In August 2020, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) released a Public Impact report which compares how charter public schools and district-run schools served student during closures related to COVID-19. The flexibility afforded charter schools helped them rise to the occasion when they were required to launch distance learning in the spring.
Learning in Real Time: How Charter Schools Serve Students During COVID-19 Closures shows that charter schools had higher expectations for teachers to provide direct instruction, real-time instruction, and to check in with students and families frequently. Additionally, the report highlights that charter schools closely monitored student attendance and distributed devices for online learning at the same rate as their district counterparts.
Key findings from the report:
- Charter schools appear more likely than school districts to set expectations that teachers:
- Engage directly with students to provide instruction.
- Provide real-time instruction.
- Check in regularly with students.
- Monitor attendance.
- School districts and charter schools were about equally likely to require the distribution of devices for online learning.
- Charter schools appear less likely than school districts to ensure internet access for all students.
- Few charter schools or school districts clearly communicate on websites how schools will support students with disabilities during COVID‑19 closures.
The report notes that we all have to do more to address the digital divide. “An estimated one of every five charter school students (22%) and district school students (19%) lack internet access, and approximately one of every eight charter school (13%) and district school (11%) students do not have a device at home.”