Charter schools in R.I. face higher standards
01:00 AM EDT on Monday, September 13, 2010
PROVIDENCE –– Big changes are coming to Rhode Island’s charter schools.
First, there are going to be more of them.
Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist says she plans to invite high-quality charter operators to the state, which recently received a multimillion-dollar federal grant to expand and improve charter schools. Changes last spring to state law lifted a cap on the number of charter schools, paving the way for growth of these alternative public schools.
Second, tougher expectations are being developed by the state Department of Education that insist charter schools be “models of excellent public schools,” in Gist’s words.
Put simply, charter schools will be held to a higher standard than