There are 148 charter schools in Illinois, mostly in Chicago and Rockford.  But despite their inclusion in our communities, many Illinoisans still don’t know much about charter schools.

The charter school model was created to allow “great flexibility for innovation within public schools,” according to the National Education Association. The first one opened in 1992 in Minnesota. They are public schools that differ from regular district schools because there are rarely geographic attendance restrictions within the districts (except in some areas of Chicago, says the Illinois Network of Charter Schools).

The NEA also says charter schools are different from neighborhood schools in that they tend to hire younger teachers, are governed by appointed school boards and are sometimes run by “chains”–groups that run several charter schools. Both kinds of schools are taxpayer-funded and do not charge tuition.

The INCS calls the idea that charter schools and district schools have similar academic achievements a myth, but the NEA says there are only very small differences. In some areas, traditional schools do better, while charter schools have higher-achieving students in other areas.

The INCS has identified several other facts and myths about charter schools in Illinois.

charter school facts

 

Other Illinois charter school facts, from the INCS:

  • Charter schools are not part of a scheme to privatize public education.
  • Charter schools receive less public funding than traditional district schools.
  • Charter schools are not religiously affiliated.
  • Some charter schools use a lottery system to enroll students.
  • In Illinois, charter schools cannot be governed by private entities.
  • All Illinois charter schools are non-profit.
  • Special needs students make up 12 percent of Illinois charter schools’ student bodies.
  • Charter schools can choose how to structure their curriculum. They can focus on environmental learning, science and math, language and more.
  • Illinois charter school students must still take state-administered tests.
  • 86 percent of Illinois charter high schools exceeded comparison school performance on the PSAE in 2013.
  • 72 percent of Illinois elementary schools exceeded comparison school performance on the ISAT in 2013.
  • Students are admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
  • 23 percent of Chicago’s high school students are enrolled in charter schools.
  • 10 percent of Chicago’s elementary school students are enrolled in charter schools.
  • Five new charter schools 0pened in Illinois in 2014.
  • 9 percent of Illinois charter school students are English learners.

The NEA outlines four requirements that it says a charter school needs to be successful. It says a school must engage its students with a quality curriculum, each student’s needs must be met to the best of the school’s ability to help them become successful learners that are held to high expectations, charter schools must be accountable to their communities to meet or exceed traditional school expectations and information about charter schools’ operations must be available to the taxpayers that fund them.

 

NEXT ARTICLE: Chicago charter schools: Separating fact from fiction

 

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