It’s been a busy year for the charter school community and our movement continues to gain support. On The Charter Blog, we’ve provided updates on how important legislation could affect charter schools, celebrated the outstanding schools and states in our sector, broke down new research, and provided facts about charter schools.
Here are the top 10 most-read blog posts for 2022:
1. Charter Schools Outperform in Ranking of 2022 Best High Schools
The U.S. News & World Report released their 2022 ranking of best public high schools and—once again—charter schools shine. In 2022, charter schools accounted for 12% of all public high schools on the list, but they made up 22% of the top 100 public high schools.
2. Proposed Federal Regulations Ignore Students’ and Families’ Needs
This April, the U.S. Department of Education released a proposal for new rules for the Charter Schools Program (CSP) that provide grants to open new charter schools or grow and expand existing schools. These additional proposed rules would create bureaucratic hurdles that would make it so difficult to access funds that most potential grantees would choose not to even apply. The National Alliance and our partners quickly gathered almost a thousand charter school parents to make their concerns known in the nation’s capital, and the final rules included less harmful restrictions.
3. Charter School Updates in the States, Spring 2022
There was a significant amount of activity on charter school legislation during the 2022 state legislative sessions. The National Alliance and on-the-ground partners advocated for our schools in at-risk states and ones on the cusp of something big for schools. Todd Ziebarth, senior vice president of state support and advocacy, gave an update on where the fight was two months into the 2022 legislative sessions.
4. New Federal Funding Bill Out of Step With What Parents Want for Charter Schools
This summer, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations went after the CSP yet again with a $40M cut to the only source of dedicated federal funding for charter schools. This cut would hurt our schools and our kids, those they claim they want to protect. We shared how members of our community could take action by contacting their senators.
5. New Study Finds Charter Schools Pivoted Quickly During the Pandemic
Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes released survey-based research illuminating the experiences of charter school leaders in California, New York, and Washington state from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through the end of the 2020-21 school year. The study found charter schools were able to cope with challenges and quickly pivot by demonstrating “resilience and creativity” in response to the needs of students.
6. Three Things to Know About Parents and How They Might Vote This Fall
A 2022 national survey of more than 5,000 parents of school-aged children, conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, examined families’ educational choices and patterns, satisfaction with school options, and the likely significance of education as an issue in upcoming elections. Jennifer Diaz, vice president of communications, outlined key findings that suggested education voters may be the new “swing” voters.
7. Maintaining Positive Momentum for State Charter Legislation in 2022
Oftentimes in election years such as 2022, there is less of an appetite among lawmakers to make big changes. That hasn’t been the case this year in a notable number of states. Todd Ziebarth, senior vice president of state support and advocacy, outlined major state legislative wins across the country for the charter school sector.
8. Are Charter Schools Public Schools?
Public Schools Week is an annual celebration that brings together school leaders, educators, parents, and community leaders to recognize the importance of our nation’s public schools—including charter schools. We celebrated by sharing three ways to explain how charter schools are public schools.
9. Four States Setting Charter Schools Up for Success in 2022
The National Alliance’s 13th annual state charter school law rankings report saw positive movement in a number of states. The review of the strength and sustainability of all the charter school laws in the country ensures lawmakers are held accountable to families seeking high-quality public school options for their students, more important now than ever before. Here are the four states that made the most progress this past year in their charter school law.
10. Reconnected and Inspired: A Recap of NCSC22
The 2022 National Charter Schools Conference reunited 3,500 charter school educators, school leaders, and national, state, and local advocates in Washington, D.C. for the first time in over two years. See a recap of the four-day conference that featured more than 70 breakout sessions and more than 250 exhibitors as well as an exceptional slate of speakers.
Kayley Pham is the coordinator of social and digital strategy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
