Washington, D.C. — Students in prekindergarten and kindergarten and adult learners completing their education are among the highest categories of charter enrollment growth, according to the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB), which released unaudited 2013-14 enrollment numbers today.
Overall, unaudited figures show there are 36,823 students enrolled in charter schools – or 44% of all public school students – an increase of 2,156 students or 6.2 percent from last year’s audited enrollment number. This includes an additional 440 students enrolled in prekindergarten, a 7.5% increase. There are nearly 60 early childhood programs at charter schools. For adult education programs, such as GED and English as a second language, which are offered by nine charter schools, enrollment increased by 1,036 students, or 37.4% from last year.
“A strength of charter schools is to offer a diverse array of programs, choices and options,” said PCSB Executive Director Scott Pearson. “These latest enrollment figures show that parents and students are taking advantage of these options.”
The figures also show that overall more students are enrolled in the highest-quality charter schools, as rated by PCSB’s Performance Management Framework (PMF), which places schools into one of three performance tiers based on academic performance and other indicators.
There were 2,266 additional students enrolled in high performing, or Tier 1, charter schools, compared to 2011-12, the first year that the PMF was available. By contrast, there was a decrease by 1,120 students who were enrolled in low-performing, or Tier 3, charter schools.
“It is critical for us to continue to hold schools accountable for their performance so that we can continue to increase the number of high-achieving schools,” said Board Chair John H. “Skip” McKoy.
One charter school closed last year, Septima Clark PCS, and three other charter schools reduced their grade spans. Several schools expanded to additional locations and four new charter schools opened in August – Sela PCS in Ward 4, and three schools in Ward 8: Community College Prep Academy PCS, Somerset Prep PCS and Ingenuity Prep PCS.
About the PCSB: The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington, DC. PCSB currently oversees 60 public charter schools on 106 campuses serving more than 35,000 students living in every ward of the city. Learn more at www.dcpcsb.org.