Charter Schools:
Transforming Public Education and Increasing Student Achievement

What is a Charter School
Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of local school districts in exchange for achieving specific goals set forth in their educational charter. Developers of charter schools, usually teachers, parents, or community members, are given the flexibility to decide their own educational program and how to organize and manage the school. Click here to read Achieve Charter School’s Charter Document.

Charter schools are open to the public, tuition-free, participate in state tests and employ credentialed teachers. Under Law, charter schools cannot discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, gender, national origin, religion or ancestry. Studies show charter schools serve a balanced mix of students mirroring demographics in California’s public schools.
As of 2009, there are 750 charter schools serving over 276,000 charter school students in California. Over the past 10 years, charter schools have consistently grown by an average of 50 schools a year. Research shows charter schools do a better job increasing student achievement than traditional public schools. Research based on the California Department of Education's API (Academic Performance Index) from 2004 - 2007 indicates that 17% of charter schools have significant growth on API (over 50 points) compared to only 6% of traditional public schools.

Charter Schools Act of 1992
In 1992 the California Legislature passed the Charter Schools Act sponsored by Senator Gary Heart. The Act includes the following intent for the creation of charter schools in California:

  1. Improve student achievement;
  2. Increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as academically low achieving;
  3. Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
  4. Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site;
  5. Provide parents and students expanded choices within the public school system;
  6. Hold schools accountable for meeting measurable pupil outcomes, and provide schools with a method to change from rule-based, to performance-based accountability systems;
  7. Provide competition within the public school system.

The Charter Schools Act of 1992 could potentially lead to state-wide reform in public education. By allowing flexibility with accountability, Charter Schools have developed and implemented innovative and promising educational practices that are improving student achievement and providing parental choice. Through Charter Law, the current state-wide educational delivery system could shift from “command and control” to a model of government that concentrates on fiscal integrity, student achievement and parental choice. Charter Schools across the state are proving that the micromanaging laws and regulations that govern traditional school districts are unnecessary. Charter Schools are creating the much needed competition within the existing public school system that will either force schools to improve or become obsolete.

Achieve Charter School Answers the Call
Achieve Charter School has begun to do its part in fulfilling the intent of the Charter Schools Act of 1992. This flexibility in funding, instructional practices, governance and staffing has led to a steady increase in student achievement and overall operational success at Achieve Charter School. ACS currently boasts a waiting list of more than 100, an API score of over 800, an attendance rate of 96.5%, impressive parent involvement, high teacher/staff satisfaction and involvement, a personalized learning plan for every student, strong local governance, sound finances with a 10% reserve, research-based instructional and assessment strategies and character education embedded in our strong sense of community. We believe Achieve Charter School has made a positive impact on the students and families it has served, not only academically, but socially and emotionally. We aim to provide the students and families of this community a quality, small school option with individual learning opportunities to help students achieve their full academic and social potential.

For more information about Charter Schools, please see the following websites:

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