Get the Facts - Massachusetts Charter Public School Association

WHAT ARE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

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

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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 46000
Teachers 3000
Charters 68
Gateway Cities 51%
Boston 21%
Suburban & Rural 28%

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 2024-2025 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

35% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

27% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

47% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

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

ELA

ENGLISH LEARNERS

27% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

13% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

27% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

13% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

Students with Disabilities

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

Math

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

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

ELA

AFRICAN AMERICAN

36% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

23% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

Math

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

40% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

ELA

LATINX

36% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

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

Math

51% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

40% $\text{[math]}$ $\text{[math]}$

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 2024 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.

Children in Massachusetts charter schools grew significantly more in reading and math than their peers in traditional district schools, gaining the equivalent of 41 extra days – or nearly 2 months – of learning in both reading and math in a single year.

*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.