A new charter school law passed by the legislature in the 2009 session puts in place more oversight responsibilities for Minnesota charter schools. In a news release dated May 13, 2010, Minnesota Commissioner of Education Alice Seagren stated, “Today marks a new beginning for oversight of Minnesota’s charter schools.”
The issue of credibility in charter school regulation surfaced in the mid 90s as alleged embezzlement, sloppy fiscal management and poor test scores became a focus of the House K-12 Finance Division.
The new law requires stricter oversight of charter school sponsors (authorizers). The current authorizers must reapply and be approved by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) over the next 6 – 12 months if they choose to continue to serve as an authorizer. 13 authorizers have applied to become charter school authorizers and six have been approved. The six authorizers currently approved are: Anoka Technical College, Friends of Education, Minneapolis Public Schools, Novation Education Opportunities, Student Achievement Minnesota, and Volunteers of America – Minnesota.
The Clarkfield Area Charter School (CACS) authorizer, Northwood Children’s Services of Duluth, is among the 7 applicants that were not approved in the first round of applications.
The law clearly puts the responsibility on the shoulder of the authorizer instead of the Minnesota State Department of Education (MDE). “These new charter school authorizers now meet the highest standards of quality charter school oversight in the nation,” shared Seagren.
Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992, the enrollment at charter schools has grown to over 33,000 students. It is important that criteria for authorizers include stricter financial and academic controls and adhere to national standards for charter school oversight and quality. The authorizers will put in place more robust oversight in the areas of capacity and infrastructure, the application process, contracting, ongoing oversight and evaluation, and renewal of charter schools. The authorizers will be responsible for approving charter schools and holding them accountable.
Even though CACS’s authorizer was not approved in the first round, Northwood Children’s Services is in the process of continuing to seek approval from MDE. A communication between Dick Wolleat of Northwood Children’s Services to CACS administrator Kathy Koetter stated, “None of the 7 organizations turned down initially were approved on appeal. That leaves currently 45 schools, fully a third of the schools in the state, you [CACS] amongst them, in a state of limbo.”
“We’re not very optimistic that our authorizer will be approved by the state,” Kathy Koetter said as she placed her elbows on the desk, leaned forward and placed her chin in her hands. Koetter, like administrators at charter schools across the state have until June 30, 2011 to secure an authorizer. Northwood is in the process of applying for the third time. “For now we’re going to stay with Northwood.” If not approved this time, Northwood will not make a fourth application. “Our next step will be to approach organizations that are approved and secure an authorizer,” smiled Koetter.
According to the news release from MDE, “In short, quality, high achieving charters should have no problem in being allowed to migrate to a different authorizer.”
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A new charter school law passed by the legislature in the 2009 session puts in place more oversight responsibilities for Minnesota charter schools. In a news release dated May 13, 2010, Minnesota Commissioner of Education Alice Seagren stated, “Today marks a new beginning for oversight of Minnesota’s charter schools.”
The issue of credibility in charter school regulation surfaced in the mid 90s as alleged embezzlement, sloppy fiscal management and poor test scores became a focus of the House K-12 Finance Division.
The new law requires stricter oversight of charter school sponsors (authorizers). The current authorizers must reapply and be approved by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) over the next 6 – 12 months if they choose to continue to serve as an authorizer. 13 authorizers have applied to become charter school authorizers and six have been approved. The six authorizers currently approved are: Anoka Technical College, Friends of Education, Minneapolis Public Schools, Novation Education Opportunities, Student Achievement Minnesota, and Volunteers of America – Minnesota.
The Clarkfield Area Charter School (CACS) authorizer, Northwood Children’s Services of Duluth, is among the 7 applicants that were not approved in the first round of applications.
The law clearly puts the responsibility on the shoulder of the authorizer instead of the Minnesota State Department of Education (MDE). “These new charter school authorizers now meet the highest standards of quality charter school oversight in the nation,” shared Seagren.
Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992, the enrollment at charter schools has grown to over 33,000 students. It is important that criteria for authorizers include stricter financial and academic controls and adhere to national standards for charter school oversight and quality. The authorizers will put in place more robust oversight in the areas of capacity and infrastructure, the application process, contracting, ongoing oversight and evaluation, and renewal of charter schools. The authorizers will be responsible for approving charter schools and holding them accountable.
Even though CACS’s authorizer was not approved in the first round, Northwood Children’s Services is in the process of continuing to seek approval from MDE. A communication between Dick Wolleat of Northwood Children’s Services to CACS administrator Kathy Koetter stated, “None of the 7 organizations turned down initially were approved on appeal. That leaves currently 45 schools, fully a third of the schools in the state, you [CACS] amongst them, in a state of limbo.”
“We’re not very optimistic that our authorizer will be approved by the state,” Kathy Koetter said as she placed her elbows on the desk, leaned forward and placed her chin in her hands. Koetter, like administrators at charter schools across the state have until June 30, 2011 to secure an authorizer. Northwood is in the process of applying for the third time. “For now we’re going to stay with Northwood.” If not approved this time, Northwood will not make a fourth application. “Our next step will be to approach organizations that are approved and secure an authorizer,” smiled Koetter.
According to the news release from MDE, “In short, quality, high achieving charters should have no problem in being allowed to migrate to a different authorizer.”
