Family & Community Alternative Learning
Massachusetts Charter Schools

Expanding the Possibilities of Public Education

Table of Contents

Commissioner's Letter

Overview

Statistical Overview

Questions and Answers

School Profiles

Commissioner's Letter

December, 1998

Dear Friends:

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 - an ambitious and sustained commitment to improving student learning - included among its provisions the creation of a small number of new independent public schools: charter schools. The purpose of these new schools is to increase student achievement, offer parents more choices, develop innovative school models, and be held accountable for results.

Charter schools, which are started from scratch by parents, teachers, businesses, and community leaders, operate independently from school districts. They have the freedom to organize their activities around a core mission, curriculum, or teaching method. This autonomy also allows them to create their own budgets as well as hire and fire teachers and staff. In return for this freedom, a charter school must demonstrate good results within five years or lose its charter.

This year, 30 Commonwealth and 4 Horace Mann charter schools will be open, enrolling more than 10,000 students from over 180 districts from Kindergarten to grade 12. In a short time, Massachusetts Charter Schools has gained national recognition for its innovation, strict accountability, commitment to high academic standards, as well as for the enthusiasm and support the schools have received from families.

As required by law, charter schools completed an annual report that describes their record for the previous school year. Massachusetts Charter Schools 1997-98 Report is a brief summary of those annual reports, supplemented with information from reports required of all public schools, including charter schools, by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. I would like to acknowledge the work of Scott Hamilton, Associate Commissioner for Charter Schools, and the other Department staff who created this report.

The pages that follow tell the remarkable story of what has been accomplished by hundreds of teachers, parents and others who have worked hard to turn their dreams into reality. While charter schools are still young and are only one of many important reform efforts underway, the evidence so far suggests that the Commonwealth has already reaped many benefits from this small but dynamic initiative.

Sincerely,

David P. Driscoll
Commissioner of Education