Some Examples of Charter Schools

Since Alberta is the only Canadian province with charter legislation, the number of charter schools in Canada remains low. There are presently nine charter schools in operation and one more due to open in September of 1999.¹⁷ Since charter legislation only came into effect in Alberta in 1995, reports about success and failures are slow to become available.

In the United States however, where charter schools have been in existence for a longer time, reports are available. The Vaughn Street School, just outside of Los Angeles, is an example of an effective charter school. It has a total of 1,107 students. 931 are Hispanics and speak limited English. The principal applied for charter status as soon as the legislation was introduced and in 1993 a charter was obtained.

Parents who wished for their children to attend the school were required to sign a contract, thereby committing them to be active participants in their children's education. The Vaughn Street School integrated education with social services to families. This was beneficial in two ways because it offered help to families in need and it provided the opportunity for parents to play a greater role in the educational development of their children.

Prior to the school's receiving charter status, achievement scores were the lowest in the state but now they are near the state average. This is a truly remarkable development, for the school itself and also for the self-esteem and personal development of the students and their parents. Attendance has improved greatly, which is an indication of greater interest on the part of the student body, something vital to any successful education program. Also, a computer lab was created and enhanced, which offers the students the opportunity to become acquainted with modern technology.¹⁸

Criticisms about charter schools do exist and must be acknowledged. Many charter schools demand a degree of parental involvement but for some single parent families or families that depend on the income of both parents, greater school involvement could create a problem. In some charter schools parental involvement is a requirement; therefore those unable to devote the required time are excluded. It is also argued that charter schools do not address the need for diversity in public schools, but effectively segregate students according to race, class and ability, thereby reducing diversity among the student population. ¹⁹

All but one of the charter schools in Alberta were granted a five year charter; therefore reports about their success or failure will not be available until after the 1999-2000 school year. However, there has been feedback on some problems that have been encountered. For example, the Mundare Charter School, established on 15 August, 1997, incurred a $45,000 transportation debt in its first year. The Minister refused to cover the deficit unless the charter board wound down its operations. The Mundare School then worked with the Elk Island Public School Regional Division and acquired an alternative status on 25 June, 1998 which allowed it to continue operating. In another case, the New Horizons Charter School had problems with the structure of reporting by the school to the jurisdiction. For this reason the charter renewal application was initially rejected. However, a one-year extension was granted on 25 June, 1998.²⁰