John Tierney: “Mr. Speaker, this measure supports the designation of May 5 to May 9, 2008, as National Charter Schools Week and…”

“Mr. Speaker, this measure supports the designation of May 5 to May 9, 2008, as National Charter Schools Week and recognizes the growing charter school movement in our Nation. Since their inception in 1991, charter schools have grown by leaps and bounds to address various needs of our Nation's public school students. Diverse charter schools across the country offer innovative instruction. With site-based control and flexibility, charter schools can make timely decisions about how to structure the school day, which curriculum best suits the needs of their students and, additionally, charter schools may form important partnerships with parents and the surrounding community. This week charter schools across the country will celebrate the ninth annual National Charter Schools Week. This year's theme, 'Growing Excellence,' encourages charter schools to share their successes as part of the effort to reform public education in our country. Today there are almost 4,300 public charter schools operating in 40 States. Their combined force serves over 1.2 million students, and 61 percent of charter schools report significant waiting lists. These waiting lists of nearly 365,000 students nationally are enough to fill over 1,100 new charter schools. Between 300 and 400 new public charter schools open each year, and nearly 150,000 new students enroll in charter schools annually.”