CHARTER SCHOOL REPORT 2015

This report is an effort to comply with the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act that requires an annual report to be submitted by the State Board of Education, “to the Legislature and the Governor outlining the status of charter schools in the state.”

For more information:

Daniel CraigRegional Accreditation OfficerAccreditation Divisiondaniel.craig@sde.ok.gov

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Introduction: The State of Charters in OklahomaToday, there are 45 charter sites serving nearly 20,000 public school students in Oklahoma, or about 2.9% of the total student population. This report outlines recent trends in performance and demographics.

The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act passed 17 years ago. Since that time, there have been 38 charter schools founded. By 2002, within 3 years of the law’s passing, there were as many charter schools existing as there would be new schools founded in the next 7 years.

In 2015, along with the statewide expansion of charter schools, amendments to the Oklahoma Char-ter Schools Act (the “Act”) also brought a new level of accountability. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Oklahoma made the biggest jump in state charter law rankings because of the overhaul of its law, including statewide expansion, school and authorizer accountabili-ty, and replication of high-quality charters. Further, upon the overhaul of Oklahoma’s charter law, National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) stated that “Oklahoma now has one of the nation’s strongest charter laws ... with a focus on school accountability and strong standards for authorizers.”

*Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education, Office of Accreditation (2015)

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Oklahoma law now requires that the State, as well as charter authorizers, provide annual perfor-mance reviews of charter schools. In fact, the Act is replete with requirements that work to ensure that charter schools are meeting the terms of the school’s charter, its academic, and/or its operational goals and measurable achievement benchmarks. Specifically, the Act grants a sponsor the affirmative power and duty to “provide oversight of the operations of the charter school ... through annual perfor-mance reviews of charter schools and reauthorization of charter schools for which it is a sponsor.”

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With such success, it is no surprise authorizers are seeking to open more charter schools. Oklahoma City Public Schools celebrated the grand opening of Lighthouse Academies of Oklahoma City in Fall 2015. In addition, 2015 saw the opening of several new charter schools within the state of Oklaho-ma, including Collegiate Hall, Tulsa Honor Academy, College Bound Academy and Langston Hughes Academy.

As the state of Oklahoma moves toward increasing its number of charter schools, it is vital that we monitor those schools and maintain the highest standard for their quality.

Introduction: The State of Charters in Oklahoma (continued)

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List of All Oklahoma Charter Schools and A-F Grades

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Oklahoma Charter Context: AuthorizersThe following entities have utilized their powers through the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act (OCSA) to sponsor, or authorize, charter schools (See 70 O.S. § 3‐132):

Cherokee NationLangston UniversityOklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS)Oklahoma State UniversityStatewide Virtual Charter School Board (SVCSB)Tulsa Public SchoolsUniversity of Oklahoma

*Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education, Office of Accreditation (2015)

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Oklahoma Charter Context: Authorizers (continued)The OCSA allows authorizers to collect a fee for administrative services that must not exceed 5% of the charter school’s State Aid allocation. The graph below shows the estimated fees collected by authorizers during the 2014-2015 school year.

*Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education, Office of Accreditation (2015)

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Oklahoma Charter Context: EnrollmentDuring the 2014‐2015 school year, 35 charter schools served 16,585 students, or about 2% of the overall student population in Oklahoma. The number of students served by charter schools increased dramatically over the last year as a result of the increase in virtual charter school enrollment. Most of this growth is a result of the expansion of virtual charter schools, which have more than tripled their student population since 2011‐2012.

Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education, Office of Accreditation, 2015

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Oklahoma Charter Context: Demographics“Brick-and-mortar” charters, hereafter referred to as “charters,” and virtual charters have vastly different demographic ratios. Further analysis of the data may reveal the cause of such variances, but factors may include: location, accessibility and resources. The following is a breakdown of their student demographics.

The charts below illustrate the number of minority students compared to white students. Virtual charters have a much higher percentage of white students as compared to minorities. However, the reasons for this require further investigation.

Virtual charter schools in the state of Oklahoma have a population comprised of 65% white students. The second-largest population of students is Native Americans at 13%.

*Source: OSDE Reporting Index (2015)

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Oklahoma Charter Context: Demographics (continued)Brick-and-mortar charter schools, in contrast to their virtual counterparts, are comprised of 15% white students, with majorities of students identifying as Hispanic or black.

*Source: OSDE Reporting Index (2015)

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The Brick-and-Mortar Charter Schools A-F graph below shows the Report Card grades received by all charters in the state over the last three years. While the number of charter schools has increased, the number of schools receiving an “F” has decreased over the three-year period, and stayed the same in the last two years. This demonstrates the emphasis being placed on increasing the number of high-quality charter schools in the state while decreasing the number of low-performing schools.

*Source: Office of Accountability, A-F Report Cards, OSDE (2015)

Oklahoma Charter Context: Student Achievement

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For comparison, the A-F Report Card letter grades for all Oklahoma public schools are listed below by year.

*Source: Office of Accountability, A-F Report Cards, OSDE (2015)

Oklahoma Charter Context: Student Achievement (continued)

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Oklahoma Charter Context: Student Achievement Below are the 2015 A-F Report Card letter grades (by numeric score) for all charters in Oklahoma that received a grade.

*Source: Office of Accountability, A‐F Report Cards, OSDE (2015)

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In 2014-2015, there were eight brick-and-mortar charter high schools and two virtual charter high schools. Their graduation rates as reported on the A-F are as follows.

Oklahoma Charter Context: High Schools

*Source: Office of Accountability, A‐F Report Cards, OSDE (2015)

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