OKLAHOMA Charter School Report (2)

Annual Charter School

Report

September 25

Today there are 28 charter schools (24 "brick & mortar" charters and 4 virtual charters) serving nearly 16,000 public school students in Oklahoma, or about 2.5% of the total student population. This report outlines recent trends in performance and demographics with a new focus on charter school authorizers (sponsors).

Greater Flexibility, Greater Accountability

Annual Charter School Report

Table of Contents

Introduction: The State of Charters in Oklahoma

2

Oklahoma Charter Context

o Authorizers (Sponsors)

4

o Enrollment

7

o Demographics

8

o Student Achievement

10

o High Schools

14

o Elementary and Middle

17

o State Aid

18

2013-2014 School Profiles o School Information o School Demographics o School A-F Grades

19-44

This report is an effort to comply with the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act that requires an annual report to be submitted by the State Board of Education, "to the Legislature and the Governor outlining the status of charter schools in the state." (See 70 O.S. ? 3-143)

Written By: Sam Duell Executive Director of School Choice Oklahoma State Department of Education September 25, 2014

For more information: Richard Caram, M.Ed. Assistant State Superintendent Office of School Turnaround and School Choice Richard.Caram@sde. 405-522-0855

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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Annual Charter School Report

Introduction: The State of Charters in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act passed 15 years ago. Since that time, there have been 30 charter schools founded. Today there are 28 in operation. By 2002, within three years of the law's passing, there were nearly as many charter schools existing as there would be new schools founded in the next ten years. From 2003 to 2011 about one charter school was founded for every year. In 2012, the pace began to quicken to three charters per year.

Charter Schools: Years Opened

10

9

8

6

4

4

4

3

2

0 2000-2002

2003-2005

*Source: Office of School Choice, OSDE, (2014)

2006-2008

2009-2011

8 2012-2014

People in education are actually working together and across lines more than they have for a long time. During those years of slow growth, there were tales of litigious disagreements between charters and school districts. Times have changed a bit, and today in 2014 school districts and charters are seeking ways to strengthen their partnerships. For example, Tulsa Public Schools was granted $100,000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create and enact a "charter compact" to enhance a productive working relationship. Charter leaders in Oklahoma City have reported a similar desire from Oklahoma City Public Schools, in part evidenced by a monthly collaboration between district officials and charter leaders.

Authorizers too are seeking stronger partnerships with their sponsored schools and with each other. Langston University supports an Urban Agriculture program at Discovery Schools of Tulsa, and the University of Oklahoma has piloted a robust evaluation to provide better support to Santa Fe South Charter in Oklahoma City.

For the first time in Oklahoma history, authorizers have begun meeting together to share best practices and current concerns. They seek to problem solve and to communicate. Though not formally associated, their collaboration carries much promise for charters and all schools in Oklahoma. Charters, conventional public schools, enterprise schools, and virtual charters all serve public school children. What we will achieve, we will achieve together.

As a whole, charter schools had a good year for student achievement. The number of charters scoring A's increased by 50% from 2013 to 2014 while its special education population grew also. Seven of ten charter high schools report graduation rates in excess of 90%, and every single charter elementary and

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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Annual Charter School Report

middle school maintained attendance at or above 95%.

2014 Charter Schools: Highest Grade Served

14

13

12

10

8

8

7

6

4

2

0

Elementary

Middle

High

*Source: Office of School Choice, OSDE, (2014)

With such success, it is no wonder that authorizers are seeking to open more charter schools. Oklahoma City Public Schools celebrated the grand opening of The John Rex School on September 12, 2014. A bold plan to bring kids and families back to downtown has been hatched and the excitement of this new endeavor palpably permeates the neighborhood. Also in September, Tulsa Public Schools unanimously approved the opening of three new charter schools as they seek to deepen their ties with charters new and old even further. The nascent Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (SVCSB) assumed sponsorship of two existing virtual charters and approved the opening of two more. Today there are four operating virtual charter schools that will serve approximately 46% of the total charter student population in Oklahoma. By that measure, the SVCSB is now the largest authorizer in the state.

There is still much work to do. Even with great improvement this year, not all charters have shared the same levels of success. Charters are not a panacea to our very deep and complex challenges in education.

In 2013, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that while there are many excellent charters in the nation there are almost as many charters that underperform. CREDO also said that charters can be excellent from day one; their first year of operation is predictive of future performance; and improved charter performance (nationally) from 2009 to 2013 came from opening high performing charters and closing consistently underperforming ones.

Charters can be excellent and they can be really damaging. The question becomes how to limit risk to children while encouraging successful innovation. The challenge then is to scale the success of excellent schools (charter or conventional).

One of the most direct ways to manage the charter community and to share their successes with conventional schools is to develop authorizers' capacity and confidence. This is already happening in 2014 as authorizers are beginning to work together and to be more active. Oklahoma should find ways to encourage such endeavors.

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

3

Annual Charter School Report

Oklahoma Charter Context: Authorizers

The following nine (9) entities have utilized their powers through the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act (OCSA) to sponsor, or authorize, charter schools (See 70 O.S. ? 3-132):

o Cherokee Nation o Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools o Graham-Dustin Public Schools o Langston University o Oklahoma City Public Schools o Oklahoma State University o Statewide Virtual Charter School Board o Tulsa Public Schools o University of Oklahoma

As of July 1, 2014, Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools and Graham-Dustin Public Schools do not sponsor charters since the passing of SB 267 (2013) which created the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (SVCSB) to assume sponsorship of all virtual charter schools.

For the 2014-2015, the largest authorizer by number of schools remains Oklahoma City Public Schools, and the largest authorizer by student population is the new SVCSB. The graph below shows the authorizer and the number of schools they sponsor. There are 28 charter schools in 2014-2015.

Oklahoma State Cherokee Nation, 1 University , 2

University of Oklahoma, 2

Tulsa Public Schools, 3

Oklahoma City Public Schools, 11

Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, 4

*Source: Office of School Choice, OSDE

Langston University, 5

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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Annual Charter School Report

Oklahoma Charter Context: Authorizers (continued)

The SVCSB will serve about 46% of the charter school student population in Oklahoma or nearly 6,000 students.

Authorizers: Projected 14-15 Charter Student Population

1%

5% 5% 6%

Statewide Virtual Charter School Board

Oklahoma City Public Schools

10%

46%

Langston University Tulsa Public Schools

Oklahoma State University

27%

University of Oklahoma Cherokee Nation

*Source: Office of School Choice, OSDE

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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Annual Charter School Report

Oklahoma Charter Context: Authorizers (continued)

The OCSA also allows authorizers to collect a fee for administrative services that should not exceed 5% of the charter school's State Aid Allocation. The graph below shows the estimated fees collected by sponsors during the 2013-2014 academic year. (See 70 O.S. ? 3-142)

$754,513.30

Authorizers: FY14 Estimated Revenue

$321,931.25 $221,307.55 $124,134.75

$12,406.15

$472,429.32 $377,262.96

*Source: Office of State Aid, OSDE, and Charter School Contracts

Two new sponsors joined the field for the 2014-2015 school year, Oklahoma State University and SVCSB. The SVCSB will collect the largest revenues from any authorizer a total of four virtual charter schools. Based on the initial State Aid Allocation provided by the Office of State Aid at OSDE and individual charter school contracts, this office has projected the fee for FY15.

$1,111,450.76

Authorizers: FY15 Projected Revenue

$643,501.05

$323,665.55 $221,306.05 $192,156.15 $121,264.50

$0.00

Statewide Oklahoma City Virtual Charter Public Schools School Board

Langston University

Tulsa Public University of Oklahoma State

Schools

Oklahoma University

*Source: Office of State Aid, OSDE, and Charter School Contracts

Cherokee Nation

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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Annual Charter School Report

Oklahoma Charter Context: Enrollment

During 2013-2014, 25 charter schools served approximately 13,473 students, or about 2% of the overall student population in Oklahoma. The number of students attending charters has increased over 40% from 2011-2012 to 2013-2014. Most of this growth is a result of the expansion of virtual charter schools, which have more than doubled their student population since 2011-2012.

15000 10000

5000 0

Charter Schools: Total Enrollment

13473

8967

12164

Enrollment 11-12

Enrollment 12-13

Enrollment 13-14

Brick & Mortar Charters:

Total Enrollment

8000 7500 7000 6500 6000 5500

6474 Enrollment 11-12

7287 Enrollment 12-13

7739 Enrollment 13-14

Virtual Charters: Total Enrollment

8000 6000 4000 2000

2493

4877

5734

0 Enrollment 11-12

Enrollment 12-13

Enrollment 13-14

*Source: Office of School Choice, OSDE

Office of School Choice, Oklahoma State Department of Education

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