Charter schools are mapping a course for education

OREM — About 400 charter-school educators from all over the state gathered at Utah Valley State College in Orem on Monday to trade tips, talk shop and learn from the experts.

"I'm brand new to charter schools," said teacher Mathew Kennington, as he headed to the first workshop.

Kennington, a teacher at Maeser Prep Academy in Lindon, is transitioning from Meridian School, a private school in Provo. He planned to soak up all the knowledge he could during the two days of charter-school seminars.

Some of the classes were held at the Utah County Academy of Sciences, a charter early college high school on the UVSC campus.

It's the second annual conference for charter educators, sponsored jointly by the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools and CharterSTAR, a grant through John Hancock Charter School in Pleasant Grove.

Besides about 60 presenters, the keynote speaker is UVSC President William A. Sederburg. He is slated to speak today at 8 a.m.

Dozens of vendors are targeting the conference with offers including textbooks, SMART Boards, lockers and uniforms.

This fall, there will be 67 Utah charter schools serving about 28,000 students. Nationwide, there are more than one million students attending more than 4,000 charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Nationally, the number of students attending charter schools is growing annually by about 15 percent, according to the State Office of Education.

Marlies Burns, director of state charter schools, said a new issue charter schools are facing is the Legislature's new requirement for an official accountability process.

"Charter schools have been held accountable, but this is a very formalized process that is outlined in legislation, which will put them on a five-year plan," Burns said.

At the end of five years, there will be a high-stakes review to determine whether the charter schools have met their goals. Some schools could face corrective action or assistance, she said.

Charter schools are public schools created by a group of parents, teachers or community leaders who see an educational need in their community and want to meet that need.