Group Sets Standards for Charter Schools New Certification Program for Independent Campuses
By NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN
Striving to set uniform standards for the burgeoning charter movement, the California Charter Schools Association announced Tuesday a certification program for the independent campuses.
Granada Hills Charter High School is among six charters in Los Angeles Unified and 39 in California that already meet the association’s standards for academic achievement, ethical leadership, focus on increasing quality, responsible governance and fiscal accountability.
A total of 84 other Los Angeles Unified charters are candidates for the association’s seal of approval.
Caprice Young, the former LAUSD board president who now heads the association, said the program provides an objective way to help identify high-quality schools.
“We felt it was important for us as a movement to weigh in by holding ourselves to an objective standard that was created by more than 300 charter school leaders,” Young said. “It’s in our interest to make sure all charter schools are doing a great job by a variety of different measures.”
To be certified by the association, charters must undergo an independent review by third-party agencies, such as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or the state Board of Education Renewal Review.
The charter association will not charge a fee for certification, but schools would have to pay $5,000 to $10,000 for third-party reviews.
Members of the Charter Schools Association will have to get certified within four years of joining, and will have to undergo periodic reviews, she said.
Los Angeles Unified has 103 charters — more than any other district in the nation — but has resisted efforts to expand the movement. Officials said they will review the association’s guidelines to see if they jibe with the district’s approval and renewal process.
“Anything that motivates charters to provide quality education to kids is a good thing and is helpful,” said Greg McNair, who oversees charters for the district. “If anything concerns me, it’s that CCSA is a membership organization, that’s how they exist, so whether or not they look at the same things we look at, whether they are as rigorous as we are, stands to question.”
The announcement shifts the state’s largest charter school membership association from advocating for the creation of charter schools to supporting charter schools committed to high quality and accountability, Canter said.
Penny Wohlstetter, a professor and director of the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California, last week released a separate set of quality measures for charters.
Charter Schools Indicators-USC looks at performance measures in financial resources, school quality, student performance and academic productivity.
naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com
(818) 713-3722
Charter members
The following local schools have or are awaiting certification from the California Charter Schools Association:
Certified
Granada Hills Charter High, Granada Hills
Certification candidates
Bert Corona Charter, Pacoima
Charter High School of the Arts, Van Nuys
CHIME Middle School, Chatsworth
CHIME Elementary, Woodland Hills
Community Charter Early College High, Van Nuys
Community Charter Middle, San Fernando
Crescent View West Charter High, Lancaster
Desert Sands Charter High, Lancaster
Fenton Avenue Charter, Lake View Terrace
High Tech High, Lake Balboa
Ivy Academia, Woodland Hills
Jordan Middle School, Canoga Park
Lakeview Charter Academy, San Fernando
LEAP Academy, Chatsworth
L.A. International Charter High, Sherman Oaks
Magnolia Science Academy, Reseda
Montague Charter Academy, Pacoima
Multicultural Learning Center, Canoga Park
New Academy, Canoga Park
Our Community Charter, North Hills
Pacoima Charter, Pacoima
Vista Real Charter High, Lancaster
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