Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Charter School?
- Why a charter school in Cook County?
- Who can go to the Charter School?
- Can Charter Schools improve achievement?
- Do Charter Schools take money and resources from other public schools?
- Is Great Expectations School going to be different than other public schools?
- Will Great Expectations offer Special Education?
- Do Charter Schools use licensed teachers?
- Do Charter Schools have to follow any regulations?
Why a charter school in Cook County?
A Charter School in Cook County will provide an educational option to the students and families that live, and would like to live here; will meet the needs of students and families whose educational needs are not currently being met; and, will provide the opportunity for new ideas and visions in education to take shape.
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Who can go to the Charter School?
Anyone who applies will be admitted up to the enrollment cap of 59 students for 2004-5.
Who pays for the Charter School?
Charter schools are public schools and receive funding from the state and federal government based on the number of students. Public school dollars are intended to educate each individual child, so the funding for each child goes to the school in which they are enrolled.
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Can Charter Schools improve achievement?
Yes! According to the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute: 21 out of 31 charter schools studied have reported gains after administering the same test twice.
In addition, charter schools are required to state and achieve two specific, measurable academic and non academic goals each year. Results of these goals are reported annually to the Minnesota Dept of Education.
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Do Charter Schools take money and resources from other public schools?
No. Charter Schools ARE public schools and they operate in the interst of public school students. They use public education dollars and resources that are intended, and designated by the tax-paying public, for educating students. If a child moves from one public school to another, the dollars follow. If a district loses a student for any reason, it loses the corresponding revenues.
Charter schools often bring new money into an area by bringing new children into the public school systems: home-schoolers, dropouts, and new families.
Charter schools cannot pass a building bond referendum or pass an excess operating levy. School districts confident of their educational delivery have nothing to fear from charter schools. They will impose no more of a financial impact on an academically sound district than do the normal demographic shifts to which any community is subject. No school district in the state of Minnesota has "gone under" because of a charter school.
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Is Great Expectations School different than other public schools?
Yes. In order to receive state approval, charter schools must be innovative in at least one, and up to five different areas. Great Expectations will be innovative in the following areas:
- Improving pupil learning.
- Increasing learning opportunities for pupils.
- Encouraging the use of different and innovative teaching methods.
- Requiring the measurement of learning outcomes and create different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes
- Establishing new forms of accountability for school.
- Creating new professional opportunities for teachers including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site
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Does Great Expectations offer Special Education?
Yes! Charter schools are public schools and must meet the same requirements to provide Special Education services as other public schools.
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Do Charter Schools use licensed teachers?
Yes - charter schools must employ qualified teachers. All employees must have criminal background checks.
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Do Charter Schools have to follow any regulations? Yes. Charter schools must operate within state and federal law and comply with health, safety and civil rights laws and various business and state reporting regulations. They must submit annual reports to the parents and community, their sponsoring body and the state, and report to their sponsor. As schools of choice, charter schools must also meet the high standards of the students and families they serve.
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