Charter Schools in Arizona

Law:   Passed in 1994

Rank:   Strongest of the nation's 40 charter laws

CER Grade:   A

Schools:   464

Students:   73,542

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 30-November 1, Flagstaff, AZ: The 9th Annual Arizona Charter Schools Association Conference, "Here Today, Here Tomorrow! Defining Arizona's Educational Choice." For more information visit http://www.azcharters.org/news.htm, email mroushmeier@azcharters.org, or call 928-779-2761.

DEVELOPMENTS:

CELEBRATE: Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona is one of eight U.S. Congressional leaders serving as honorary-co-chairs of the Congressional Salute to Charter Schools in conjunction with the fourth annual National Charter Schools Week, April 28-May 2, 2003. The co-chairs will participate in various events designed to showcase the importance of charter schools in improving all schools.
THUMBS UP: A survey of Arizona parents with children in charter schools by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools found that 66.9% of respondents assign their charter schools an A or A+ rating. This is up from 64% who did so a year earlier. More importantly, it far eclipses the 38% of Arizona's traditional public school parents who gave their schools such grades in May 2000 (the last time the state conducted such a survey). Get more details in CER Newswire March 11, 2003. To view the full report, go to: http://www.asbcs.state.az.us.
MONEY MATTERS: In Arizona, non-profit charter schools may apply for financing from Industrial Development Authorities (IDAs), in the form of loans from the proceeds from bond sales. Thus in March 2000, the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority pooled the proceeds of a $27 million bond sale, the first such pool to come to market in the nation to accommodate the combined needs of seven charter schools. The Maricopa IDA was able to earn an investment-grade rating of Baa3 on the debt from Moody’s Investors Service, and debt proceeds will be distributed to the seven schools. "The benefit is that they can share the cost of issuance and that they can basically support each other financially at some level," Charles Lotzar, bond counsel with Kutak Rock, told the Bond Buyer. Solving the Charter School Financing Conundrum
COMPETITIVE EDGE: A 1999 study of the impact of Arizona charter schools on traditional public schools by Scott Milliman and Frederick Hess found that the POSSIBILITY of charter schools in a district prompts "low-cost" reforms such as informational campaigns and teacher in-service training, while the PRESENCE of charter schools tends to result in "high-cost" reforms such as full-day kindergarten programs, administrative changes, or other significant modifications to school structure or curriculum. The results are especially evident in underperforming districts. Charter Schools Today: The Ripple Effect

ACHIEVEMENT:

TOP TWO: Tempe Preparatory Academy was one of only two schools in the state to receive an "excelling" label, the highest performance indicator. That requires a school to meet 90 percent of graduation measures. CER December 2002 Monthly Letter.
TESTING POSITIVE: Arizona charter school Tempe Prep went from a 19% pass rate on the state AIMS math test to an 80% pass rate this year - even as the state average was only 17%. The key certainly wasn't the demographics of the school - a nearby and demographically-comparable high school achieved only a 25%. (To see how other Arizona schools fared, to to www.greatschools.net.) CER Newswire, October 3, 2000.

GETTING RESULTS: 1998 Stanford 9 Achievement Test results from 60 Arizona charter schools showed that 43 percent of the schools improved students' reading scores in over 50 percent of their grade levels. 38 percent improved students' math scores, 42 percent improved students' language scores, and 47 percent improved students' composite scores for most grade levels. Seventeen Arizona schools that took the test had at least one grade level with a composite score in the 85th percentile or higher. Of these 17 schools, eight were charter schools. Charter Schools Today: A Sampling of Their Successes

RESOURCES:

Profile of Arizona Charter School Law

Links to Arizona Charter School Websites

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS:

Arizona Charter School Association 3101 W. Peoria Ave., Suite B-310 Phoenix, AZ 85029	Contact: Patricia Shaw Telephone: (602) 564-7390 Fax: (602) 564-7301 Email: info@azcharters.org
Website: www.azcharters.org

State Board of Education Charter School Division 1535 W. Jefferson (BIN # 8) Phoenix, AZ 85007	Contact: Bonnie Barclay, Director Tel: 602.542.5968 Fax: 602.542.3590
Website: http://www.ade.az.gov/stateboard/charter/sb-charter.asp

State Board for Charter Schools 1700 W. Washington St., Room #164 Phoenix, AZ. 85007	Contact: Kristen Jordison, Executive Director Tel: 602.364.3080 Fax: 602.364.3089
Website: http://www.asbcs.state.az.us/asbcs/

Goldwater Institute's Center for Market-Based Education (CMBE) 500 E. Coronado Road Phoenix, AZ 85004	Contact: Keli L. Luther Telephone: (602) 744-9600 Fax: (602) 256-7045 Email: info@cmbe.org
Website: www.azschoolchoice.org
The Center for Market-Based Education the growth, in numbers and autonomy, of Arizona's charter schools, and conducts seminars, workshops, surveys and research on the state's charter school development.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

Arizona Department of Education 1535 West Jefferson St. Phoenix, AZ 85007	Contact: Lyle Skillen, Charter School Liaison Tel: 602-542 6511 Fax: 602-542 3590 Email: lskille@ade.state.az.gov
Website: www.ade.state.az.gov/charterschools/info