or donations have been received in the fund for disbursement.

Growth of Charter Schools in Virginia

In July 2005, the United States Education Department (USED) awarded three federal charter school grants for proposed public charter schools in Albemarle County, Richmond City, and Norfolk City. The charter school applications in Albemarle and Richmond have been approved by the respective local school boards. The Norfolk charter school application has not been presented to the local school board for approval.

In Administrative Superintendent’s Memorandum, Number 13, dated April 25, 2008, “Charter School Report for 2007-2008,”superintendents were asked to respond to the following charter school question: “Whether you have charter schools or not in your division, please list barriers you perceive in establishing charter schools in Virginia.” Forty-nine (49) percent of the divisions did not respond to the question; 21 percent listed no barriers; 18 percent cited fiscal barriers; 11 percent indicated that there was no interest or need; and nine percent cited lack of facilities. Other barriers mentioned included: difficulty obtaining certified teachers; high-quality public school programs; restrictiveness of Virginia charter school law; insufficient research; and a lack of political will for establishing charter schools. The responses cited above are similar to responses received for the 2006-2007 charter school report.

(*1) “Charter Schools Fast Facts.” 2 July 2008. Center for Education Reform. Washington, D.C. 2 July 2008.
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