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Steps Toward Charter Schools
This blog originally appeared in Seattle's Child Last November, Washington voters approved an initiative that allows the creation of up to 40 public charter schools over five years. The first public charter schools in Washington will...
Washington State Charter School Commission elects leadership
The newly formed Washington State Charter School Commission charged with authorizing charter schools and holding them accountable met this week and elected their leadership. Steve Sundquist, former President of the Seattle School Board, was chosen...
Washington Charter School Commission elects leaders
Washington's new Charter School Commission elected a former Seattle School Board president as its chairman. The group also has started to solidify its plans for hiring a staff and choosing the state's first charter schools. The group held its...
A student’s perspective on charter schools
Macy Olivas is a student at Whitman University in Washington, and a graduate of Preuss Charter School in San Diego, CA. In this video, recorded when she was advocating for Washington to adopt charter school legislation in January 2012, Macy...
Port Townsend educator gives Charter School 101
Charter schools can improve education but not if they offer the same curriculum as what is now available, a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce audience was told Monday. “In order for a school district to approve a charter school, it would need a...
Op-ed: Charter schools should ignite change for the better
This op-ed piece, written by Lyle Quasim, appeared in The News Tribune on April 14, 2013. I applaud the Tacoma School Board for signaling an interest in becoming a public charter school authorizer. It’s time that our community learned more about...
Washington School Districts Intending to Be Charter School Authorizers
April 1 was the deadline for school districts to submit a notice of intent to the State Board of Education (SBE) to apply to become a charter school authorizer. SBE is tasked with approving the local school boards that can authorize charters and...
Information being gathered on charter schools for PSD board
The Peninsula School District is taking it slow as it looks into the possibility of becoming a charter school authorizer, with Superintendent Chuck Cuzzetto gathering information on the subject for the school board. On March 21, the school board...
12 state school districts agree to authorize charter schools
A dozen Washington school districts have sent letters to the state Board of Education indicating intent to authorize charter schools starting in 2014, beating a Monday deadline. The twelve districts include Bellevue, Battle Ground, Eastmont,...