Monday, April 6, 2009

Charters Not Looked Upon Kindly...In Some Places

Charter Schools Seek to Improve Image with Code

Sunday, April 5th 2009 - by Jan Murphy

Charter school administrators know they are not viewed kindly by many educators, so they are taking steps to demonstrate their accountability to parents and legislators.

The Pennsylvania Coalition of Charter Schools is asking its members to adopt an ethics code that spells out the financial and academic expectations they have for themselves.

At a Capitol news conference on Tuesday, Lawrence Jones, president of the coalition and CEO of the Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School in Philadelphia, said the "vast majority of our schools" are living up to those standards, and most are exceeding them.

They include reconciling financial accounts monthly, banning the use of school credit cards for personal gain, disclosing employee salaries and setting academic goals for students.

Charter schools, since their inception in Pennsylvania in 1997, have drawn the ire of most public school officials, who see them as a drain on public education funds.

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