The 100,000 student mark

A number of states have now reached or are approaching the 100,000 student mark in terms of enrollment at charter schools.

• Arizona with its 500 charter schools
• Texas with its almost 300 charter schools
• California has over 200,000 students with its 600-plus charter schools
• Florida with its 350 charter schools
• Michigan with its 250 charter schools
• Ohio is approaching 100,000 students with its 300-plus charters

With the number of charter schools in places like LA, DC, Detroit, and New Orleans growing fast, they are increasingly a key part of the urban education landscape. Consider that almost two-thirds of New Orleans’ students are now in charters, and that they constitute the following percentage of students in other cities:

• Dayton, OH: 28%
• Washington, DC and Detroit, MI: 25%
• Pontiac, MI; Kansas City, MO; and Youngstown, OH: 20%
• Chula Vista, CA; Southfield, MI; and Toledo, OH: 18%
• Cincinnati, OH: 17%
• Brighton, CO; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, WI: 16%

Massachusetts has the highest performing charters in the nation, thanks to a robust application process that protects the public dollar, and a review process that ensures that charters not up to grade are closed.  Unfortunately, in the Bay State they still only amount to around 22,000 out of just under one million students.

Boston’s charter schools easily outperform their peers.  Unfortunately, they are stuck with a cap limiting them to minority status.