Alaskas Charter School Programs Funding Alaskas Future Leaders

Alaska’s Charter School Programs Funding Alaska’s Future Leaders By: Sian Ng-Ashcraft, Theresa Lyons & Daniel Pulu. PADM 628, Dr. Protasel April 12, 2013

History of Charter School Movement Offer Choice; Innovative curriculum to improve academic performance; Reject “one size fits all. ” Legislation 1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Great Society Program Project Head Start

Legislation 1994: Charter School legislation – Federal Charter School Program (CSP) – amendment to ESEA 1998: Charter School Expansion Act – amendment to CSP 2001: No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

History of Charter School Movement First State Charter School Law – Minnesota, 1991 1995: Alaska Legislature passed Charter School Act; signed by Governor Knowles Total of 42 states and District of Columbia with charter school laws

Alaska’s Charter School Legislation Sec 14. 03. 250 – Establishment of Charter School Sec 14. 03. 260 – Funding for Charter School 14. 11. 121 – Grant Program – Subject to legislative appropriation and available funding

Amendments to Alaska Stature for Charter Schools 1 st amendment in 2001: HB 101 Increased maximum number of charter schools 30 to 60 Length of charter to maximum of 10 years Remove previous geographical restrictions 2 nd amendment: Senate Bill 235 Removed limit to number of charter schools

Alaska’s Charter Schools Between 1996 -1999 26 Charter schools were proposed 15 schools opened Currently in 2013 27 Charter schools are operating

Alaska’s Charter Schools Charter schools are established upon approval of the local school board and the Alaska State Board of Education Same collective bargaining agreements Governed by Academic Policy Committee Monies maintained by school district accounts Unique method of instruction

Alaska’s Charter Schools Charter schools function Application Unique process (lotteries) method of instruction Required family involvement Academic excellence

Alaska’s Charter Schools Literature Review Variation Creates Choice in performance competition vs. government selection

Anchorage Choice (Charter Schools) Eight (8) charter schools in ASD Alaska Native Cultural Aquarian Eagle Academy Family Partnership Frontier Highland Tech Rilke Schule Winterberry

Charter School National Ranking & Scorecard (CER) Center for Education Reform: annual analysis of nation ‘s charter school laws. 2012 – Annual Scorecard for 42 charter laws: National GPA (C grade) 5 As; 10 Bs; 15 Cs; 8 Ds; and 4 Fs 2013 – Annual Scorecard for 43 charter laws: 4 As; 9 Bs; 19 Cs; 7 Ds; 4 Fs

Authorizers One single authorizer: State Board of Education and Early Development Introduction of HB 93 (January 13) – Representative Lynn Gattis of Wasilla To allow multiple Authorizers: Universities, Government Agencies, Non-Profit Organizations, and Business Entities Mary Meade disagreement with benefits of multiple authorizers

2013 State Charter School Law Ranking Report (NAPCS) National Alliance for Public Charter School (NAPCS) – study of NAPCS Model law based on 20 essential components Alaska NAPCS ranks 41, out of 43 State Laws & CER highlight the needs for Alaska’s Charter School Law to be strengthened

Strengthening Needs Expanding authorizing options Transparency in Charter application review and decision-making process Requiring Clear performance-based charter contracts processes for renewal, nonrenewal and revocation decisions

Strengthening Needs Comprehensive charter school monitoring and data collection processes Increasing Ensuring operation autonomy equitable operational funding and equitable access to capital funding and facilities

Adequate Year Progress (AYP) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures “the extent to which schools succeed in educating all students to a proficiency in at least reading and mathematics. From NAPCS’s data for 2011, Alaska scores above the national average in meeting AYP. Charter schools making the AYP is 77. 8% (21 out of 27 schools), and schools failing to make AYP is 22. 2% (6 out of 27). The national average for charter schools making the AYP is 58. 9% (2, 469 out of 4, 195 charter schools), and 41. 1% (1, 726) of charter schools failing to meet the AYP standards.

Alaska Education Funding Formula The State formula ensures that each of Alaska’s 53 districts receives the resources needed to provide students with a basic education. Alaska’s Education Funding Formula accommodates the great diversity among 53 school districts

Alaska Education Funding Formula is made up of 8 components Average Daily Membership School Size Adjustment Temporary Adjustment for Significant Decline in Enrollment District Cost Factor Special Needs Funding Career & Technical Education Intensive Services Funding Correspondence Students

Anchorage School District Funds o 62% of ASD funds allocated from the State o 38% of ASD funds allocated from Local taxes & revenue and Federal grants & programs

Charter School Funding Formula Consists of 6 Variables( A – F) Variables utilize the 8 components from the State Education Funding formula Variable A Average 20 Daily Membership (ADM) –school day count

Charter School Funding Formula School Size Formula (* ADM) Variable B Multiply Variable A by 120% (Special Ed Factor)

Charter School Funding Formula Variable C Level III Special Ed Intensive Student population ($13 per student) Variable D Students in 9 -12 (* 1%) Sum of Variables B, C , D is called the Adjusted ADM multiplied by Base Student Allocation (Y 1213 $5, 680) “Basic Need”

Charter School Funding Formula Variable Quality Add Indirect E School Grant ($16 per student) product to Basic Need cost (Indirect Y 1213 rate * Basic Need) Indirect rate 3. 64%

Charter School Funding Formula • Variable F • • Indirect Cost- Basic Need Example of Rilke Schule’s budget projection

Charter School Business Partnerships List of the business partnerships of each Anchorage Charter School

Other Revenue and Funding CSP Funds/Grants Priority to states with multiple chartering agencies Agencies with accountability of reaching clear and measurable objectives Schools with high degree of autonomy over budgets and expenditures

School Bonds Alaska’s Charter Schools have not exercise their right to petition for school bonds Public school projects funded through voters’ approved bonds qualify for 60 - 70% debt reimbursement by the state

Revenue and Funding Sustainability Options Alternative Voucher education funding options system Education savings account Tax-credit scholarship Individual tax credits/deductions

Conclusion There is a growing movement for alternative education Alaska House Bill 93: Charter Schools More research is needed to measure: Student achievement Understand impact on traditional public schools Families are voluntarily electing charter schools Exercising choices

References Alaska Senate Bipartisan Working Group. (February 8, 2010). Senate Education Committee Moves Bill to Help Charter Schools. Press Release. Retrieved April 4, 2013 from http: //www. aksenate. org/press/020810_committee_moves_education_bill. pdf. Anchorage School District. (2012). ASD Tube Community [Video file]. Retrieved March 15, 2013 from http: //www. asdk 12. org/depts/staff_dev/ASDTube. Community/Charter. Schools. asp. Anchorage School District. (2013). Retrieved March 28, 2013 from https: //www. asdk 12. org/. Anchorage School District. (2013). Where Does ASD's Money Come From? Retrieved March 12, 2013 from http: //asdk 12. org/budget/. Comeau, Carol. (Sept 10, 2001). ASD MEMORANDUM #36 (2001 -2002). Anchorage School District: Mission Statement and Goals. Retrieved March 01, 2013 from www. asdk 12. org/school_board/archives/Arc 2001 -2002/. . . /H 08 M 036. pdf. Cordero-Giorgana, Erick. House Majority Press. (Jan 30, 2013). Gattis Introduces Bill to Enhance Public Charter Schools: HB 93 Allows Multiple Authorizers of Public Charter Schools in Alaska. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http: //www. housemajority. org/item. php? id=item 20130130 -33. Gattis, L. (2013). Sponsor statement: House Bill 93 – Charter Schools [January 30, 2013]. Retrieved April 10, 2013 from http: //housemajority. org/spon. php? id=28 hb 93. Holloway, S. J. State of Alaska Dept of Education and Early Development, (2001). Alaska's Public School Funding Formula: A Report to the Alaska State Legislature. Retrieved March 14, 2013 from http: //education. alaska. gov/publications/Funding. Formula. SB 36 Report. pdf. League of Women Voters. (March 2000). History of the Charter School Movement: What are Charter Schools? Retrieved March 17, 2013 from http: //www. dcwatch. com/lwvdc/lwv 0003 c. htm. Meade-Olberding, M. (2012). All About Charter Schools [Video file]. Retrieved March 20, 2013 from http: //www. asdk 12. org/depts/staff_dev/ASDTube. Community/Charter. Schools. asp. National Conference of State Legislatures. Charter Schools: Overview. Retrieved March 17, 2013 from http: //www. ncsl. org/issuesresearch/educ/charter-schoolsoverview. aspx. National Education Association – Alaska. (n. d). School Choice. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from http: //www. neaalaska. org/sites/default/files/School. Choice 2013. pdf Public School Review. (2013). Alaska Blue Ribbon School. Retrieved on March 26, 2013 from http: //www. publicschoolreview. com/blueribbon_schools/stateid/AK.

References State of Alaska, Department of Education and Early Development. (2013). History of Alaskan Charter Programs. Retrieved March 25, 2013 from http: //www. eed. state. ak. us/ alaskan_schools/charter/pdf/history_of_alaskan_charter_schools. pdf. State of Alaska, Department of Education and Early Development. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. eed. state. ak. us/alaskan_schools/charter/ State of Alaska, Department of Education and Early Development. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //education. alaska. gov/faq. html#A 2. The Alaska State Legislature. AS§ 14. 03. 250 & AS § 14. 03. 260. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. legis. state. ak. us/basis/statutes. asp? title=14#14. 03. 250. The Alaska State Legislature. 22 nd Legislature (2001 -2002). AS§ 14. 03. 263. Charter school grant program. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. legis. state. ak. us/basis/get_bill_text. asp? hsid=HB 0101 D&session=22. The Alaska State Legislature (2013). House Bill 93 Letters Oppose. Retrieved April 10, 2013 from http: //www. legis. state. ak. us/basis/get_document. asp? session=28&bill=HB 93 The Center for Education Reform. (n. d. ). Charter School Law. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. edreform. com/issues/choice-charterschools/laws-legislation/. The Center for Education Reform. (December 2011). The State of Charter Schools: What We Know and What We Do Not Know About Performance and Accountability. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. edreform. com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/State. Of. Charter. Schools_CER_Dec 2011 -Web 1. pdf. The Center for Education Reform. (2013). Annual Charter School Law Report Card Issued. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from http: //www. edreform. com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CERCharter. Laws 2013_Chart_FINAL. pdf. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice (2013). The ABCs of School Choice. Retrieved April 10, 2013 from http: //www. edchoice. org/CMSModules/Ed. Choice/File Library/965/The-ABCs-of-School-Choice---2013 -edition. pdf.

References The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (2012). The Public Charter School Dashboard. Retrieved April 7, 2013 from http: //dashboard. publiccharters. org/dashboard/schools/page/overview/state/AK/year/2012 The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (January 2013). Measuring Up to the Model: Ranking of Charter School Laws. (4 th ed. ). Retrieved April 7, 2013 from http: //www. publiccharters. org/data/files/Publication_docs/NAPCS_2013%20 Model%2 Law%20 Rrankings_20130211 T 204454. pdf. Toma, E. & Zimmer, Ron. (2011). Two decades of charter schools: Expectations, reality, and the future. Economics of Education Review, 31, p. 209 -212. doi: 10. 1016/j. econedurev. 2011. 10. 001. U. S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Charter School Program. Retrieved March 11, 2013 from http: //www 2. ed. gov/about/offices/list/oii/csp/index. html? exp=0 U. S. Department of Education. (July 2004) Charter School Program. Title V, Part B: Non-Regulatory Guidance. Retrieved March 11, 2013 from http: //www 2. ed. gov/programs/charter/nonregulatory-guidance. doc U. S. Department of Education. (n. d. ). Title I — Improving the Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged. Retrieved March 11, 2013 from http: //www 2. ed. gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea 02/pg 1. html Wikipedia. (n. d). Federal Charter School Program. Retrieved on March 21, 2013 from http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Federal_Charter_school_program