Interest in Charters Expanding to Meet Student Needs
November 11, 2015
Public Charter Schools Celebrate 15th Annual Charter School Conference as Charter School Enrollment Nears 10% in Some SC Communities and New School Planning Groups Reach Record Numbers
COLUMBIA, SC – Nearly 400 school leaders, educational entrepreneurs, educators, board members, business leaders, parents, PTO leaders, charter school families, and legislators are coming together to celebrate 15 years of South Carolina Public Charter School Conferences, November 16 – 18, 2015 in Columbia.
This year’s conference coincides with The National Alliance’s release of their 10th Annual Enrollment Report, A Growing Movement: America’s Largest Charter School Communities. This report highlights communities with the highest enrollment share and largest number of students attending public charter schools. Both Charleston and York 3 showed great gains in students attending charter schools and just missed being named in the report. Charleston County topped the SC charts with a 9.39% of students enrolled in charters vs non-charters. York School District 3 and Beaufort County grew to an impressive 8.71% and 5.52% respectively. And, Greenville, Spartanburg 6 and Richland County One also carried notable charter school student enrollment percentages. The percentages take into account students in district and SCPCSD brick and mortar charter schools, but the national report does not look at virtual school enrollment.
Over 31 Letters of Intent to open schools for the 2017-18 school year have been submitted.
Mary Carmichael, Executive Director of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, states,
“Charter schools students are finding educational opportunities that are preparing them for college and careers. It is exciting to see so much interest in expanding charter options for students in the rural parts of the state. The conference is an opportunity to further incubate great ideas, leverage resources, and build relationships in the interest of advancing student achievement. “
State Treasurer, Curtis Loftis, will address conference attendees on Wednesday, November 18th with finance information pertinent to charter schools. The charter school community will also hear from Keynote Speaker Amy Podurgal on Monday, Tuesday, November 17th to discuss Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High. Also on Tuesday, Marc A. Pitman will discuss How to Tell Your Non-profit’s Story.
Charter schools are public schools that are allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for improving student achievement. Charter schools are tuition free and open to all students, space permitting
What: South Carolina Public Charter School Conference
When: November 16 – 18, 2015
Where: Marriott Hotel, downtown Columbia, SC
Registration Link: https://pcsasc.memberclicks.net/nov-2015-annual-conference
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