Arizona’s charter schools have continued to thrive after 20 years, with charter students consistently outperforming their peers on state and national tests. The Cronkite News Service interviewed Association President and CEO Eileen Sigmund and leaders from some the state’s best schools, who explained why school choice is an important piece of the education landscape.
Story published on the Cronkite News website on Dec. 22, 2015.
Nestled between a taco shop, a gas station and a church lies the Gilbert campus of Leading Edge Academy. A former Albertsons grocery store on the strip mall is what the small public school calls home.
Leading Edge’s campus is one of more than 600 charter schools in Arizona, which has been fostering the often misunderstood educational system for 20 years.
“It’s kind of what I would call a hybrid model,” said Becki Krueger, Leading Edge’s business manager. “We’re a public-funded, privately run company, basically.”
Charters receive per pupil funding from the state like traditional district public schools but differ in not being able to receive funding for facilities and cannot sell bonds and pass overrides. State law requires charters to admit applying students on a first-come-first-serve basis unlike private schools.
“We are under the same rules as a district school. We cannot turn away students,” Krueger said.
