Category: Press Releases

Phoenix (May 12, 2019) – Arizona is excited to join students, families, educators and supporters across the country in celebrating National Charter Schools Week.

In accordance with the national annual event, Gov. Doug Ducey has proclaimed the week of May 12-18 Arizona Charter Schools Week to recognize the important role of public charter schools in expanding high-quality education options for all students.

According to a 2018 EdChoice survey, 61 percent of Americans support public charter schools. That support is evident in Arizona, where charter enrollment has doubled in the last decade alone. Today, Arizona’s public charter schools serve a record 200,000 students across 554 schools.

Phoenix (May 6, 2019) – The Arizona Charter Schools Association is proud to join our schools and educators across the country in celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week, honoring more than 11,300 charter school teachers who drive academic success in Arizona classrooms.

Record enrollment underscores growing demand for high-quality public education options

Phoenix (April 9, 2019) – Arizona’s public charter schools have reached a significant milestone with enrollment surpassing 200,000 students for the first time since charters opened 25 years ago.

Public charter school enrollment increased by 6 percent from 2017-18 to 2018-19, with charter students now comprising 18 percent of Arizona’s public school population. This growth continues a trend of charter enrollment that has doubled in the last decade. There are now charter schools in every legislative district and, in some cities, charter school students make up about half of public school enrollment. Additionally, Arizona’s public charter schools serve a majority-minority student population, with 56 percent of Arizona charter students identifying in racial and ethnic groups other than white. This is consistent with statewide enrollment trends.

Phoenix (Feb. 14) – The Arizona Charter Schools Association is pleased to announce Jake Logan will serve as President & CEO for the non-profit organization.

Logan is an Arizona community leader and public policy expert with 25 years of experience in business and politics. As President & CEO of the Association, he will be charged with leading strategic planning, policy, communications, fundraising and other initiatives for the state’s leading charter support organization. More than 550 public charter schools serve nearly 200,000 students statewide.

“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, we are excited to have Jake lead our organization,” said Jay Heiler, Chairman of the Association Board of Directors. “His years of experience, both in public policy and as a member of the Arizona State Board for Charter schools – combined with his strong leadership skills – make him an ideal leader for our organization.”

Phoenix (Jan. 28, 2019) – The Arizona Charter Schools Association is pleased to announce that the State Board of Education has approved $10 million in federal Charter School Program grants. These dollars will increase the number of high-quality, public charter schools serving disadvantaged students in Arizona. The schools will create nearly 3,000 additional seats for Arizona’s students. Via the Charter School Program, the federal grants commit $250,000 annually for five years to eight schools that will cater to underserved students by either opening new schools, replicating campuses, expanding enrollment or adding grade levels.

“The Arizona Charter Schools Association applauds Governor Ducey for his continued commitment to K-12 education, as demonstrated by his proposed Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2020.

“In public education, everything starts with a great teacher. That’s why it’s so important the Governor’s spending plan allocates critical funding to further boost teacher pay, making good on the Governor’s promise to increase average teacher compensation 20 percent by 2020. These dollars will help public charter schools recruit and retain quality teachers for our classrooms. Added funding for school counselors is another urgent need in our schools that this budget takes a solid step toward addressing,” said acting Association CEO Robert Di Bacco.

“Additionally, this budget proposal significantly augments the existing Results Based Funding initiative to incentivize and reward high-achieving public schools, especially those serving low-income students. Arizona needs more quality classroom seats in outstanding schools, and Results Based Funding is one more tool to achieve this.

“Lastly, Governor Ducey’s budget plan proposes an extra $785,500 for the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools – enabling the oversight body to hire 10 extra staff to monitor academic, operational and financial performance at charter schools, as well as investigate complaints. The Arizona Charter Schools Association supports this effort to root out misconduct and ensure accountability on behalf of Arizona taxpayers and the nearly 200,000 students attending charter schools statewide.”

Phoenix (Jan. 17, 2019) – The State of Arizona has issued final school letter grades for 2017-18, finding nearly 4 in 10 public charter schools earned an “A” grade and almost 7 in 10 received an “A” or “B” grade. For the sake of comparison, 1 in 4 district schools received an “A,” and just over half got an “A” or “B” grade.

State-issued A-F school grades were initially made public in October 2018. Final performance scores now announced come following a multi-month appeals process in which letter grades were amended for 25 schools statewide. The latest charter performance scores for 2017-18 represent an improvement over 2016-17, when 66 percent of public charter schools earned an “A” or “B” grade.

Phoenix, Ariz. (November 19, 2018) – Arizona’s public charter school movement is approaching its 25th year of providing high-quality educational options to the state’s students. Charter students have outperformed their peers on the state’s AzMERIT test for four years in a row and outpaced the gains of their state-level peers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2017. Arizona’s charter sector also led the state in the percentage of A-and B-rated schools for the second year in a row.

Our charter teachers, schools, leaders and supporters serve as the main catalysts for this success. The Association is proud to celebrate these success stories through our 2018 Charter Awards, highlighting outstanding examples of public charter school excellence in teaching, academic leadership and school-wide success.

We will honor our winners and finalist at a ceremony on Dec. 5 at the Hotel Palomar in downtown Phoenix.

Phoenix (October 5, 2018) – Arizona issued its 2018 “A-F” letter grades for public schools – district and charter – today. Here’s what you need to know about these grades:

• For the second year in a row, Arizona’s public charter sector leads the state in the percentage of quality A- and B-rated schools. Of the public schools that received an A-F letter grade, 68 percent of public charters received these top grades compared to 55 percent of district schools. In 2016-17, 66 percent of public charters earned an A or B letter grade, while 55 percent of districts received an A or B.
• However, there are also a higher number of F-rated charters with 5 percent of public charter schools receiving an F letter grade compared to 2 percent of district schools. Public charter schools receiving F ratings face consequences, including closure by the state agency which oversees Arizona’s public charter schools, the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools. District schools lack this same consequence.

Charter Students Outperform State Average for Four Consecutive Years

Phoenix, Ariz. (Aug. 7, 2018) – Released today, the AzMERIT results show public charter school students scored better than the state average in nearly every grade level and subject area for the fourth straight year.

The AzMERIT scores, released by the Arizona Department of Education, show Arizona’s public charter students, teachers and leaders continue their progress on Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards.

“Due to the hard work of our public charter school leaders and teachers, our students are outperforming the state average,” said Arizona Charter Schools Association President and CEO Eileen B. Sigmund. “Public charter schools foster dynamic learning environments to offer a diverse array of school opportunities, allowing our schools to continue to lead in academic achievement.”