American public schools offered a one-size-fits-all model of education for decades. In the 1980s, especially after the publication of A Nation at Risk, many people were talking about the national imperative to do better for U.S. students.

Education leaders and policymakers asked a question that ultimately led to the creation of public charter schools: If schools and educators had more freedom to innovate, would students benefit?

Charter schools are public schools that operate under contracts, or charters, with their states or local authorities. Charters exempt schools from certain state or local rules. In return for increased flexibility and autonomy, charter schools must meet accountability standards outlined in their charters. A school's charter is reviewed periodically, and can be revoked if it doesn’t follow guidelines on curriculum and management or if it does not meet accountability standards.

As charter schools were expanding, educators, advocates and policymakers were working to make sure that the new schools were providing high-quality educational opportunities to students across the United States.

The Charter Friends National Network (CFNN) launched in 1996 to advocate for strong public policies and high-quality public charter schools. This organization later became the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Another organization, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, was founded in 2000 to develop high-quality authorizers and, therefore, high-quality schools.

New organizations, including the NewSchools Venture Fund and the Charter School Growth Fund, founded in 1998 and 2005, respectively, were created to entice creative entrepreneurs into public education and to support the expansion of high-quality public charter school networks.

Other organizations began studying the impact of charter schools. One prominent research center, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), was established in 1999 with the goal of studying education policies. It became a leading authority on charter schools, and has conducted important studies on their performance and progress.

Recently, cities from New Orleans to Denver to Camden, N.J. have launched common enrollment systems that make it easier for families to understand their options and to access high-quality charter schools.

Today, there are more than 6,900 public charter schools enrolling an estimated 3.1 million students in the U.S.

The Walton Family Foundation was one of the first philanthropies to support the expansion of high-quality public charter schools. John Walton — who pioneered this work — believed charter schools could provide options and opportunities and fuel needed innovation in America’s schools.

The Walton Family Foundation was one of the first philanthropies to support the start-up phase for charter schools. It also supports the expansion of successful charter schools. Since its first charter school grant in the mid 1990s, it has given more than $386 million in grants, helping to create more than 2,100 charter schools, serving more than 840,000 students. The foundation has supported about a quarter of all the charter schools in the United States.

The Walton Family Foundation is committed to investing another $1 billion between 2015 and 2020 in charter schools and other education efforts that have potential to create more high-quality choices for U.S. students and families.

The Walton Family Foundation also helped to create organizations — including the Charter School Growth Fund in 2005 — that were designed to scale up the best charter school models that were having the greatest positive impact on students. Charter School Growth Fund has funded more than 500 schools serving over 250,000 students in 23 states.

The foundation was also one of the first foundations to push for accountability in charter schools. It convened national thought leaders, starting in the 1990s, to focus the movement on quality, and it funded research into charter schools’ performance and progress. It also helped to create both the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the National Association for Charter School Authorizers.

The foundation has supported efforts to prepare teachers and school leaders to help students excel by supporting organizations like Teach For America, Relay Graduate School of Education and New Leaders.

In 2015 alone, the foundation provided support to organizations that trained more than 5,450 teachers, school leaders and education innovators.

Today, 43 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws, with only Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia remaining without charter laws.

Enrollment in charter public schools has grown sixfold in the past 15 years and reached 2.9 million students in the 2015-16 school year.

According to a National Alliance for Public Charter Schools survey, 78% of parents now support a charter school opening in their neighborhood. The same survey found that support for public school choice among parents outweighs opposition by an almost five-to-one margin (78% to 17%).

Charter schools are required to live up to expectations — to ensure that all students have access to the high-quality educational opportunities that they are seeking.

Each year, between 3% and 4% of charter schools close, typically due to poor performance. In the 2014-15 school year, for example, 272 charter schools nationally were closed, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

According to University of Arkansas research, the average public charter school student in the United States receives $3,814 less in funding than his or her peer in a traditional public school, representing a funding gap of 28.4%.

This first wave of big thinkers helped to create a new vocabulary, a new set of expectations and seats for nearly 3 million students.

Based on unmet demand for these schools — as well as charters’ historical growth trajectory — there could be 10 million children in charters by 2030.

The Walton Family Foundation is committed to continuing to fuel innovation and continue supporting opportunities for children and families. It has invested more than $386 million in over 2,100 charter schools, serving more than 840,000 students, and has committed to investing another $1 billion between 2015 and 2020 to create more high-quality charter schools and other educational opportunities for U.S. students and families.

1. In the Beginning

A Nation at Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform, April 1983
Ted Kolderie Biography: http://www.educationevolving.org/bios/ted-kolderie

2. The Birth of Charter Schools

NCES, Fast Facts Charter Schools
NCES, The Condition of Education, Charter School Enrollment
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Facts About Charters
Center for Education Reform, Charter School Law
Education by Charter: Restructuring School Districts, 1988
Ted Kolderie, Beyond Choice to New Public Schools: Withdrawing the Exclusive Franchise in Public Education, Progressive Policy Institute, November 1990
Minnesota passes the first charter school law
CCSA, What are Charter Schools

3. Charter Schools Embrace Quality

Charter Friends National Network
NACSA
NewSchools Venture Fund
Charter School Growth Fund
Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Year One Evaluation Report Executive Summary
Education Evolving, Charter Friends National Network
New Schools Venture Fund: Our History
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: Measuring Up
CREDO
NAPCS, A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement
NACSA
CSGF
Bethany Gross, CRPE, Making School Choice Work Series Common Enrollment, Parents, and School Choice
Michael D. Shear and Nick Anderson, “Obama Uses Funding to Pressure Education Establishment for Change,” Washington Post:
The Federal Charter School Program is passed to help states create and support charters

4. Our Contribution to the Charter Movement

Bloomberg, Online Extra: Q&A with Wal-Mart Heir John Walton (2002)

5. Supporting Charter Startups

Walton Family Foundation K-12 Education Strategic Plan
Walton Family Foundation report

6. Helping Spur Charter School Growth

Charter School Growth Fund

7. Advancing Quality of Charter Schools

NAPCS, A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement

8. Helping Build a Pipeline of Educators

Walton Family Foundation 2015 Annual Report

9. Charter Laws are Common Today

Education Commission of the States
Center for Education Reform

10. Charter Schools are Expanding

National Center for Education Statistics, Charter School Enrollment:
NAPCS, A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement
NAPCS, Enrollment in charter public schools has grown sixfold in the past 15 years
NAPCS, Nearly 3 million students now attend more than 6,800 charter public schools

11. Most Families Want Public Charter Schools

NAPCS, New National Survey Shows 78% of Parents Support Charter Schools Opening in Their Neighborhood, April 2016
Brookings, Who Has Access to Charter Schools? (March 2016)

12. Charter Schools Must Meet and Exceed High Standards

Bellwether (slide 10)
NAPCS, A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement (p. 4)

13. Charter Schools Receive Less Funding

Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, University of Arkansas, April 2014 p. 5

14. What's Next for Charter Schools?

Bellwether p.60
Walton Family Foundation K-12 Education Strategic Plan