South Carolina Public Charter School District
Encyclopedia
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is a school district
based in Columbia
, South Carolina
, United States
that currently includes eleven public charter schools from different areas of South Carolina. The district has over 9000 students, of which over 7000 learn online in a virtual learning environment. While public charter schools are sometimes mistaken for private schools, all public charter schools in the United States are authorized and operated by public school authorities. In the case of the South Carolina Public Charter School District, it is an extension of the South Carolina Department of Education.
The district operates the following public schools, of which some are "brick and mortar" schools and some are "virtual" schools:
Another school has transferred to the District from the Lee County School District as of August 2010.
The virtual learning schools in the district use an education management company. In some states, these companies are for-profit, yet in South Carolina these companies are prohibited by law from being for-profit. The schools are actually different entitites than the management companies that serve the schools. For example, Palmetto State e-Cademy changed its education management company in 2009, which demonstrates that the school is broader than the hired management company. In practice, the line between school and education management company can be difficult to see, but the law in South Carolina is clear in making an operational and organizational distinction between the education management companies and the schools.
With just two completed years of operation, the South Carolina Public Charter School District is one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation, yet it is one of the lowest funded public school district in the nation, according to findings secured from the U. S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences through that institute's national center for education statistics.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District was created as a charter school authorizer by the South Carolina legislature as one way for public charter schools to be approved for operation in the state. The state legislature did this, in part, to resolve various legal questions regarding resource allocation for public charter schools in local districts. In addition, the legislature hoped that a little competition with local school districts might serve to further prod the state education establishment into making room for reform.
Another way for a public charter school to open in South Carolina is through the auspices of a local public school district, but many such traditional districts are extremely hesitant to open public charter schools for a variety of reasons.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is not funded through local funding (property taxes), which means that when a public school student attends a public school in the South Carolina Public Charter School District, the South Carolina Public Charter School District is not given funding for educating that child. Instead, the local school district is provided the local funding for the student even though the student does not attend a school in the local district. This means that the South Carolina Public Charter School District operates only through federal categorial funding and South Carolina state-wide funding. Together, these two revenue sources provide for an average of roughly $3,500 per student per year. This is roughly one-third of the average annual funding per student in South Carolina. When challenged, similar such constraints have been struck down by courts in other states, most recently in Georgia.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is unique in the United States for being the only state-wide public school district.
Other public charter schools in the state are authorized by other school districts.
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
based in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, United States
that currently includes eleven public charter schools from different areas of South Carolina. The district has over 9000 students, of which over 7000 learn online in a virtual learning environment. While public charter schools are sometimes mistaken for private schools, all public charter schools in the United States are authorized and operated by public school authorities. In the case of the South Carolina Public Charter School District, it is an extension of the South Carolina Department of Education.
The district operates the following public schools, of which some are "brick and mortar" schools and some are "virtual" schools:
- Calhoun Falls Charter SchoolCalhoun Falls Charter SchoolCalhoun Falls Charter School is a public 6-12 school located in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. It was founded in 2008 and is currently in its third year of operation.-Origin:...
- Palmetto State e-CademyPalmetto State e-CademyPalmetto State E-cademy is a full-time virtual public charter school in the South Carolina Public Charter School District. It has been serving students throughout the state in grades 9-12 since 2008...
- Provost Academy South CarolinaProvost Academy South CarolinaProvost Academy South Carolina is a virtual public charter school that is authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Provost Academy South Carolina serves students throughout the state of South Carolina in grades 9-12 since 2009...
- South Carolina Calvert Academy
- South Carolina Connections AcademyConnections AcademyConnections Academy in the United States is a company which runs free public school that students attend from home. It combines aspects of homeschooling with those of traditional public education....
- South Carolina Virtual Charter School
- SC Whitmore SchoolSC Whitmore SchoolSC Whitmore School in South Carolina is a virtual school that authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District, an extension of the South Carolina Department of Education. Opened in August 2011, it offers free public school that high school students in grades 9-12 attend from home...
- Spartanburg Charter School
- Lake City College Preparatory AcademyLake City College Preparatory AcademyLake City College Preparatory Academy is a public charter school authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Opening in 2010, Lake City College Preparatory Academy will serve students in grades K-9 using a creative art-based curriculum. Lake City College Preparatory Academy is...
- York Preparatory AcademyYork Preparatory AcademyYork Preparatory Academy is a public charter school authorized by the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Opened in 2010, York Preparatory Academy serve students in York County, South Carolina from grades K-9...
- Palmetto Scholars Academy
Another school has transferred to the District from the Lee County School District as of August 2010.
The virtual learning schools in the district use an education management company. In some states, these companies are for-profit, yet in South Carolina these companies are prohibited by law from being for-profit. The schools are actually different entitites than the management companies that serve the schools. For example, Palmetto State e-Cademy changed its education management company in 2009, which demonstrates that the school is broader than the hired management company. In practice, the line between school and education management company can be difficult to see, but the law in South Carolina is clear in making an operational and organizational distinction between the education management companies and the schools.
With just two completed years of operation, the South Carolina Public Charter School District is one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation, yet it is one of the lowest funded public school district in the nation, according to findings secured from the U. S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences through that institute's national center for education statistics.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District was created as a charter school authorizer by the South Carolina legislature as one way for public charter schools to be approved for operation in the state. The state legislature did this, in part, to resolve various legal questions regarding resource allocation for public charter schools in local districts. In addition, the legislature hoped that a little competition with local school districts might serve to further prod the state education establishment into making room for reform.
Another way for a public charter school to open in South Carolina is through the auspices of a local public school district, but many such traditional districts are extremely hesitant to open public charter schools for a variety of reasons.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is not funded through local funding (property taxes), which means that when a public school student attends a public school in the South Carolina Public Charter School District, the South Carolina Public Charter School District is not given funding for educating that child. Instead, the local school district is provided the local funding for the student even though the student does not attend a school in the local district. This means that the South Carolina Public Charter School District operates only through federal categorial funding and South Carolina state-wide funding. Together, these two revenue sources provide for an average of roughly $3,500 per student per year. This is roughly one-third of the average annual funding per student in South Carolina. When challenged, similar such constraints have been struck down by courts in other states, most recently in Georgia.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is unique in the United States for being the only state-wide public school district.
Other public charter schools in the state are authorized by other school districts.