Public charter schools are independent public schools that are tuition-free, open to all children, and publicly financed. In Indianapolis, the first three Mayor-sponsored charter schools opened in 2002 and served 480 students. Today, 16 schools enroll nearly 3,900 students and one new charter school is scheduled to open this upcoming school year and another in 2008. When fully enrolled, these 18 schools will serve 7,900 students. While Mayor Peterson is currently the only mayor in the nation with the authority to sponsor charter schools, other mayors have seen the success and are approaching their state legislatures to obtain this power.
Around the country there are other independent entities, such as public universities and special charter school boards, that can authorizer charter schools. However, mayors bring unique characteristics to charter school authorization. Mayor Peterson has capitalized on these strengths to create a highly effective charter authorization system, which received Harvard’s “Innovations in American Government Award” in 2006 for its high level of rigor, transparency, and excellence.
First, a mayor is directly accountable to the community served by the school. Mayors have incentives to authorize only the best schools, and have a unique incentive to fulfill the authorizer’s obligation to hold schools accountable. In Indianapolis, Mayor Peterson has received more than 90 letters of intent to apply for charters but only 19 have been approved. And, one school has already been shut down for poor performance, demonstrating Mayor Peterson’s personal commitment to educational excellence as well as the political pressure and scrutiny on any mayor.
Second, mayors know their communities in a way other authorizers often do not. They understand the needs, the civic resources, and the subtle aspects of history and culture that make America’s cities so textured and complicated. Furthermore, a charter from a mayor bestows prestige on the recipient that is unmatched in a charter granted by another authorizer. This explains why charter schools in Indianapolis have attracted several of the community’s leading groups and citizens directly into the effort to provide better public options for the city’s students.
Third, schools sponsored by a mayor are subject to closer scrutiny, which motivates the schools to perform without interfering with their autonomy. An example: by publishing one school’s lackluster first-year results, Mayor Peterson sparked the school to undertake wide-ranging improvement–without infringing on the school’s autonomy. The following year, the school’s performance surged.
