Alberta charter schools

Calgary Girls' School was granted a charter in 2003
Connect Charter School, a science oriented charter school

Alberta charter schools are a special type of public school[1] which have a greater degree of autonomy than normal public schools, allowing them to offer programs that are significantly different from regular public schools operated by district school boards. Charter schools report directly to the province, bypassing their local district school board, may not exceed their assigned quota of students without provincial permission. They are also unique, in the sense that they may reject students for admission and can charge additional fees in the form of school uniforms, bus services, extracurricular activities, and more.

As of 2022-23, roughly 11,000 students were enrolled in charter schools (1.4% of total student population), compared to 508,478 in public schools (66.3%), 177,633 in separate schools (23.1%), and 40,676 in private schools (5.3%).[2]

Alberta charter schools are publicly-funded institutions run by private school associations or authorities that must be registered non-profit societies. The charter schools theoretically cannot have any religious affiliations, can only charge additional & optional tuition, and cannot operate on a for-profit basis. The teachers must be certified, and the curriculum must follow the approved provincial curriculum - though are permitted to adopt additional, independent educational programs and philosophies into their programming. Alberta, which passed enabling legislation in 1994 (three years after the first charter school opened in the United States in Minnesota), remains the only province in Canada that allows charter schools.[3][4]

Charter schools are represented by The Association of Alberta Public Charter Schools (TAAPCS).

Supporters claim that charter schools offer greater "freedom in choice of education" for parents of students.[5] They also claim that charter schools improve the public education system by offering higher-quality education and supporting disadvantaged students.[6]

Critics have argued that charter schools 'Americanize' the public K-12 education system, and effectively allows privately-operated institutions to receive public funding - though with less oversight and more freedom in their programming.[7] Public education advocates have also noted how charter schools undermine the public education system by subsidizing a market for separate and segregated educational systems using public funds, instead of increasing funding to regular K-12 institutions.[8][9]

  1. ^ Alberta charter school handbook (PDF). Executive Council of Alberta. 2002. ISBN 0-7785-2550-3.
  2. ^ Open Data, Government of Alberta. "Table 2. Alberta student population by authority system". Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ritchie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Mindzak, Michael (2020-07-07). "Charter schools: What you need to know about their anticipated growth in Alberta". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  5. ^ "Charter schools offer more variety within Alberta education | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  6. ^ "BLOG: All provinces—not just Alberta—should embrace charter schools". Fraser Institute. 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  7. ^ "'The commodification of education is never good': Concerns raised over charter schools in Alberta". Edmonton. 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  8. ^ "Privatization and Charter Schools". Support Our Students. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  9. ^ "Private and Charter Schools". Public Interest Alberta. Retrieved 2024-03-08.