TOP 10 CHARTER COMMUNITIES BY MARKET SHARE

TOP 10 CHARTER
COMMUNITIES
BY MARKET SHARE
Fourth Annual Edition
October 2009

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2
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Today, a record 14 communities have more
For the fourth year in a row, the National
than 20% of their public school students
Alliance for Public Charter Schools has
enrolled in public charter schools, eight more
gathered public school enrollment data from
than the number from just three years ago.
around the country to find the highest local
Additional y, 72 communities now have at
proportions of students enrolled in public
least 10% of public school students in charter
charter schools. The table below shows the
schools, 27 more than three year ago. These
results for the 2008-09 school year.
numbers il ustrate that charter enrol ment
growth remains strong.
The “Top 10” Market Share
Rank and
Charter
Charter
Non-Charter
Total District Market Share
Rank School District
State Market Share
Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment
in 2008
1
New Orleans Public
LA
57%
20,068
15,379
35,447
#1 and 55%
School System
2
District of Columbia
DC
36%
25,729
45,551
71,280
#2 and 31%
Public Schools
3
Tied at #7 and
Detroit Public Schoolsi
MI
32%
43,035
91,827
134,862
22%
4
Kansas City, Missouri
Tied at #6 and
MO
29%
7,925
19,818
27,743
School District
23%
5
Tied at #3 and
Dayton Public Schools
OH
27%
5,946
16,072
22,018
28%
6
Youngstown City Schools
OH
26%
2,764
7,854
10,618
#5 and 24%
7
Tied at #10 and
St. Louis Public Schools
MO
25%
9,211
27,416
36,627
19%
8
Not in Top 10 and
Flint Community Schoolsi
MI
24%
4,240
13,798
18,038
11%
9
Gary Community
Not in Top 10 and
IN
23%
3,781
12,902
16,683
School Corporation
18%
Phoenix Union
Tied at #6 and
AZ
22%
7,074
25,167
32,241
High School District
23%
10
Not in Top 10 and
Minneapolis Public Schools
MN
22%
9,651
34,680
44,331
18%
i For the first three editions of the “Top 10 Charter Communities by Market Share” report, we collected charter school enrollment data by the geographically relevant school district in Michigan.
For example, if a charter school was physically located in Detroit, then the students who attended that school were counted as students in Detroit Public Schools. Recently the Michigan
Department of Education made data publicly available that presents charter school enrollment by the school district where students reside. The student residence enrollment data presents more
accurate information regarding how many students from a school district attend charter schools.
This new data increases the charter school market share significantly for Detroit and Flint (from 24% and 14%, respectively, using geographically relevant district information in 2008-09 to
32% and 24% with student residence data for 2008-09). The new data bumps Southfield and Pontiac from the top 10 because the majority of the students who attend charter schools in these
districts reside in other districts, such as Detroit.
Currently, we have been able to acquire student residence charter school enrollment data from Ohio and Michigan. In future years we will attempt to obtain similar data for more states since we
believe that the residence data is a more accurate representation of the number and percent of students who choose charter schools.

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Top 10 Charter Communities By Market Shares | Fourth Annual Edition
3
This year, we also include for the first
The 10 districts with the largest number of
time a “Top 10” list of school districts by the
students in public charter schools represent
number of public charter school students
22% of the total public charter school
enrolled. We include this new list because
population nationwide, a total of 304,494
districts with large numbers of students
students out of roughly 1.4 million.
enrolled in public charter schools represent a
different way to look at the reach of charters.
The “Top 10” Districts by Number of Public Charter School Students
Charter
Non-Charter
Total District
Charter
Rank School District
State Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment
Market Share
Los Angeles Unified
1
CA
59,122
621,805
680,927
9%
School District
2
Detroit Public Schools
MI
43,035
91,827
134,862
32%
The School District
3
PA
32,579
167,752
200,331
16%
of Philadelphia
Houston Independent
4
TX
29,889
187,422
217,311
14%
School District
5
Chicago Public Schools
IL
28,973
391,393
420,366
7%
District of Columbia
6
DC
25,729
45,551
71,280
36%
Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public
7
FL
23,865
321,048
344,913
7%
Schools
New York City Department
8
NY
21,367
988,234
1,009,601
2%
of Education
New Orleans Public
9
LA
20,068
15,379
35,447
57%
School System
Broward County
10
FL
19,867
236,319
256,186
8%
Public Schools

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4
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
A Closer Look
A Note About Methodology
New Orleans Remains at #1 in Market Share
In this analysis, we examined market share in
Percentage: More than three years since New Orleans
communities with more than 10,000 public school
began rebuilding its public education system after
students (both charter and non-charter) in the
Hurricane Katrina, public charter schools continue to play
2008-09 school year. We gathered charter and
a primary role in these efforts. Not only are charters in
non-charter public school enrollment data from state
New Orleans serving a higher percentage of public school department of education personnel and databases
students – 57% – than anywhere else in the nation, they and from state charter association and resource
are also the highest performing sector of public schools center staff. The growing numbers of virtual charter
in the city. More importantly, the city’s public schools as
schools that enroll children from across an entire
a whole are outperforming the pre-Katrina system.
state present another issue. Because many states
haven’t developed student enrollment reporting
Three School Districts Reach at Least 30% Market
systems that allow the sorting of individual students
Share: Detroit (at 32%) joins New Orleans (57%) and
by community of residence at each charter school, we
Washington, D.C. (36%) with at least 30% of public
excluded communities where virtual charter schools
school students enrolled in public charter schools.
enrolling large numbers of students from outside the
community constituted much of the charter market
Fourteen Communities Now at 20% or More: When we share in that community. We recognize that this
first compiled this report in 2005, a market share of 20%
decision might create some undercounting in commu-
would land a community at #4. This year, such a concen-
nities of residence.
tration does not break into the top 10. The number
of communities with at least a 20% market share has
After gathering the data, we determined the ten
steadily climbed from six in 2005-06 to eight in 2006-07 highest market share percentages: 57, 36, 32, 29,
to 12 in 2007-08 to 14 in 2008-09.
27, 26, 25, 24, 23, and 22. As shown above, some of
these percentages included multiple communities.
The Floor for the “Top 10” Market Share List Jumped
from 19% to 22%: For the first three years that we
Anna Nicotera
assembled this report, the 10th highest market share
Director of Research and Evaluation
percentage has been under 20%. The 10th highest
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
was 13% in both 2005-06 and 2006-07 and 19% in
2007-08. Because of the strong and steady growth
Todd Ziebarth
in charter enrol ment in several communities, the 10th
Vice President for Policy
highest market share percentage this year is 22%. And
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
there are now 72 communities with at least a 10%
market share (see Appendix A).
Los Angeles Tops the List in Number of Public
Charter School Students: Over 59,000 students
attended public charter schools in the Los Angeles
Unified School District during the 2008-09 school year,
the highest number for any school district in the country.
While this number only represents a 9% market share
in the 680,000-student district, it wil likely continue
to grow in light of the district’s request for proposals
for new operators for up to 250 of its schools. (See
Appendix B for a list of the top 50 school districts by
the number of public charter school students.)

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Top 10 Charter Communities By Market Shares | Fourth Annual Edition
5
Appendix A
School Districts with at Least 10% Market Share, 2008-09
Charter
Charter
Non-Charter
Total District
Rank School District
State Market Share Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment
1
New Orleans Public School System
LA
57%
20,068
15,379
35,447
2
District of Columbia Public Schools
DC
36%
25,729
45,551
71,280
3
Detroit Public Schools
MI
32%
43,035
91,827
134,862
4
Kansas City, Missouri School District
MO
29%
7,925
19,818
27,743
5
Dayton Public Schools
OH
27%
5,946
16,072
22,018
6
Youngstown City Schools
OH
26%
2,764
7,854
10,618
7
St. Louis Public Schools
MO
25%
9,211
27,416
36,627
8
Flint Community Schools
MI
24%
4,240
13,798
18,038
9
Gary Community School Corporation
IN
23%
3,781
12,902
16,683
Phoenix Union High School District
AZ
22%
7,074
25,167
32,241
10
Minneapolis Public Schools
MN
22%
9,651
34,680
44,331
Toledo Public Schools
OH
21%
7,345
27,109
34,454
11
Cleveland City Schools
OH
21%
12,812
48,505
61,317
San Antonio Independent School District
TX
21%
11,992
46,503
58,495
12
Brighton School District 27J
CO
19%
2,691
11,461
14,152
Milwaukee Public Schools
WI
18%
16,651
74,457
91,108
City School District of Albany
NY
18%
1,800
8,201
10,001
13
Indianapolis Public Schools
IN
18%
7,496
35,319
42,815
Chula Vista Elementary School District
CA
18%
4,753
22,402
27,155
Camden City Public Schools
NJ
17%
2,643
12,501
15,144
Grand Rapids Public Schools
MI
17%
3,846
18,204
22,050
14
Twin Rivers Unified School District
CA
17%
5,250
25,606
30,856
Oakland Unified School District
CA
17%
7,883
38,655
46,538
Columbus City Schools
OH
17%
10,719
53,093
63,812
The School District of Philadelphia
PA
16%
32,579
167,752
200,331
15
Tempe Union High School District
AZ
16%
2,264
11,763
14,027
St. Paul Public Schools
MN
16%
7,276
38,560
45,836
Buffalo Public Schools
NY
15%
6,381
34,990
41,371
Cincinnati Public Schools
OH
15%
6,348
35,094
41,443
Salt Lake City School District
UT
15%
4,159
23,678
27,837
16
Oshkosh Area School District
WI
15%
1,524
8,807
10,331
Appleton Area School District
WI
15%
2,246
12,989
15,235
Glendale Union High School District
AZ
15%
2,049
11,938
13,987
Trenton Public Schools
NJ
15%
1,901
11,118
13,019
Flagstaff Unified District
AZ
14%
1,570
9,343
10,913
Taylor School District
MI
14%
1,451
8,874
10,325
Houston Independent School District
TX
14%
29,889
187,422
217,311
17
Mesa Unified District
AZ
14%
11,190
70,309
81,499
Natomas Unified School District
CA
14%
1,668
10,494
12,162
Tucson Unified District
AZ
14%
8,926
56,489
65,415

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6
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Appendix A – continued
School Districts with at Least 10% Market Share, 2008-09
Charter
Charter
Non-Charter
Total District
Rank School District
State Market Share Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment
Weld County School District 6
CO
13%
2,529
16,341
18,870
Napa Valley Unified School District
CA
13%
2,365
15,384
17,749
Dysart Unified District
AZ
13%
3,683
24,161
27,844
18
Vista Unified School District
CA
13%
3,522
23,105
26,627
Academy School District 20
CO
13%
2,884
19,033
21,917
Falcon School District 49
CO
13%
1,725
11,891
13,616
Duluth Public Schools
MN
13%
1,423
9,834
11,257
Ogden City School District
UT
12%
1,807
12,884
14,691
Saginaw Public Schools
MI
12%
1,302
9,484
10,786
Pueblo City Schools
CO
12%
2,208
16,296
18,504
19
Lake County Schools
FL
12%
4,883
36,113
40,996
Colorado Springs School District 11
CO
12%
3,625
27,189
30,814
Litchfield Elementary School District
AZ
12%
1,219
9,324
10,543
San Diego Unified
CA
11%
14,826
117,064
131,890
San Juan Unified
CA
11%
5,194
41,729
46,923
The School District of Lee County
FL
11%
8,753
70,698
79,451
Polk County Public Schools
FL
11%
10,332
84,384
94,716
20
Oklahoma City Public Schools
OK
11%
4,548
37,261
41,809
Christina School District
DE
11%
2,079
17,200
19,279
Yuma Elementary District
AZ
11%
1,216
10,102
11,318
The School City of East Chicago
IN
11%
674
5,684
6,358
Harrison School District 2
CO
10%
1,142
9,779
10,921
East Central Independent School District
TX
10%
1,055
9,113
10,168
Sheboygan Area School District
WI
10%
1,072
9,264
10,336
Akron Public Schools
OH
10%
2,892
25,027
27,920
Brandywine School District
DE
10%
1,180
10,217
11,397
Bethlehem Area School District
PA
10%
1,772
15,434
17,206
21
Newark Public Schools
NJ
10%
4,544
39,992
44,536
Red Clay Consolidated
DE
10%
1,779
15,709
17,488
School District
Port Huron Area School District
MI
10%
1,114
10,531
11,645
Gilbert Unified District
AZ
10%
4,078
38,733
42,811
Dearborn Public Schools
MI
10%
1,885
17,941
19,826

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Top 10 Charter Communities By Market Shares | Fourth Annual Edition
7
Appendix B
Top 50 School Districts by Number of Charter School Students, 2008-09
Charter
Non-Charter
Total District Charter
Rank School District
State Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment
Market Share
1
Los Angeles Unified School District
CA
59,122
621,805
680,927
9%
2
Detroit Public Schools
MI
43,035
91,827
134,862
32%
3
The School District of Philadelphia
PA
32,579
167,752
200,331
16%
4
Houston Independent School District
TX
29,889
187,422
217,311
14%
5
Chicago Public Schools
IL
28,973
391,393
420,366
7%
6
District of Columbia Public Schools
DC
25,729
45,551
71,280
36%
7
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
FL
23,865
321,048
344,913
7%
8
New York City Department of Education
NY
21,367
988,234
1,009,601
2%
9
New Orleans Public School System
LA
20,068
15,379
35,447
57%
10
Broward County Public Schools
FL
19,867
236,319
256,186
8%
11
Milwaukee Public Schools
WI
16,651
74,457
91,108
18%
12
San Diego Unified
CA
14,826
117,064
131,890
11%
13
Dallas Independent School District
TX
14,619
157,154
171,773
9%
14
Cleveland City Schools
OH
12,812
48,505
61,317
21%
15
San Antonio Independent School District
TX
11,992
46,503
58,495
21%
16
Mesa Unified District
AZ
11,190
70,309
81,499
14%
17
Columbus City Schools
OH
10,719
53,093
63,812
17%
18
Polk County Public Schools
FL
10,332
84,384
94,716
11%
19
Minneapolis Public Schools
MN
9,651
34,680
44,331
22%
20
St. Louis Public Schools
MO
9,211
27,416
36,627
25%
21
Tucson Unified District
AZ
8,926
56,489
65,415
14%
22
The School District of Lee County
FL
8,753
70,698
79,451
11%
23
Albuquerque Public Schools
NM
7,937
86,899
94,836
8%
24
Kansas City, Missouri School District
MO
7,925
19,818
27,743
29%
25
Oakland Unified School District
CA
7,883
38,655
46,538
17%
26
Fulton County Schools
GA
7,782
80,517
88,299
9%
27
Indianapolis Public Schools
IN
7,496
35,319
42,815
18%
28
Baltimore City Public School System
MD
7,403
74,863
82,266
9%
29
Hawaii Department of Education
HI
7,373
171,712
177,871
4%
30
Toledo Public Schools
OH
7,345
27,109
34,454
21%
31
The School District of Palm Beach County
FL
7,310
163,435
170,745
4%
32
St. Paul Public Schools
MN
7,276
38,560
45,836
16%
33
Phoenix Union High School District
AZ
7,074
25,167
32,241
22%
34
Denver Public Schools
CO
6,843
67,762
74,605
9%
35
Buffalo Public Schools
NY
6,381
34,990
41,371
15%
36
Cincinnati Public Schools
OH
6,348
35,094
41,443
15%
37
Clark County School District
NV
6,039
312,941
318,980
2%
38
Dayton Public Schools
OH
5,946
16,072
22,018
27%
39
Wake County School District
NC
5,692
137,706
143,398
4%
40
Cobb County School District
GA
5,659
101,088
106,747
5%
41
Alpine School District
UT
5,603
61,223
66,826
8%
42
Boston Public Schools
MA
5,401
55,923
61,324
9%
43
School System of DeKalb County
GA
5,365
94,410
99,775
5%
44
Jefferson County Public Schools
CO
5,290
80,661
85,951
6%
45
Twin Rivers Unified School District
CA
5,250
25,606
30,856
17%
46
San Juan Unified
CA
5,194
41,729
46,923
11%
47
Jordan School District
UT
4,990
81,017
86,007
6%
48
Lake County Schools
FL
4,883
36,113
40,996
12%
49
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
NC
4,800
134,060
138,860
3%
50
Chula Vista Elementary School District
CA
4,753
22,402
27,155
18%

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The National Al iance for Public Charter
Schools (www.publiccharters.org)
is the national nonprofit organization
committed to advancing the charter
school movement. The Alliance
provides assistance to state charter
school associations and resource
centers, develops and advocates for
improved public policies, and serves
as the united voice for this large and
diverse movement. Currently, more
than 1.4 mil ion students attend 4,900
public charter schools in 39 states and
the District of Columbia.
© Copyright 2006 - 2009, The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
1101 Fifteenth Street, NW. Suite 1010. Washington, DC 20005. (202) 289-2700

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