esigmund

By law, Arizona charter schools are required to improve student achievement and provide additional choices for parents. The Association’s mission has been to provide transparent, accountable data to show that charter schools are indeed fulfilling that statutory requirement. We have invested the bulk of our resources to bring a data system to Arizona that...
Read More »

As I talk with various folks around the community, I am often asked, “Why an association for charter schools?” In other words, please justify your work and existence. This is not a difficult task as the last five years have caused us to hone what we offer, so school leaders, teachers, and students find...
Read More »

The Arizona legislature adjourned in early May; before doing so, they provided public schools with an additional $48 million in new spending. For charters, that increase is about $42.95 per elementary school student and $47.52 per high school student, according to estimates based on current-year student counts. Schools serving students in grades K-3 will...
Read More »

Starting a charter school is a rigorous process that requires a team effort, diverse skills and talents, commitment, and hard work. A gap exists between skilled teams ready to apply for a charter and aspiring leaders with the talent to build those teams. That’s why we have partnered with Teach for America and the...
Read More »

The Arizona Charter Schools Association is partnering with an online teacher’s forum to help Arizona charter school teachers collaborate on the Common Core State Standards and add their voice to Arizona’s policy discussions about its implementation. The online forum, known as the VIVA Project, is designed to connect classroom teachers and bring their best...
Read More »

Simply put, a charter is a contract to improve student achievement. With that mission in mind, the Association launched the Arizona Center for Student Achievement to support Arizona schools with comprehensive professional development, coaching, and resources. Based on nationally known studies and the Association’s own report, Success Measured: Four Foundational Elements of Student Growth,...
Read More »

Arizona’s public schools are now easy to compare. The Education Evaluator is a map that provides an easy, transparent way to view and compare enrollment information, student achievement, and student funding data for all of Arizona’s public schools – charter and district.   This map is the first of its kind in Arizona. We...
Read More »

All public school students — district or charter — are entitled to the same educational privileges afforded by Arizona’s Constitution. A recent ruling by the Maricopa County Superior Court in the lawsuit Craven et al. v. State of Arizona et al. confirmed just that. This lawsuit, filed by an 18-year-old Lake Havasu High School...
Read More »

Did you know Arizona has the highest percentage of charter schools and charter students of all the states, and that we continue to grow? In the last year alone, Arizona’s charter school population has grown by over 10,000 students. Fully 25 percent of the state’s public schools are charter schools, and 12 percent of...
Read More »