The following are answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding charter schools and what they mean for students, educators, schools and communities. The answers to these FAQs are intended to provide only an introductory overview of key issues. Links are provided to take you to areas with additional information.

What are Charter Schools?

Charter schools are independent public schools, designed and operated by educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs and others. As public schools, students attend free of charge and are selected through open enrollment and lotteries. They are sponsored by designated local or state educational organizations who monitor their quality and integrity, but allow them to operate freed from the traditional bureaucratic and regulatory red tape that hog-ties public schools. Freed from such micromanagement, charter schools design and deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and community needs. Because they are schools of choice, they are held to the highest level of accountability – consumer demand.

How Do Charter Schools Differ From Traditional District Public Schools?

Charter schools operate from 3 basic principles:

• Accountability: Charter schools are held accountable for how well they educate children in a safe and responsible environment, not for compliance with district and state regulations. They are judged on how well they meet the student achievement goals established by their charter, and how well they manage the fiscal and operational responsibilities entrusted to them. Charter schools must and do operate lawfully and responsibly, with the highest regard for equity and excellence. If they fail to deliver, they are closed.

• Choice: Parents, teachers, community groups, organizations, or individuals interested in creating a better educational opportunity for children can start charter schools. Local and state school boards, colleges and universities, and other community agencies interested in fostering innovation and excellence in schools sponsor them. Students choose to attend, and teachers choose to teach at charter schools.

• Autonomy: Charter schools are freed from the traditional bureaucracy and regulations that divert a school's energy and resources toward compliance rather than excellence. Instead of jumping through procedural hoops and over paperwork hurdles, educators can focus on setting and reaching high academic standards for their students. Recently, charter schools have been facing more regulations and bureaucracy, thus eliminating some of the advantages they were supposed to have.

Why Are Charter Schools So Popular?

Charters provide opportunity for better child-centered education. They provide the chance for communities to create the greatest range of educational choices for their children. Operators have the opportunity and the incentive to create schools that provide new and better services to students. And charters, bound only by the high standards they have set for themselves, inspire the rest of the system to work harder and be more responsive to the needs of the children.

How Are Charter Schools Funded?

Charter schools are public schools. Most charters are created by groups of educators, parents and community leaders. Like district public schools, they are funded according to enrollment (also called average daily attendance, or ADA), and receive funding from the district and the state according to the number of students attending.

Unlike traditional district schools, most charter schools do not receive funding to cover the cost of securing a facility. Most must rely on fundraising, grant writing, or other independent means. Recent federal legislation provides funding to help charters with start-up costs, but the task remains imposing.

How Do Charter Schools Manage if They are Underfunded?

Necessity, as the mother of invention, is inspiring innovation in this area.

Facilities and Other Start-Up and Capital Costs:

Many charter schools improvise by converting spaces such as rented retail facilities, former churches, lofts and warehouses, into classroom, cafeteria, assembly and gym space, supplemented by the local YMCA, the public library and park, and the diner down the street. Once they are more established they are able to acquire loans and move to more suitable or permanent facilities.

The same is true of capital needs beyond bricks and mortar. School founders have managed on an ad hoc basis with the help of private funds or alternative credit routes, and especially the sweat equity of enthusiastic volunteers, parents and local professionals. The charter concept has become more recognized and successful, banks and corporations have developed ways to provide capital to charter schools at favorable rates.

Operational costs:

Charter schools receive a portion of the state and district operating funds generally based on student enrollment counts. The portion is determined by the state legislation, and, in some states, is negotiated in the charter contract. For example, a state’s charter legislation determines that a percentage or up to a percentage of operating funds follows the students. The actual acquisition of that funding however, falls upon the charter school operators – sometimes no small task.

Categorical aid:

Also significant in operational expenses are categorical federal education grant funds. These funds generally follows one of two routes before reaching schools: (1) either distributed directly by the U.S. Department of Education through its own application process, or (2) channeled through state education agencies that then distribute the funds in a variety of ways. Typically, state agencies distribute funds based on whether a charter school is recognized as its own local education authority or not. If it is recognized as such, then charter schools may receive the money directly. The route is ultimately determined by the state legislation.

Do Charter Schools Take Money from Public Schools?

Charter schools are public schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations. Fiscally, charter schools have demonstrated efficiency.

How Do Charter Schools Impact the Public School System?

Charter schools provide a variety of services to children that place healthy pressure on the district to provide equal or better services.

In the struggle to provide school choice to Detroit parents, the Detroit Public Schools Superintendent David Snead said, "We're finding the charter idea is helping encourage other schools in our district to examine what they are doing. I don't agree with those who are defensive. We are proud of many things about the Detroit schools. But we can, and must do better. Charter schools are helping us move in the right direction."

Do Charter Schools Work?

Yes. In addition to the positive pressure they put on the public school system as a whole, charter schools satisfy and serve their primary constituents (teachers, parents, and students) by providing exciting and viable new educational in an inclusive, individual manner. The Center for Education Reform’s 1996-1997 Charter School Survey found that 65% of the charters surveyed had a waiting list, averaging 135 students. The Hudson Institute’s 1997 report Charter Schools in Action also found high satisfaction levels. Among its major findings:

• Charter schools are havens for children who had bad educational experiences elsewhere. Among students performing "poorly" in their previous school (as judged by their parents), nearly half are now doing "excellent" or "above average" work.

• Charter schools are very popular with students, parents, and teachers.

• Families and teachers are seeking out charter schools primarily for educational reasons. Satisfaction levels are highest for all three groups when it comes to educational matters (curriculum, teaching, class size, etc.)

Charter school teachers are diverse, but nearly all are finding personal fulfillment and professional reward. The teachers feel empowered.

For more information on charter schools, visit the website of the Massachusetts Department of Education, or the Massachusetts Charter School Association.