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State Grants High Tech High Authority to Open Charter Schools Across California; Actions By State Board Create Solution to Challenges of Opening Quality Schools in Under-Served Communities

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 15:00 CST

The State Board of Education on Thursday approved High Tech High, an organization that operates seven high-quality charter schools mostly in San Diego, to open up and operate effective charter public schools throughout California. The move by the State Board, which was made possible under a charter school oversight reform law passed in 2002, makes High Tech High the first charter school organization in California to be granted this authority.

"We're very excited that the state approved an organization with the strong track record that High Tech High has developed to be the first charter school organization to open up new charter schools across the state for the benefit of all students, especially those in under-served communities," said Caprice Young, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. "State Superintendent Jack O'Connell is to be commended for working hard to bring this recommendation to the Board."

High Tech High currently operates one elementary, two middle and three charter high schools in San Diego as well as one charter high school in Redwood City. High Tech High's first charter high school, which opened in 1999, sent 100 percent of its students to college and scored above 800 on the state's Academic Performance Index last year, all while serving a large percentage of low-income students. High Tech High achieved national prominence in 2004 when it became the first and only public school in California to be granted the authority to train and certify its own teachers.

The State Board's actions Thursday were first set in motion by a law, Assembly Bill 1994, which was passed by the California Legislature in 2002. The law tightened the reins on where certain school districts could open up charter schools, while creating an "alternative authorizer" process that allowed the State Board to directly approve and oversee charter schools that demonstrated a track record of high-quality to open up new models without local district interference.

The State Board of Education on Thursday voted eight-to-one to grant High Tech High this authority. The California Department of Education's Charter Schools Division will provide ongoing, independent oversight of High Tech High's new charters under the authority of the State Board of Education.

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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