- According to In Perspective, the concept of a charter school was first thought up in 1974 by an educator named Ray Budde. The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1991, and they opened the first charter school in the United States the very next year!
- As of 2016, not even 25 years after the very first charter school was founded, Information Station reports that there are around 7,000 charter schools up and running in the United States, with more than three million students enrolled!
- Arizona has the highest amount of charter school enrollment per population in the entire country. Arizona’s Office of Education announced in 2014 that 15% of students living in the state attended charter schools.
- Even outside the United States, charter schools are on the rise. A few countries around the world that offer charter-type schools, noted by Education Week, are Australia, France, Japan, the Netherlands, and Nicaragua!
- Charter schools can be summed up with one word: accountability. Charter schools are public schools, but they are held to a much higher standard than traditional public schools are. These standards must be met in each charter school in order for their charter to be renewed, which typically occurs every three to five years, according to In Perspective.
- Stanford University conducted a study on charter schools in 2015, finding that they often provide higher levels of growth in mathematics and reading than traditional public schools, especially for children who come from low-income families, as well as for minorities.
- According to PBS, many parents and educators believe that charter schools provide more student-centered learning than other types of K-12 schools.
- Rosa Parks herself was an advocate for charter schools! Back in 1997, she talked about starting one in Detroit, Michigan. How cool is that?!
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