The Center for Education Reform (CER) has released the results of a recent survey which attempted to gauge American's attitudes about charter schools.

The results show that that public support for charters is rooted in Americans' appreciation of innovation, accountability and diversity. However, the study showed that fewer than 20 percent of Americans were aware of the concept of charter schools and that charters are public schools.

Longitudinal survey data indicates that more information about charters leads to a more positive opinion. To access a PDF of survey results, click here.

From the Galveston County Daily News: a guest column written by Kelly Chambers, vice president of Galveston ISD board of trustees.

This column highlights the major problems with the way charters are funded.

Please read the opinion piece here.  

Hundreds of charter advocates rallied at the Illinois state capitol to support a state senate bill that would raise the cap on charters. The bill, SB 2402, will raise the cap on available Illinois charters from 60 to 100 and will eliminate a geographic cap that determines the availability of charters statewide. Texas charters are also approaching a cap this year.

To read more about the Illinois bill, see a press release about the rally, here. 

This story chronicles a positive turn-around at Metro Academy of Math and Science.

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) and Mathematica Policy Research have been selected to conduct a new longitudinal research study that will examine the impact that charter management organizations (CMOs) are having on student achievement. The study will also examine the internal structures, practices, and policy contexts that influence these outcomes. The study is being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and NewSchools Venture Fund.

To read a press release about the study, please click here.

Houston non-profit Children at Risk has ranked YES Prep Public Schools-Southeast campus as the best high school in Houston. The non-profit ranked 145 public high schools in the Houston area, and provided the rankings to the Houston Chronicle.

While a charter school topped the list, unfortunately there were several charters near the bottom of the list as well. To read more about the rankings, including how they were determined, see the story in the Chronicle, here. The story also includes a link to video of the top-ranked campus.

To go directly to the paper's database of school rankings, click here.