Tag Archives: Colorado Charters

Sometimes people get tired of seeing what I have to say about the need for more school choice. It’s times like these that are good to hear from real parents and students who benefit from having options. In that spirit, here’s a video created by the Illinois Policy Institute talking to families who benefit from charter schools in Chicago: As Denise at Colorado Charters points out, our state is blessed by comparison. In a state that serves nearly three times as many public school students, Illinois only enrolls 19,000 students (or fewer than 1 in 100) in public charter schools. Colorado has about 55,000 charter school students (or about 1 in 15 of the total public school population). Still, though, the demand is great. As Denise reminds us, 24,000 are on waiting lists to get in. What are we waiting for? Isn’t public education mainly about serving the kids and providing them the options that fit them best?

Last week I told you about how charter schools in Aurora were getting shortchanged in a proposed bond measure. The local newspaper, the Aurora Sentinel, fired back at the charter schools with a strange and poorly informed editorial. There’s no need to rehash all the places where the newspaper’s editors went wrong. Denise at Colorado Charters took care of it pretty well with a two-part series (here and here). According to a 2007 Harvard University national survey, most Americans don’t really know much about charter schools. Though interestingly, support for charters and equalized funding for charters is much higher among those who actually understand how they work. Perhaps if the Aurora Sentinel editors were similarly well-informed, their opinion would change. But the reason I wanted to bring this all to your attention was the full and fresh treatment given today at the online news shop Face The State. One of the Education Policy Center’s own is quoted in the story: “The claim that charter schools lack accountability is laughable,” said Ben DeGrow, an education policy analyst with the Independence Institute, a Golden-based free market think tank and frequent supporter of charter schools. “In many ways they’re more accountable than traditional […]

Colorado needs more charter schools. We have about 140 now. But many of them are full, and parents keep asking for more. Thousands of families across the state are on wait lists to get into charter schools. On a lighter note today, Denise at Colorado Charters tells us how all those new charter schools we’d like to see could avoid confusion by steering clear of duplicating names. She gives plenty of Colorado examples. After reading through her list, your head will spin. With all the Academies, Pioneers, Frontiers, Excels, and Vanguards, you might think you’re on a car dealer’s lot (or maybe just shopping for car insurance). Denise concludes: In my dream world new charter schools select names that are unique and easy to differentiate. The founders check the Secretary of State’s website to make sure the legal name is available. And, of course, my dream world includes charter founders asking about the feasibility of using a school name before making it official. So here’s a challenge to all those aspiring charter school founders: Pick a name that really sets you apart. How about naming the school after an inspiring national or Colorado historical figure? Whatever it is, find that […]

The 2008 edition of the Newsweek and Washington Post annual Challenge Index – which “measures a public high school’s effort to challenge its students” – was released this week. One Colorado high school made the top 100 nationwide: Lafayette’s Peak to Peak Charter School, which ranked #40. The Colorado Charters blog has posted some information from the press release: The highly accredited college-prep K-12 charter school opened as an elementary school in 2000, and has grown to over 1300 students in grades K-12 in 2007. Peak to Peak High School offers a rigorous liberal arts curriculum including AP classes, highly acclaimed fine arts and state championship athletics. The three graduating classes to date average a 99 percent graduation rate, and 100 percent of the 93 graduating seniors in the class of 2008 have been accepted to a college of their choice. The 81 2007 graduates were offered over $4 million in scholarship money. Ten 2008 seniors qualified as National Merit Finalists, over 10% of the senior class, and eight additional students received Commended recognition. Sixty-two students qualified for Advanced Placement Scholar distinctions based on the 2007 AP exams taken last spring. Even though high school is a long ways off […]