Raising the Bar on Education
May 3, 2006
ROMNEY GRANTS CHARTERS TO THREE NEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS
DORCHESTER - Hailing more than a decade of charter school success in the Commonwealth, Governor Mitt Romney today awarded three new public school charters and renewed the charters of eight existing schools. Including the new charters announced today, there will be 61 charter schools in operation by the fall of 2007.
“Charter schools are important centers for innovation, achievement and accountability in education,” said Romney. “It is especially important for parents with children in low-performing districts to have an alternative, and I will continue to fight any measure that would restrict this choice or the addition of new charters.”
Romney awarded the charters at the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester. One hundred percent of the students from the Academy’s 2005 graduating class were accepted at four year colleges, and the school is on track to meet this target again this year.
Created to promote academic achievement and increase educational choice and accountability, charter schools have faced many threats since their inception in 1995. For example, in 2004 Governor Romney vetoed a budget measure that would have banned the creation of additional charter schools. His veto was sustained and five new charters have been granted since that time.
“Charter schools offer parents an opportunity to make critical public school choices for their children, and have had great success in Massachusetts,” said Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll. “I am constantly amazed at what our 57 existing schools are able to accomplish, and look forward to the coming successes of the three new charters we are granting today.”
Romney granted new charters to the following three schools, which are scheduled to open in the fall of 2007:
Fall RiverMaritime Academy Public Charter School. This Commonwealth charter school will be located in Fall River and will serve 80 students in grades 5 through 8;
PioneerCharter Schoolof Science. This regional Commonwealth charter school will serve 360 students in grades 7 through 12 from Chelsea, Everett and Revere; and the
New BedfordGlobal Learning Charter School. Currently operating as a Horace Mann charter school, the founding group was granted a Commonwealth charter to serve 450 students in grades 5 through 12 from New Bedford.
Charter schools must have their charters renewed by the Board of Education every five years. The following eight schools had their charters renewed today:
Academy of Strategic Learning Horace Mann Charter School in Amesbury;
Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester;
Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge;
Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School in West Tisbury;
Murdoch Middle Charter Public School in Chelmsford;
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School in South Hadley;
Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Somerville; and the
Seven Hills Charter Public School in Worcester.
Including the new charters announced today, there will be 61 charter schools in operation in the fall of 2007. There are currently more than 23,000 students enrolled in charter schools in Massachusetts, but more than 15,000 remain on waiting lists.
The Massachusetts charter school statute allows for up to 120 charter schools, including 48 Horace Mann charters and 72 Commonwealth charters. There are currently 49 Commonwealth charter schools and eight Horace Mann charter schools in operation.
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