Charter schools have existed within the United States since 1992, yet many people are still confused about what a “charter school” is. A charter school defined by the United State Department of Education as a publicly funded school established by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority. In short, a charter school is a public school that has autonomy inside the school while being held accountable to an authorizer - usually a nonprofit or government entity. Meaning public charters such as DSST serve ALL students and are tuition free.

Today, more than 6,900 charter schools exist across the country, serving students in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The autonomy charter schools have allows the school and teachers more flexibility in serving students. That could be possibly be seen in having longer school days or specialized curriculum focused on STEM or the Arts.

One misconception  charter schools often face is the question of schools get their funding. In most cases, funding generally is determined by state laws and regulations. According to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, most charter management organizations are funded with a mix of local, state and federal dollars with potential of private donors. However, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools says that on average charters receive 30 percent less per pupil funding compared to traditional public schools.

According to Colorado League of Charter Schools, 238 charter schools serve 115,000 students, which accounts for about 13 percent of the total public school enrollment in our state. The schools are spread out across the state, serving urban, suburban, and rural communities. The programs and academic designs are also diverse, developed by the charter leaders with the intention of best serving their student population.

Denver is home to 60 of these charter schools, which operate under Denver Public Schools (DPS). DPS has what is called a “portfolio strategy,” which means the families and students have access to traditional public, innovation, and charter schools. The desire to provide choices to families in Denver led to the creation of the District-Charter Collaboration, which keeps a strong working relationship between the district and charter schools.

With all its different options, DPS uses the SchoolChoice enrollment system. Through SchoolChoice, families rank their top five preferred schools . After each application round, the lists are used given the availability of seats and any admission priorities that may exists at each school. The students are randomly assigned a lottery number which determines which school they are awarded a seat. Using a lottery in this capacity means that families that complete the application in the Round window are treated equally. The family is notified within the following month after the Round window has closed.

What to learn more about charter schools or SchoolChoice? Check out these resources.

US Dept. of Education - National Center for Education Statistics

US Dept. of Education - National Charter School Resource Center

What is a charter school? (video)

CO Charter School video

Public Alliance of Public Charter Schools video

WATCH: 5 Ways States Are Empowering Families With School Choice

NPR: What is a charter school

DPS District-Charter Collaboration

DPS-Charter Schools

US News: Mile-High City Leads the Way

DPS - Choice & Enrollment FAQs