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Running Head: INFLUENCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON COLLEGE 1

Influence of Charter Schools on College Acceptance Rates in Urban Areas

Jennifer Sabol

Azusa Pacific University


INFLUENCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON COLLEGE 2

Abstract

Charter schools have been gaining acceptance all over the country and their impact on college

acceptance rates in urban areas is on the rise. Charter schools are emphasizing the need for a

college education and that is clearly reflecting in the growing numbers of high school students

attending college. The difference between charter schools and public schools has been outlined

in the following paper and highlighted are the areas that affect the success of charter schools.

The location, participation, and influence of charter schools support the hypothesis that Charter

schools increase the college acceptance rates in urban areas. Results from research show that

charter schools are located in urban areas due to the needs of students as well as resources in the

area. Parent involvement is one area where charter schools are changing the game. With more

parents involved students are more successful and charter schools are working with their parents

to get them involved. The results of the research show that charter schools do in fact promote

higher college acceptance rates and that in the country college attendance is higher than it has

been in the last decade.


INFLUENCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON COLLEGE 3

Influence of Charter Schools on College Acceptance Rates in Urban Areas

College has become a necessity to claiming a job that will provide students with the

preferred monetary status as well as the social status that is desired by young adults entering the

work force. Sixty-two percent of jobs in today’s workforce require a two-year or four-year

degree, and is projected to rise to seventy-five percent in 2020 (Gordon, 2009). In today’s world,

the cars people drive, the phones they talk on and the colleges that they attend are what shape

peoples opinions about who they are, and what they are capable of. For many high school

students it is very important to them what their family, friends, and peers think about them. They

want to be successful, rich and highly social, as well as have a good job and plenty of free time

to enjoy in the leisure that comes with this lifestyle. Drop out rates are at an all time low at eight

percent, which means that more and more people are entering the work force better prepared

(NCES, 2010). One problem that may end their dreams of living such a life is the prospect of

going to a well-known college. For students that live in urban areas it seems it is much more

difficult for them to obtain placement into one of these desired institutions. They face many

more challenges than students who live in the suburbs or wealthy areas of the city. Because they

come from families with less money, lower levels of education, and less privilege, their chances

of achieving their preferred lifestyle become precariously low. A light at the end of a very dark

tunnel may be the insurgence of Charter schools in these areas, which offer students a better
INFLUENCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON COLLEGE 4

chance at a higher education and a means to reach their goals.

Charter schools were first introduced in 1991 and were seen as a breath of fresh

air from public schools. In 1993 California opened their first charter school and now there are

over 700 in the state. (“US Charter Schools,” n.d.) Charter schools get paid by the state based on

student attendance just like public schools do, however they don’t have that restrictions that

public schools have. Charter schools differ from public school in three areas: Accountability,

Choice, and Autonomy (“ECHS online,” 2010). This means that charter schools do indeed take

money away from public schools and pits them against each other. Charter schools also have the

choice to accept students or to deny them acceptance to their schools, this gives them an

advantage because they tend to have students that are more determined to learn and apply

themselves in school. Autonomy allows charter schools to focus on teaching their students and

striving for excellence instead of meeting state requirements and following procedures. Charter

schools focus on having a mission and to have students strive to accomplish something, some

schools focus strictly on college and others focus of certain areas of study. The purpose of the

paper is to see if Charter schools improve the college acceptance rates in urban areas. This paper

will bring to light why charter schools are more prevalent in urban areas, discuss what makes

charter schools more successful, and highlight the rise of college acceptance rates all across the

United States. This research will lead to the answer of whether charter schools are more

beneficial to students in urban areas than public schools when it comes to farthing their

education.

Charter School Movement

Charter schools tend to be opened in urban areas with lower income levels and higher
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minority percentages, nationally 55 percent are located in cities, 22 percent in suburban areas, 8

percent in towns, and 15 percent in rural areas (“Fast Facts,” 2010). This opens up the

possibilities that are available to students in areas that lack competent schools. For some

students it opens a door to more opportunities to get into a better college, for others it offers

areas of concentration that some schools do not have. In 1996 professor Ray Budde talked about

the evolution of the Charter concept. Dealing with failing schools in his district he worked on

chartering new programs and instead came to charter new schools. Charter schools are seen as a

new option for school districts that are losing students. Chartering schools gave everyone

connected to education another option. School boards were not inclined to change based on the

altruistic or idealistic reasons but for other reasons, such as the loss of students and with them

funding (Budde 1996). Charter schools were sprouting up in areas that needed them because

public school systems were not changing to accommodate the new needs that were arising in the

1990’s.

Similarly In a study done by Witte, Schlomer, and Shober (2007) they looked at how

charter schools affected the school districts in Wisconsin. This study showed how charter

schools tended to be located in areas with lower levels of income and higher minority levels.

The main focus of the study was how it affected the school districts in Wisconsin and if it made

open enrollment more available in public schools. Schlomer et al. (2007) discussed the

demographics of districts that contained charter schools and districts that didn’t. In charter

schools districts the percentage of minority levels was at 26 percent compared to the non-charter

schools with 6 percent. The free lunch numbers were about the same in both charter and non-

charter districts with 22 percent of its students participation. The federal revenue percentages

were slightly higher for charter districts with 5.59 percent than the non-charter district at 4.73
INFLUENCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ON COLLEGE 6

percent (Schlomer et al., 2007).

This study’s hypotheses wanted to prove that charter schools opened in districts with

more poor students, and in districts with more non-white student populations. The way that

Schlomer et al. (2007) was to prove these hypotheses was to study the demographics of the areas

and districts with charter schools. In the research from the study it was very clear that in

Wisconsin, areas populated with higher rates of poverty, and non-white populations tended to

support going charter. The study further confirmed that districts with many open seats tended to

open a charter school to bring students back to their district and to fill those seats. The students

bring money to whichever school they attend; to be more competitive school districts had to

appeal to students and parents.

The conclusion of this study was that the insurgence of charter schools promoted a

higher level of competition between students in Wisconsin. For public schools to compete with

charter schools they had to start offering open enrollment and this gave students many options in

which schools they could attend.

The movement involving charter schools is a positive prospect for urban areas. Students,

parents, and teachers can all benefit from the rise of charter schools and their popularity. The

change that charter schools bring will motivate public schools to modify and recondition their

approach to teaching due the high numbers of students leaving traditional public schools to

attend charter schools. Based on the Statistics from the Center of Education Reform (2010)

1,729,963 students are currently enrolled in Charter schools in the United States. In California

there are over six million students attending school, out of those there are 285,617 students

attending charter schools, (CDE, 2009) and in 2010 there are 348,686 students attending charter

schools (NCSES). In 2000-2001 only 115,390 students were enrolled in charter schools, with
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numbers tripling over ten years it seems that charter schools are doing something right (CDE,

2001). The thing is that anyone person can choose to start a charter school. Teachers or

administrators often start charter schools. They are fed up with the public school system and

want to improve their work environments. Based on Book that was written by the U.S.

Department of Education office of Innovation and Improvement, “Successful Charter Schools”

gives you an easy to read and understand guideline on how to start your own successful charter

school (2004). It is interesting to see what the Department of education tells the charter schools

to do when they often lose site of the same info in public schools because of politics. Initially all

you need to have in order to start a charter school is a location, funding for teachers and staff,

and students. Charter schools in Los Angeles, CA have been backed by important people like

Oscar De LaHoya, or have themes like environmental studies, or Science academies. This

makes the school more appealing to students and parents that can help keep enrollment numbers

up and the schools open.

Parent and Community Involvement

Charter schools are seen as an alternative to public schools in urban areas. Students in

urban areas do not have the luxury or privileges that wealthy school districts employ, their

endless amounts of parent involvement, resources, and highly regarded teachers. Partnerships

between schools, families, and community organizations are vital to supporting student success

(Bryan & Griffin, 2010). Parent involvement has been proven to support a student’s growth and

success in school (Walker, Shenker, Hoover-Oempsey, 2010), students in low socioeconomic

status areas have less likely chance of continuing their education from high school (APA,

Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2009). Charter schools operate differently than public
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schools; they make parent involvement mandatory, which in some cases promotes the excellence

of students. Many studies show that parent involvement is paramount to a student’s success.

Charter schools are seen to have an advantage over public schools systems because they can

choose who attends their schools and demand parent involvement. Charter schools promote

more parent involvement than public schools do through their request of at least one hour a

month in school participation. One resource that improves parent involvement is the school

counselor; they work with both parents and teachers to get the channels of communication

flowing. School counselors can take actions to increase parental involvement, which contains

parent workshops, making the school a non-threatening atmosphere, and to make parents aware

of what is required to help their students raise achievement levels (Walker et al., 2010).

In a recent study done by Smith and Wohlstetter (2009) they discuss parent involvement

in urban charter schools. In most cases more parent involvement is seen to improve not only the

students academics but also help out the community. This study shows that there is a correlation

between parent involvement and school performance. With higher rates of parent involvement

comes higher test schools and academic achievement. One theory that Smith and Wohlstetter

(2009) discuss is that because parents actively choose to send their students to a charter school

that they will ultimately be more involved. In some ways this is true but the authors of the study

look into many aspects of why parents fail to be involved in their child’s school. One aspect

discussed is the cultural barrier that prevents minority parents from being involved; another

aspect is clarity on what parental involvement requires. Some parents are not aware of what is

expected of them and can be intimidated by the schools faculty and previous experiences with

schools.

Charter schools are working on a new way to obtain parental involvement in urban areas.
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Smith and Wohlstetter (2009) use the Epstein’s Model of School, Family, and Community

Partnerships to relate how parents observe and participate in their child’s life.

Epstein’s model is comprised of six types of involvement: 1) Parenting, 2)

Communication, 3) Volunteering, 4) Learning at home, 5) Decision making, and 6)

Collaborating with the community (2004). Most of the charter schools in the study found they

had to adjust the ways that they interacted with the parents to see results. Due to the struggles

that parents from urban areas face, parents had unforeseen problems which hindered their ability

to fulfill involvement number three Volunteering. To help charter schools offered “wrap

around” services which enabled families to get to school on time, and have food, clothing and

other necessities provided to them and to work with the parents schedules (Smith & Wohlstetter,

2009). Charter schools have a better understanding with their parents when it comes to

involvement number five, decision making. School personnel like the principal and directors

make parents partners in decisions regarding the school. This allows parents at charter schools

to be more involved because they have a say in what is decided unlike public schools. Public

schools have school boards that make the major decisions for their districts. “Schools boards are

political organizations with members elected to serve a broad constituency. Decision-making in

this environment is a highly political process in which coalition building, bargaining,

competition, and adaptation are common.” (Weeks, 2002). The results of the study showed that

parents in urban areas were more involved in the charter schools than public schools because the

charter schools made the necessary changes and accommodation needed to work with the parents

and their schedules. There are many ways that schools can increases their parent involvement,

mainly by engaging the parents and making them equal partners in their child’s education

(Walker et al. 2010).


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Charter schools promote college advancement

Studies have shown that students that attend a charter school tend to be more inspired to

attend college and continue their education. In Chicago, the graduation rate for African-

American boys is at about 40 percent, and the chances of these students making it to college is

about half (Paulson, 2010). However, one inner city charter school in Chicago made up of young

African-American men had all 107 students receive acceptance to a four-year college (Paulson,

2010). In a study done on high school students in Florida and Chicago who attended a charter

high school Booker, Sass, Gill, and Zimmer (2010) reported a higher percentage of students who

received a diploma and who attended college after high school. Because the amount of students

who have attended a charter high school has not been too great the amount of research on the

subject is very minimal. The subject is still in the infancy stage and the amount of information

supporting it is still being researched. However, with the study done by Booker et al. (2010)

their findings were in favor of charter schools and the effect that they have on the futures of their

students.

Many factors were taken into consideration during Booker’s et al.’s (2010) study and all

were disproved on their affects on the outcome of data. One interesting factor that could

influence the reasons that charter schools seem to produce more college interest was academic

achievement. In charter schools it is believed that the achievement is higher then at the public

schools however, in Florida and Chicago, there was not a significant difference in the

achievement levels. In the study there was a bigger significance between public and catholic

schools but that was to be expected. Second, the factor of charter schools being smaller in size

would give them more of an advantage, but as with the achievement it showed no significant

results. Finally, in this study many of the schools in Florida were conversion schools and started
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out as public schools. This could be seen as a problem because the previous ideas and

motivations of the school could still be lingering and change the dynamic of the charter school.

This could offset the data but results showed that there was no significant difference between

conversion charter schools and new charter schools. Conversion charter schools were also seen

in Wisconsin in urban areas. With the disproof of certain factors that may of changed the results

of this study, Booker et al.’s (2010) results were positive and proved that charter schools

promoted college attendance and interest.

Statistics from the IES national center for educational statistics for 2010 showed that

there has been a large increase in undergraduate enrollment in college. This growth has been on

an incline from 1995 and the increase of students that are attending charter schools is also on an

increase. Deputy commissioner Stuart Kerachsky (2010) reported that college enrollment is on

the rise and stated “The immediate college enrollment rates of high school completers from low-

income families trail the rates of those from high-income families, though the gap, which was 41

percentage points in 1972, has narrowed to 25 percentage points in 2008.” (para. 18) The

correlation between college enrollment and charter schools has not been addressed, however

statistics are stating that college enrollment is up in high poverty areas.

In a newspaper article written in the Daily Breeze, Douglas Morino (2010) addressed the

achievements of a local charter high school that participated in the Inaugural race to the top

commencement challenge. Although the school did not win President Barack Obama’s presence

at their graduation commencement, the article outlined the highlights of the schools other

achievements. Environmental charter high school has over a 95 percent college acceptance rate,

with a focus on environmentally focused, project based curriculum model, with an emphasis on
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college after high school (Morino, 2010). ECHS requires all students to apply to college before

they graduate. ECHS had a 0.6 percent drop out rate in 2009, which was largely due in part to the

schools counseling department (Palmer, 2010). The schools counseling department works with

students so that they do not fall thorough the cracks and fail out of high school. ECHS is located

in Lawndale, CA which resides in the Centinela Valley school district which at 40 percent has

one of the highest drop out rates in the Los Angeles school district, L.A. county has a 24.3

percent drop out rate (Palmer, 2010). The Environmental charter high school has beat the odds

and is sending most of their students to college, the school is made up of 87 percent minority

students (Morino, 2010). This is another example of a charter high school in an urban area that

has given students the opportunity to choose to extend their education and gain acceptance to

college.

Conclusion

Charter schools pride themselves on their mission statements; many promote college

interest and fulfillment. When students promote from middle school to a charter high school

they become aware of the Mission of the new school that they are attending. Public and Charter

schools outline the goals and desires of their students and what is expected of them. Many

public and charter schools mission statements made it clear that there was a difference. Most of

the charter schools expressed college acceptance and interest in their mission statements, but

most public schools didn’t express those interests in their statements. Charter schools located in

urban areas make it clear that the influence that they have on their students to promote to college

is higher than at public schools. There are many factors that influence this and some of them are

parent and community involvement, growth of schools, and the characteristics of charter schools.

Based on the research that was reviewed previously, charter schools are more abundant in urban
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areas due to unmet needs of the students. This is beneficial to students in those areas because it

offers an opportunity to students who are interested in college and extended learning. Also,

parent involvement was seen to increase in charter schools, which was a product of the different

way that charter schools worked with their parents. Charter schools promoted a closer

relationship between parents, students and school. Many Charter schools and public schools are

requiring their students to do community service before they graduate making students more

involved in their communities. This and parent involvement will continue to raise achievement

levels in urban areas.

Charter schools in urban areas are gaining momentum and the promise that they will gain

students access into college is a heavy one. Public schools are becoming more competitive and

having to offer open enrollment to keep their seats filled and the federal funds coming in.

Competition is healthy for our schools and will spark innovation and promote change where

needed. Charter schools are indeed influencing college acceptance rates, however with the lack

of longitudinal data it makes proving it difficult. Charter schools are sparking the interest in

students that lack the luxuries of funding and support that public schools in non-urban areas

thrive on. Charter schools are looking like the solution for high poverty areas that wish to move

out of the shadows and into the fast lane of education. The future of education is changing

toward a charter movement and there seems to be no end in sight.


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