Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What was the first charter school?
Minnesota wrote the first charter school law in the United States in 1991. As of 2015, Minnesota had 165 registered charter schools, with over 41,000 students attending. The first of these to be approved, Bluffview Montessori School in Winona, Minnesota, opened in 1992. The first charter to operate was City Academy in St. Paul. Some specialized Minnesota charter-schools include the Metro Deaf School (1993), Community of Peace Academy (1995), and the Mainstreet School of Performing Arts (2004).[35]
The system began in 1993. In the fall 1993 the first school opened, originally as Jingletown Charter School. It was the first charter school in Oakland and one of the first in California. Originally it had the test scores amongst the lowest in the state. Since then the school changed its name to Oakland Charter Academy.
Charter schools are independent public schools which are exempt from many of the state and local regulations which govern most public schools. These exemptions grant charter schools some autonomy and flexibility with decision-making, such as teacher union contracts, hiring, and curriculum. In return, charter schools are subject to stricter accountability on spending and academic performance. The majority of states (and the District of Columbia) have charter school laws, though they vary in how charter schools are approved. Minnesota was the first state to have a charter school law and the first charter school in the United States, City Academy High School, opened in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1992. The prevalence of charter schools has increased with the support of the Obama Administration. Under the Administration, the Department of Education has provided funding incentives to states and school districts that increase the number of charter schools.
A November 3, 2009, article described Davids as a "Bronx parent who went from charter school foe to cheerleader in under a year." In 2008, it was reported, Davids had been co-president of the parent association of P.S. 160 in the Bronx, where she led the opposition against a new charter school, Equality Charter School, which was set to be located in the same building. After leading protests against the school, however, Davids "sent in her daughter's application to the charter school and began helping the charter recruit other students." She later explained she had been misinformed about how big the charter school would be, and that "A lot of parents are just opposed to charter schools in general, and that's because most parents don't know exactly what a charter school is."
They may be founded by teachers, parents, or activists[9] although state-authorized charters (schools not chartered by local school districts) are often established by non-profit groups, universities, or government entities.[10] School districts may permit corporations to manage multiple charter schools. The first charter school law was in Minnesota in 1991.
As more states start charter schools, there is increasing speculation about upcoming legislation. In an innovation-diffusion study surveying education policy experts in fifty states, Michael Mintrom and Sandra Vergari (1997) found that charter legislation is more likely to be considered in states with poor test scores, Republican legislative control, and proximity to other states with high quality charter schools. Legislative enthusiasm, gubernatorial support, interactions with national authorities, and use of permissive charter-law models increase the chances for adopting what they consider stronger laws. He feels union support and restrictive models lead to adoption of what he considers weaker laws.
For its first six years, the school was known as Sturgis Charter School. In 2004, the Sturgis board changed the school's name to "Sturgis Charter Public School," in keeping with a public relations initiative of the Massachusetts Charter School Association. According to the enabling legislation for Massachusetts charter schools, a "charter" school is by statutory definition a public school. Sturgis determined that many people were unaware of this and thus added the term "Public" for clarity.
The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives Sunshine Review gave the school board and district administration a "D-" for transparency based on a review of "What information can people find on their school district's website". It examined the school district's website for information regarding taxes, the current budget, meetings, school board members names and terms, contracts, audits, public records information and more.In July 2016, Pottsville Area School Board denied the application for a 5-year renewal of the charter for the Gillingham Charter School. The public charter school had been originally approved by the school board in July 2011. Gillingham Charter School appealed the denial to the Pennsylvania State Charter School Board.
The school was founded by charter of Philip and Mary in 1555. The oldest sections of the school were built in 1567, formerly referred to as the "big school" and is now used as the school library. South End Site became the model for Boston Latin School which was the first school in what was to become the United States of America. The school still retains the Latin motto 'Floreat Bostona' (May Boston Flourish). This motto also forms the title of the official school song, written by Dr G.E. Pattenden, headmaster from 1850–1887, which he referred to as 'my school hymn'. The song is still sung at official school occasions such as Prizegiving, Charter Day and Beastmart.
In the fall 1993 the school opened as Jingletown Charter School. It was the first charter school in Oakland and one of the first in California. Originally it had the test scores amongst the lowest in the state. In 2004, Jorge Lopez took control of the school. At the time, its Academic Performance Index (API) was 650. Lopez received guidance from Ben Chavis, head of the American Indian Model Schools, and established a system similar to the system of American Indian Public Charter School. In late September 2007 Oakland Charter Academy became the second public school in Oakland to win the National Blue Ribbon award. In spring 2008, the Oakland Charter Academy received an API of 902. Its student body was mostly Hispanic, and the API was over 200 points higher than the average API of Hispanic/Latino middle school students in California. The Oakland Charter Academy API was also over 200 points above the overall scores of all of the middle schools in Oakland.
According to the Education Commission of the States, "charter schools are semi-autonomous public schools that receive public funds. They operate under a written contract with a state, district or other entity (referred to as an authorizer or sponsor). This contract - or charter - details how the school will be organized and managed, what students will be expected to achieve, and how success will be measured. Many charters are exempt from a variety of laws and regulations affecting other public schools if they continue to meet the terms of their charters."[34]
Unlike their counterparts, laws governing charter schools vary greatly from state to state. In this regard the three states with the highest number of students enrolled in charter schools are California, Arizona, and Michigan.[43] These differences largely relate to what types of public agencies are permitted to authorize the creation of charter schools, whether or not and through what processes private schools can convert to charter schools, and whether or not charter school teachers need to be certified and what that certification consists of.
The Center for Education Reform was critical of the bill, cautioning that "it is nothing more than a natural progression of the federal government becoming too involved in charter school policy. The organization argued that "the federal government is taking too much of a direct role in defining 'quality' and 'high performance' charter schools," taking away power from the states to make their own decisions about what charter schools qualify for grants. They argued that this takes away the autonomy and innovation that define charter schools, discounts parental choices about schools, and, due to the formulaic nature of these evaluations, discourages charter management organizations from taking over failing schools (since the failing school will hurt their scores).
In the early 2000s, the ASD built three new facilities: the Luis A. Ramos Elementary School, the first new elementary school in the ASD in over 50 years; the Clifford S. Bartholomew Building at William Allen High School, and the Michael P. Mellinger Wing at Louis E. Dieruff High School.The ASD Virtual Academy was established in 2014, providing virtual online classes, along with a full-time Cyber school. The ASD Newcomer Academy, established in 2011, provides classes in Spanish for students from 8-12th grade who are learning English as a second language.Allentown School Board must approve and supervise local public charter schools which operate within its attendance area. The Board has approved several charter schools including: Roberto Clemente Charter School and Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School (approved 2012, renewed 2012). In the fall of 2013, several entities applied to the Board for approval to operate charter schools in the Allentown School District, including: Executive Education Academy Charter School, Arts Academy Elementary Charter School, Computer Aid Inc. Learning Academy Charter School and LVenture Charter School. In Pennsylvania students may also choose to attend a public, cyber charter school. These cyber charter schools are supervised by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and are open to all students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 was passed by the United States Congress. Since Washington, D.C. is a semi-autonomous non-state, Congress has jurisdiction over the city and passed the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996. Title I amended the D.C. School Reform Act in 1995, making charter schools part of the public-education system in Washington. Unlike the states, the District of Columbia had relatively little opposition to charter schools from politicians and the public; what opposition existed (from the Washington Teachers' Union) was not firmly entrenched due to controversy within the union. A strong advocate in getting the act passed was the advocacy group Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS), which continues to lobby for charter schools in the district.
The act created the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (PCSB) as the city's second, independent authorizer of public charter schools in the city (the first is the District of Columbia Board of Education). Board members are nominated by the U.S. Secretary of Education and appointed by the mayor of Washington. In 2006, the D.C. Board of Education voted to relinquish its charter-authorizing authority.
Pierre Capdau School in New Orleans became the state's first takeover school in 2004, and subsequently became Louisiana's first RSD charter school, known as a Type 5 charter school. In August 2004, the school opened as Pierre Capdau-UNO Charter School under the management of the New Beginnings Foundation and the University of New Orleans. In the spring of 2005, four additional New Orleans schools were taken over by the state, and turned over to charter school operators: Medard Nelson, Samuel Green, Phillips, and Sophie B. Wright.
By 2001, Signature School had 278 part-time students. After the passage of the Indiana Charter School Law, the staff applied for a full-day program, adopted more courses into the curriculum, and changed the school to a charter school. In December 2001, Signature School submitted a charter-seeking conversion status to the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC), and on February 25, 2002, EVSC approved the charter – making the school Indiana's first public charter high school.
The bill would permit the Secretary to waive certain statutory or regulatory requirements if the waiver is requested by a grant applicant and promotes the purpose of the Charter School program without tampering with what is definitionally required of charter schools.
In 1895 the term "Central" was added to the names of the three state schools for the first time, possibly to avoid confusion between other state schools that were constructed in Charters Towers around a similar time (in the suburbs of Richmond Hill and Queenton). The schools became known as Charters Towers Central (Boys) School, Charters Towers Central (Girls) School and Charters Towers Central (Infants) School.
Charter schools may be founded by teachers, parents, or activists although state-authorized charters (schools not chartered by local school districts) are often established by non-profit groups, universities, or government entities. School districts may permit corporations to manage multiple charter schools. The first charter school law was in Minnesota in 1991.
The Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 10; 113th Congress) was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on April 1, 2014 and passed in the House on May 7, 2014. The Center for Education Reform was critical of the bill, cautioning that "it is nothing more than a natural progression of the federal government becoming too involved in charter school policy. The organization argued that "the federal government is taking too much of a direct role in defining 'quality' and 'high performance' charter schools," taking away power from the states to make their own decisions about what charter schools qualify for grants. They argued that this takes away the autonomy and innovation that define charter schools, discounts parental choices about schools, and, due to the formulaic nature of these evaluations, discourages charter management organizations from taking over failing schools (since the failing school will hurt their scores).
CREDO studies charter schools and has completed two national reports for 2009 and 2013. The report is the first detailed national assessment of charter schools. The reports analyze the impact of charter schools in 26 states and find a steady improvement in charter school quality since 2009.
In 1998, Helix High School became the district's first charter high school. Steele Canyon became the second charter school on July 1, 2007. Liberty Charter High School was founded in 2008. Although affiliated with GUHSD, Helix High School has its own independent school board. Liberty Charter is operated by Literacy First inc.
A review by the Washington advocacy group, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, found that among the more than 4,600 charters nationwide, 113 have mission statements specifying such ethnic cultural themes. These include the Amber Charter School in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School in Rochester, New York, both of which feature instruction in Spanish and in Hispanic cultures, the Ben Gamla Charter School, the country’s first Hebrew language charter school, which opened in Hollywood, Florida, in 2007, the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, where by grade six all subjects except English language arts will be taught in Chinese, and the Hellenic Classical Charter School in Brooklyn, New York. 
The Canadian province of Alberta enacted legislation in 1994 enabling charter schools.[9] The first charter schools under the new legislation were established in 1995: New Horizons Charter School, Suzuki Charter School, and the Centre for Academic and Personal Excellence.[10] As of 2015, Alberta remains the only Canadian province that has enabled charter schools.[11]