Charter School Information

What are charter schools?

Charter schools are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations that have a contract or charter to provide the same tuition-free educational services to students as district public schools. They are nonsectarian public schools that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools.

The "charters" establishing such schools are performance contracts detailing the schools’ mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school's contract.

Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, usually a state or local school board, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them and the public that funds them. What is the purpose of charter schools?

Like charter school legislation in many states, Florida’s charter school statute envisions that charter schools will provide more school choice and innovation and ultimately lead to higher student achievement. The statute states:

1. Charter schools in Florida shall be guided by the following principles:
   1. Meet high standards of student achievement while providing parents flexibility to choose among diverse educational opportunities within the state’s public school system.
   2. Promote enhanced academic success and financial efficiency by aligning responsibility with accountability.
   3. Provide parents with sufficient information on whether their child is reading at grade level and whether their child gains at least a year’s worth of learning for every year spent in the charter school.
2. Charter schools shall fulfill the following purposes:
   1. Improve student learning and academic achievement.
   2. Increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on low-performing students and reading.
   3. Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including ownership of the learning program at the school site.
   4. Encourage the use of innovative learning methods.
   5. Require the measurement of learning outcomes.
3. Charter schools may fulfill the following purposes:
   1. Create innovative measurement tools.
   2. Provide rigorous competition within the public school district to stimulate continual improvement in all public schools.
   3. Expand the capacity of the public school system.
   4. Mitigate the educational impact created by the development of new residential dwelling units.

The links below provide more detailed information on charter schools and the at-risk population that Mavericks High School is dedicated to serving:

• Charter School Fast Facts
• Florida Charter Law
• At Risk Report