Vol, 7, No. 6: February 11, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

---

3. Charter schools grants

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster announced $5.8 million in federal funding to support a third round of charter school grants for planning, implementation, and dissemination activities during the 2007-08 school year.

"Charter schools are one way our school districts can attain the goals of our New Wisconsin Promise: ensuring a quality education for every child, raising achievement for all students, and closing the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students, students of color, and their peers," said Burmaster. "We continue to support grants for charter schools in Wisconsin that provide appropriate programming to help students achieve more."

In 2005, Wisconsin received a $52 million, three-year federal competitive grant to expand the number of charter schools in the state and nation.

Charter schools are public schools that are accountable to their authorizing agency for performance measures included in the charter contract. Charter schools must employ licensed teachers, involve parents, administer statewide tests, and comply with federal regulations that govern all public schools. Under state law, school districts can authorize an unlimited number of charter schools. In addition, the City of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside, have authority to charter schools. Wisconsin currently has 232 charter schools in operation.

More information, including a complete list of schools receiving awards, is available in a DPI news release.

---

You can also receive SEAchange by email. For more information about SEAchange, contact: Benson Gardner at (608) 266-3374.

---

Last updated on 2/11/2008