Tag: charter schools

New Charter Schools Will Add More than 1,000 New Seats

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date December 12, 2019

By Jamar Younger

This has proved to be a landmark year for Arizona’s public charter schools.

Arizona celebrated the 25th anniversary of charter schools with enrollment surging past 200,000 students for the first time, accounting for 18 percent of the state’s total student population.

Charter schools continue to receive high marks in the state’s accountability system while outperforming the state average on assessment test, fueling the demand for more charter options in communities throughout the state.

On Monday, the State Board for Charter Schools added to those options approving six new charter schools, creating 1,082 new seats for Arizona students.

Tags Arizona, Central Phoenix, charter schools, East Valley, Education, K-12, school choice

Association Blog In the News

Arizona Parents Want School Choice and Support Charter Schools. Here’s Proof

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date September 11, 2019

By Jake Logan and Nina Rees

Arizona classes are back in session.

For parents of the more than 1.1 million Arizona students enrolled in a public school, it’s hard to imagine that less than a generation ago, the decision about where your child would attend school was made for you, not by you.

Indeed, many of us are old enough to remember a time when school assignment was dictated not by a student’s needs, but by the neighborhood in which his or her parents could afford to live.

In Arizona, that was the reality until 1994 when Arizona enacted charter school legislation. Together with the adoption of district open enrollment, the statutory changes affirmed a simple principle: Parents know best when it comes to picking the right school for their child.

Tags A-F Grades, accountability, Arizona, AzMERIT, charter schools, K-12 Enrollment Trends, Myth Busters, school choice

Association Blog

Why Choosing Online School is the Best Fit for Our Family

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date February 21, 2019

By Tara Boedigheimer

In 2011, when our son Drew was just two years old, we experienced every parent’s worst nightmare.

We were given the shocking and completely unexpected news, by a pediatric cardiologist, that our precious boy was critically ill with a very rare form of cardiomyopathy–and in need of a heart transplant. It was the only thing that could save his life. Not only that, he needed it immediately and the transplant program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital was very new and not approved by our insurance to handle Drew’s situation.

Tags accountability, Arizona, Arizona Legislature, arizona state board of education, Central Phoenix, Chandler, Charter, charter schools, Education, K-12, public schools, school choice

Association Blog

Association COO/CFO Robert DiBacco Talks Non-profit Spending, Sustainability in Podcast

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date January 16, 2019

By Jamar Younger

Association COO/CFO Rob DiBacco recently sat down with Procurify, a company that helps organizations align spending with their business objectives, to discuss how he manages financial operations for the Association, ways to scale spend management sustainably and tips for how educational institutions should implement a purchasing process.

Di Bacco covers these topics and other lessons learned from a long career that’s spanned from the corporate world, where he worked as a bond underwriter for the Travelers Group, to Chile and Argentina, where led and founded The Gaia School, and finally to Arizona, where he’s handled the Association’s finance and operations for eight years.

Tags Arizona, charter schools, Education, finance, K-12, procurement, public schools, school choice

Association Blog

New Charter Schools Answer the Call for More Educational Choice

Post author By Comms Staff
Post date December 14, 2018

By Jamar Younger

As we approach the 25th anniversary of public charter schools in Arizona, charter school enrollment continues to surge with almost 200,000 students now attending the state’s charter schools.

This growth, along with the increasing prevalence of open enrollment, signals that parents are demanding more and varied choices for their students.

The State Board for Charter Schools on Monday added even more choices for families by approving charters for 10 new schools that plan to open for the 2019-20 school year.

These new public charter schools will add 3,187 new seats for Arizona students and families who are seeking more diverse educational options. As part of our strategic efforts to increase access to quality charter schools, the Arizona Charter Schools Association contributed to the creation of more than 2,600 of these seats by providing support to these new schools through consulting, charter application reviews, mock interviews and other workshops.

These new charters will be spread throughout the Phoenix Valley, situated in areas such as Maricopa, Apache Junction, Phoenix’s Maryvale neighborhood and Goodyear.

Tags accountability, Apache Junction, Arizona, Central Phoenix, Charter, charter schools, East Valley, Education, Goodyear, K-12, Maricopa, North Phoenix, Phoenix, public schools, school choice, South Phoenix, West Valley

Association Blog

Arizona Charter Students Boast Larger NAEP Gains than Any State

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date April 20, 2018

By Eric Berschback

Recently released results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that Arizona’s public charter school students have posted greater scale score gains than any individual state, from 2009 to 2017. The data show that when measured as their own “state”, Arizona charter students outpaced the gains realized by their state level peers in all four major tested subjects: fourth grade reading and math, as well as eighth grade reading and math.

Tags accountability, Arizona, Central Phoenix, Chandler, Charter, charter schools, East Valley, Flagstaff, K-12, Kingman, Phoenix, Politics, Tucson

Association Blog Charters Changing Lives

BASIS Chandler student’s values help her rise to the top

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date January 26, 2018

By Jamar Younger

Kaylah Rose Yazzie has no problem adapting to change.

As the daughter of a former active duty U.S. Air Force officer, Kaylah spent the early years of her childhood moving across the globe, living as far away as Alaska and Japan.

So, when she arrived at BASIS Chandler two years ago as a burgeoning young swimmer who was looking for more of an academic challenge at a rigorous school, it was only a matter of time before she found success.

The eighth-grader has excelled as a student and an athlete, breaking three state swimming records while helping the school’s swim team win a state title last year. The 15-year-old won the gold in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and 50-yard butterfly during the Canyon Athletic Association’s state meet last October.

Tags Arizona, Chandler, charter schools, East Valley, Education, K-12, Phoenix

Press Releases

Association Hires Director of Government Affairs

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date November 7, 2017

The Arizona Charter Schools Association is proud to announce the hiring of Matthew Simon as its Director of Government Affairs. Simon, a Tucson native, joins the Association after serving as Education Policy Advisory for Senate Majority Staff. During his time at the Arizona State Legislature, Simon developed a wealth of education finance and policy knowledge. Simon is a former high school science teacher and Teach for America corps member. He graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Political Science and is working towards his MBA in 2019.

“As a former teacher, Matthew understands the impact advocacy and policy can have on the classroom,” said Eileen B. Sigmund, President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association. “Matthew brings another layer of support to Association members and we are thrilled to have his expertise on our team to inform policymakers of the excellent work in Arizona’s public charter schools.”

Tags Arizona, Arizona Legislature, charter schools, Education, K-12, Phoenix, Politics, public schools, Tucson

Association Blog

State Charter Board issues guidance for charters regarding special education students

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date October 16, 2017

By Jamar Younger

Public charter schools are required to admit all students, including special education pupils.

The State Board for Charter Schools has issued guidance for charters clarifying whether schools can cap or limit admission for special education students.

In short, charter schools are required to accept all special education students and offer the same services, and make the same accommodations for those students as school districts.

The Charter Board cites information from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The Arizona Department of Education, Exceptional Student Services can also provide resources for charters.

You can view the Charter Board’s guidance here.

The Association also created an enrollment and admissions fact sheet to address questions and misconceptions about charter school enrollment policies. Click here to view the fact sheet.

Tags accountability, Arizona, charter schools, Education, Flagstaff, K-12, Kingman, Phoenix, school choice, special education, Tucson

Association Blog

Charter supporters set the record straight on school accountability

Post author By acs@@dmin
Post date October 2, 2017

By Jamar Younger

After a self-published and flawed report on public charter schools, Arizona’s charter community and the Arizona Republic quickly responded that charter schools are held accountable and school leaders are motivated by student success, not financial gain.

The Arizona Charter Schools Association issued the first set of responses with a statement and letter to our schools emphasizing that charter schools are academically successful, which is what matters most.

Here is a roundup of the other responses:

Tags accountability, Arizona, Central Phoenix, charter schools, Phoenix, Politics, public schools, school choice, Tucson