Charter Schools Annual Conference to Highlight Best Practices and Budget Cuts

San Bernardino, Calif. - The 16th Annual California Charter Schools Conference is expected to draw more than 2,000 attendees when it convenes March 10 – 13th in Long Beach. Since the first conference was held in 1993, the annual gathering is widely considered the most significant event of the year for the charter school community. And with California leading the nation in the number of charter schools in operation – 750 serving nearly 290,000 public school students – attendees will likely spend a great deal of time sharing best practices. Taking center stage this year however is the state’s budget crisis, which is expected to receive more attention and discussion than in previous years.

“No matter how it works out, there’s going to be significant additional cuts to education, not only this year but over the next couple of years most likely,” said Peter Thorpe, chief of staff for the California Charter Schools Association.

In response, Thorpe says one of the particular focuses of this year’s conference will be supporting charter schools and directing them to be as thoughtful as they can in determining how to continue to operate their programs in the face of budget cuts.

“All of our member schools are aware that like any other public school they will have to get the job done on few resources,” said Thorpe. “We’re going to try to be helpful in our breakout sessions for schools to learn from each other about ways that they can target their fewer resources most effectively to continue to work on student achievement,” he said.

Proponents of the charter school movement agree that student achievement is fostered by bringing together all constituencies in a public school for the support of a common goal. That includes staff, parents, students and the community. Thorpe says that while many traditional public schools exercise the same commitment, it’s the charter schools that see beyond a one-size fits all approach to educating students.

“Charter schools capitalize on the understanding that you need to create programs that measure success one child at a time,” he says.

While charter schools set high expectations for all students, they are also data driven and held accountable to the terms of their contract, which is reviewed every five years.

“The level of accountability is critically important particularly when we compare charter schools with traditional public schools that have been seen as failing students for decades,” says Thorpe.

As traditional public school systems face challenges in meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, so do many charter schools. Thorpe says that while the intention and strategy behind the Act is thoughtful in injecting accountability into the entire public school system, there needs to be a balance between holding schools accountable and meeting the needs of each individual student. Parents he says should always be involved in their child’s education whether they attend a traditional public school or charter school.

“Make sure your child’s needs are met and never allow a school to adopt the position that your child can’t learn,” he says.