Get the Facts - Massachusetts Charter Public School Association

WHAT ARE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

Charter public schools, authorized by the Education Reform Act of 1993, are an important part of the Massachusetts public school system. Since the fall of 1995, the Massachusetts charter public school sector has grown from an initial cohort of 15 schools to over 70 programmatically diverse schools across the state.

CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE GREATER AUTONOMY

Schools operate under five-year “charters” granted by the Commonwealth’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Charter public schools have greater flexibility in how they approach key elements of education, including:

Curriculum Design

Staffing

Teacher Leadership

Professional Development

School Culture

The best public education systems support all kids in reaching their full potential, and charter public schools are part of the formula that has given Massachusetts the top-performing public school system in the country. Parents should have the right to decide which public school will best serve the unique needs of their children, whether that be a district, vocational, or charter public school.

In Massachusetts, charter public schools strive to deliver on their commitment to every student by focusing on:

Teachers and Classrooms
Results on Behalf of Kids
The Unique Learning Needs of Children
Equity

WHERE ARE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MASSACHUSETTS?

Students 46,000
Teachers 3,800
Schools 70
Urban 37
Boston 15
Suburban 14
Rural 6

charter public schools serve a diverse student population

Students of Color

Low-Income

First Language Not English

Students with Disabilities

*Student population data come from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s School and District Profiles from SY 2022-2023 for all Commonwealth charter public schools.

charter public schools are held to the highest standards

Assessed for renewal every 5 years by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Managed by public boards of trustees and subject to annual financial audits
Governed by the same laws and rules as district public schools
Highly selective process with only 95 schools approved since 1994

CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE POSITIVELY IMPACTING STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

economically disadvantaged

34% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

28% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

46% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

39% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

ENGLISH LEARNERS

21% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

15% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

25% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

19% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

Students with Disabilities

14% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

15% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

22% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

20% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

AFRICAN AMERICAN

34% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

24% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

50% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

39% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

LATINX

34% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

25% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

45% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

37% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

Students are more likely to meet grade-level expectations*

*This figure shows the percent of students in each group in Grade 10 who met or exceeded expectations on the 2022 MCAS exam. Data come from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School and District Profiles and are based on a comparison of all Commonwealth charter public schools and districts across the state.

College Enrollment*

84% Charters

72% District

College Persistence**

64% Charters

55% District

*This figure shows the percent of 2018 high school graduates who enrolled in a post-secondary institution by March of 2019. Data come from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education School and District profiles and are based on a comparison between 34 Commonwealth charter public high schools and district public schools across the state.

**This figure shows the percent of students from the 2015 High School Graduation Cohort who graduated high school, matriculated into college and re-enrolled for a second year. Data come from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’ District Analysis Review Tool and are based on a comparison between 30 Commonwealth charter public high schools and district public schools from across the state.

Children in Massachusetts charter schools gained an additional one and half months of learning in reading and an additional two and half months in math, compared to similar students in district schools.

Boston charter public schools provided a typical student with 12 months of additional learning per year in reading and 13 months of additional learning per year in math.

*Based on Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes studies; data compares Massachusetts charter public school students to district students from the same demographic backgrounds and charter public schools to the district schools the students formerly attended.