For Immediate Release: April 22, 2000

San Francisco, CA – California charter schools are doing a better job of educating children than the schools their students previously attended, according to survey results in A Charter School Survey: Parents, Teachers, and Principals Speak Out, published by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI).

In one of the largest surveys of charter schools on a statewide level, PRI fielded responses from principals, teachers, and parents at the state’s 100 charter schools that were operating in the 1997-1998 academic year.

"The survey shows that these schools are doing a much better job at satisfying their primary constituents--students, parents, teachers, principals, and the community-- than their counterpart district schools," said Pamela Riley, author of A Charter School Survey: Parents, Teachers, and Principals Speak Out and associate director, coalition relations, PRI Center for School Reform. "On the whole, charter schools are smaller, more autonomous and independent, and much more innovative in using time and money."

PRI's survey revealed that:

Seven out of 10 charter school principals in California report that their charter schools boast waiting lists;

Students in California’s charter schools share demographic and socio-economic characteristics with students in all public schools;

California’s charter school principals have been able to establish strong school-parent relationships and have increased parental involvement in their children’s education;

Student attendance and academic performance remarkably improve when the student is enrolled in a charter school;

Charter schools have strong roots in their community and are recommended by parents;

94 percent of California parents are very or somewhat satisfied with their children’s charter school experience;

Overall, parents selected the school’s curriculum as their number one reason for selecting a charter, followed by the attitudes of teachers and other staff;

90 percent of parents surveyed said they would continue to enroll their children in their current charter school;

Teachers in charter schools report enormous satisfaction with their teaching experience in charter schools;

88 percent of charter school teachers report being "certified," despite the fact that California law, at the time of the survey, did not require them to be;

California charter school teachers are likely to possess technical, vocational, or other professional degrees;

California’s charter school teachers select the school’s mission/philosophy as the top reason they chose to apply to work at the charter school;

97 percent of teachers in California’s charter schools are held accountable through an evaluation process, usually annually;

70 percent of California charter school teachers spend time every week on school organization and development duties; and,

65 percent of charter school teachers in California deploy parent volunteers in the classroom.

"These survey results refute the charges of critics that charter schools are racially elitist and 'cream' the best students," Riley said.

"Charter schools have proven that choice, increased freedom, and autonomy are the pathway to increased achievement," concluded Riley. "They confirm that comprehensive educational choice is the blueprint for truly meaningful education reform."

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For a copy of A Charter School Survey: Parents, Teachers, and Principals Speak Out, contact Laura Dykes by phone at 415/989-0833 x113, by fax at 415/989-2411, or by e-mail at ldykes@pacificresearch.org or visit PRI’s web site at http://www.pacificresearch.org.

The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. The Institute believes these principles are best encouraged through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government. By focusing on public policy issues such as health care, welfare, education, and the environment, the Institute strives to foster a better understanding of the principles of a free society among leaders in government, academia, the media, and the business community.

The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan research and educational institute whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies at the local government level based on the principles of free enterprise, limited and accountable government, individual freedom and responsibility, and a reverence for traditional values, believing that these principles are the foundation for human dignity, happiness, and prosperity for all Americans.