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Record Growth for California Charter Schools As Enrollment Surpasses 200,000 Students; Enrollment in 84 New Charters, Growing Schools Sets Record at 32,000 New Students

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

California's public charter schools experienced record growth this fall as 84 new charter schools opened their doors for the first time, boosting total charter school enrollment by more than 32,000 new students. This 18 percent increase in the number of new students choosing to enroll in charter schools brings statewide enrollment to approximately 212,000 students attending 574 charter schools. As of this fall, about one in twenty public schools in California is a public charter school.

New charter schools in three of California's largest school districts, Los Angeles Unified, San Diego Unified and Oakland Unified, accounted for almost half (40 new schools) of the new charter schools in the state. This follows the recent statewide trend of more charter schools opening up in urban communities with a high concentration of under-served kids. These three urban school districts are also areas where charter schools have most recently experienced the strongest student achievement gains.

"Charter schools are growing as fast as they are for one simple reason: they are working," said Caprice Young, CEO and President of the California Charter Schools Association. "Parents, particularly those in under-served communities, are recognizing that charter schools are providing them with the smaller, safer and more personalized learning environments that their children need in order to succeed academically and beyond."

While enrollment in new charter schools opening this fall is approximately 15,000 new students, growing charter schools already in operation were able to add an additional 17,000 students. Also, the number of public school teachers teaching at charter schools rose above 8,000 teachers statewide.

These figures were compiled by prior year data from the California Department of Education and through recent charter school surveys conducted by the California Charter Schools Association.

About the California Charter Schools Association

The California Charter Schools Association is the membership and professional organization serving 574 public charter schools serving more than 212,000 charter school students in the state of California. The Association's mission is to improve student achievement by strengthening and expanding high quality public charter schools throughout California.

Source: Business Wire

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