September, 2018 - AZ Charter Schools Association

By Jamar Younger

When Annie Gilbert of Chandler sought out a school for her four sons, she chose Ball Charter Schools, a K-8 public charter school network with campuses in Chandler, Gilbert and North Phoenix. Gilbert was drawn to the network’s reputation for promoting heavy parent involvement, as well as its core mission of meeting the needs of individual students.

However, it wasn’t enough to just volunteer at the school as a parent. Gilbert eventually began working part-time for the network as its business manager before rising to a full-time position as senior director of finance and operations.

After 22 years as a charter school parent and administrator, Gilbert has gained an intimate knowledge of daily charter operations, as she oversees everything from finances, procurement and purchasing processes, to academic reporting and analysis.

Arizona is home to the most robust public school choice environment, including open enrollment and public charter schools. In 2016-17, 17 percent of Arizona’s students attended a public charter school and 83 percent attended a district school.

Yet, these statistics don’t paint the whole picture of school choice in Arizona, given open enrollment. A 2017 study of school choice in Maricopa County (see here) demonstrated that one out of two students exercised choice by not attending their assigned district school, most often opting for a different district school. Data indicated that districts in Maricopa County were in greater competition with other districts for student enrollment than they were with public charter schools. Whether these claims could be made in other counties or across Arizona would require additional research.