FAQ
What is a charter school and how do they perform academically?
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools and open to all students.
Charter schools must comply with statutes pertaining to the provision of services to students with disabilities.
Charter schools have been serving families in Florida since 1997.
Charter schools are unique public schools that have the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for improving student achievement.
Charter schools foster a partnership between parents, teachers, and students to create an environment in which parents can be more involved, teachers are given the freedom to be innovative in their classrooms to help improve learning, and students are provided the structure they need to learn. This holds all groups accountable for the most important goal: improving student achievement.
Charter schools are governed by an independent board while operating under contracts or “charter” with the sponsoring school district that monitors their academic and financial progress.
Just like students attending a district-run public school, charter schools students must take standardized state exams and meet federal academic standards.
Every year, the Florida Department of Education releases a report entitled Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools: A Comparison of the Performance of Charter School Students with Traditional Public School Students. The report released in March 2019 shows that charter school students are outperforming peers attending district-run schools in a majority of the comparisons.
- In 63 of 77 students enrolled in demonstrated higher rates of grade level performance – scoring a 3 or better on the state assessments;
- The achievement gap between minority and non-minority students attending charter schools was lower in 19 of the 22 assessments;
- The percentage of students making learning gains was higher in charter schools in 88 of the 96 comparisons.
Charter schools are evaluated and assigned a school grade by the Florida Department of Education using the same standards and criteria as district-run public schools. In 2017-18, 67% of public charter schools earned an “A” or “B” in the state.
Both district-run public schools and charter schools must hire state-certified educators.