When a petitioner submits a charter pe-


tition to a local authorizer, there are many required components of the petition the founders of the school must address. One of those components is student outcomes. Spe- cifically, charter law states the petition must include the “measurable pupil outcomes identified for use by the charter school. ‘Pupil outcomes,’ for purposes of this part, means the extent to which all pupils of the


school demonstrate that they have attained the skills, knowledge and attitudes speci- fied as goals in the school’s educational pro- gram.” These are goals and outcomes that are unique to the charter school.


Promises to increase student achievement The charter petitioners received approval


based on a set of promises to increase student achievement via an innovative academic


program. The petition expressly articulates how the charter will accomplish these ends and what benchmarks will be used to mea- sure student achievement. There are other academic requirements


that must be met in order for a charter to be renewed. Sadly, these standards are fright- fully inadequate and low. Along with the re- quired accountability measures, the autho- rizer must assess the frequency with which the charter regularly meets its unique goals. Even more so than API and AYP scores,


the goals and benchmarks stated in the char- ter will give the authorizer a bar by which to measure the charter. The MOU (addressed


Effective charter oversight takes time and diligence. Closing a charter school can be painful for all involved.


on next page), should be designed so that the process for gathering the information and data needed to measure the charter’s prog- ress is seamless. Effective charter oversight takes time and


diligence. As many districts know, closing or not renewing a charter school can be pain- ful for all involved, especially the students. Quality oversight is designed to prevent charters from closing except in extreme cases of academic or financial failure. It is imperative that local districts and county of- fices of education review their charter over- sight policies and procedures to ensure they are effectively enforced. It is important to note that districts and


county offices of education that have cre- ated their own charter schools – sometimes known as dependent or affiliated charters – are not exempt from providing the oversight required by law. All the laws and regulations applied to independent charters are also ap- plied to dependent charters. n


Stephanie Medrano Farland is director, Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers.


For more information about oversight trainings and workshops, visit www.charterauthorizers.com.


32 Leadership


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