Posts published on December 10, 2013

Urban Charter School Growth May Help College Readiness

Overall charter school enrollment increased by approximately 225,000 students during the 2012-2013 school year and there are now more than 2.3 million students attending these independently run, innovative public schools. Today, one in every 20 public school children in America attends a charter school.

Here are a few more key findings from the report:by NAPC.   

  • The three communities with the highest charter school market share are: New Orleans where an astounding 79 percent of public school students attend charter schools; Detroit where 51 percent attend charters; and Washington, D.C., where 43 percent of all public school students attend charters.
  • In seven school districts, at least 30 percent of public school students attend public charter schools: Detroit and Flint, Mich.; Gary, Ind.; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.; New Orleans; and Washington, D.C.
  • In Los Angeles more than 120,000 students attend public charter schools, which is more students than are served by 99.9 percent of American school districts.
  • In 135 American school districts, at least 10 percent of public school students attend charter schools.
  • In the five school districts with the most charter school students, enrollment grew by 49,000 total students over the previous school year. Those school districts were: Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago.
  • In the five school districts with the largest growth in charter school enrollment, enrollment grew by an average of 35 percent in the 2012-13 school year, adding nearly 14,000 new charter students in those communities. Those school districts were: Hall County, Ga.; San Diego; Duvall County, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; and Hillsborough County, Fla.
  • There are 33 new school districts listed in the report this year that have all demonstrated notable charter school market share growth since the 2011-2012 school year. Twenty-eight joined the list of districts with more than 10 percent of their students enrolled in a charter school, and five new districts joined the top 50 total enrollment list.

If you want to learn more, or see if your school district made the list, you can read A Growing Movement: America’s Largest Charter School Communities