PRESS RELEASE Friday, December 19, 2014 LEARN Charter Schools Contact: Jamila Trimuel at jtrimuel@learncharter.org Community support builds as LEARN poised to provide a new school choice for families of Waukegan. Join LEARN at the upcoming Board of Education vote in Waukegan! November 14, 2014, the LEARN Charter School Network submitted an application to the Waukegan Public Schools to open a K-8 elementary school in the 2015-16 school year. LEARN is excited to partner with Waukegan Public Schools to increase the number of high-quality public schools open to the families in this community. On December 10, 2014, the Waukegan Board of Education hosted a public hearing where 20 people spoke in favor of LEARN Charter School. Now, the Board will vote to approve or disapprove the LEARN expansion to Waukegan. I support LEARN Charter School because I believe we, the parents, should have more choice in what type of school our children attends. Waukegan parent Like the Waukegan Public Schools, the LEARN Charter School Network is focused on providing a public education that meet the needs of all families in the communities they serve. The LEARN Network of eight schools outperformed the state average on the 2013 ISAT Reading and Math test and can provide a solid college-prep program for the elementary children in Waukegan. There are high-performing schools serving economically disadvantaged students in Waukegan and throughout the state, but there is a need for more. These schools come in all types, from charter schools to traditional public schools to selective enrollment schools. However, there are not enough seats to meet the demand from parents. LEARN believes that the addition of a high-performing elementary school in Waukegan would support the continued revitalization of the community and improve academic success for students in the district as they go on to high school, college, and career. Charter schools are unique independent public schools that are allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Because they are public schools, they are open to all children, do not charge tuition, and do not have special entrance requirements. The mission of LEARN Charter School Network is to provide children with the academic foundation and ambition to earn a college degree. LEARN chooses to focus specifically on elementary education (K-8) because it believes that the ambition and academic foundation for college must be sown and cultivated early in a child s academic career.
We believe that students racial, ethnic or economic background should not predict their academic achievement, and our academic results bear out this belief, said Greg White, Chief Executive Office at LEARN. LEARN s Hispanic, low-income, limited English proficient, and African American students are significantly outperforming the state average for their peers and we want to bring this model to Waukegan to ensure more students are getting academic support they need to be successful in high school and beyond. LEARN s most important outcomes are those that are directly aligned to their mission as a college preparatory elementary school: high school success and college enrollment. To ensure that the schools are achieving these outcomes for their students, LEARN tracks alumni throughout high school and college. These results to date are strong: 95% of LEARN alumni graduate from high school, and 95% of LEARN alumni attend college, with 71% enrolling in 4-year colleges or universities and 24% enrolling first in 2-year colleges. LEARN operates eight schools in North Chicago, where they have a waiting list of students, and also in Chicago and has been in operations since 2001. www.learncharter.org XXX
FAQ How many students will LEARN serve? LEARN seeks to serve 200 students in the first year which is only 1.2% of students in the district. When the school is fully enrolled, the school will serve 500 students which will be a mere 3.1% of the district s enrollment. How will this impact the Waukegan Public Schools? The financial impact to Waukegan Public Schools revenue will be 1.2% in the first year and 2.9% in 2020 when the school is full. Can teachers in a charter school go on strike? Teachers in charter schools are free to unionize but cannot be part of the local union in which the school is located. When the Chicago teachers went on strike in 2012, most of the Chicago charters remained open and their teachers did not go on strike. Who will be able to attend the LEARN Charter School in Waukegan? All children who live in a Waukegan Public Schools will be eligible to attend the charter school. Charter schools do not select their students and any student can apply regardless of his or her test scores, special education status or any other characteristics. If more students apply to the school than the school has available seats, then a blind lottery is held. According to the most recent data, 91% of charter school students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch compared with 86% in open-enrollment district schools. Fifty-seven percent of charter students are African-American compared to a 37% district average. Charters serve 37% Hispanic students, 2% white, 8% English Language Learners, and 12% special education. Are charter schools public schools? Charter schools are public schools, open to all students in a district (except in the case of Chicago where a handful of charters have neighborhood boundaries). Charter schools are funded with public money and are funded at a lower rate than district schools. What makes charter schools different from other public schools? Charter schools are allowed the freedom to be more innovative and responsive to the needs of individual students, while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Charters have freedom over their curricula, calendar, staffing, and all education programming; however they must take state and district-mandated tests. Are charter schools successful? Charter schools have been successful in Illinois and across the country. In Chicago, 12 of the highest performing non-selective charter high schools on the ACT are charter schools. The average College
Enrollment Rate of students from Chicago charter high schools is 70%, compared to the 50% at district run schools. Charters also increase College Persistence Rates - more charter students continue beyond their freshmen year of college. These findings are detailed in a recent independent, third-party study by Mathematica Policy Research. At the elementary school level, charter school students in Chicago on average outperform their peers in district-run schools. According to a recent study by Stanford University, elementary charter school students experienced two weeks more growth in reading and a month more growth in math compared to their peers at district-run schools. The study also found that charter schools are effectively closing the achievement gap for Hispanic students. Do charters charge tuition? No, charter schools are public schools and they do not charge tuition. What are the admissions requirements for the LEARN Charter School? There are no admissions requirements to attend a charter school. To apply to a charter school, a student does not have to take an entrance exam or score at a certain level on a test. Charter schools are open to all students. Why do some charter schools use a lottery? When a school is in demand by families, the fairest way to determine which students are accepted is a lottery. If the school receives more applications than available seats, the school will hold a blind lottery. Most charters hold a lottery and have extensive waiting lists. If charter schools are independently run from the district, how are charter schools held accountable for their results? In exchange for the freedom to be more innovative, charter schools are held accountable for advancing student achievement; the accountability is stringent. In Illinois, districts and the Illinois Charter School Commission hold charter schools accountable for student achievement, student improvement, attendance, graduation and college attendance (at the high school level), compliance with state and federal guidelines, balanced budgets, and efficient operations. If a school does not meet the requirements outlined in their charter, the school can be closed. Are charter schools unionized? Charter school teachers are free to unionize. As of June 2014, 27 of the 157 Illinois charter school campuses are unionized. Charter school teachers cannot be a part of the local bargaining unit and must form their own or join another union outside their district. Can children with special needs enroll in a charter school? Charter schools are open to all students. In fact, charter schools often serve the same number of special needs students as schools in their host district. In Chicago, charters enroll 12% of students who have IEPs. Charters are committed to serving all students with special needs.
Who teaches at charter schools? Illinois law requires that 75% of charter school teachers be certified. Charter schools have the freedom to hire highly qualified, non-certified teachers for the remaining 25% of their classes. For example, a charter school could hire an artist to teach art or an architect to teach drafting.