2007 Wctv News - Tallahassee

'S ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SCHOOL CHOICE OPTIONS IN FLORIDA.... CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE BEING EMBRACED FOR THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND SMALLER CLASS SIZES. BUT THAT SUCCESS DIDN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT... IN A SPECIAL REPORT, EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER ANGELA SALERNO CHARTS THE HISTORY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS. L' STEELE-COLLINS MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS AMONG THE FIRST ESTABLISHED CHARTER SCHOOLS IN FLORIDA. TEN YEARS LATER MANY MORE SCHOOLS LIKE THIS ARE OFFERING STUDENTS AND PARENTS AN OPTION TO A TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLING. "I CHOSE TO COME TO THIS SCHOOL BECAUSE MY GRADES, I WAS NOT PERFORMING IN CLASS TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY I COULD.""IF I FELT LIKE MY SON W EXCEL IN THE SITUATION I WOULD CONSIDER IT." THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZED THE CREATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN 1996, BUT NOT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY. SOME WORRIED CHARTER SCHOOLS WOULD NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. BUT NOW THESE SCHOOLS ARE HELD TO THE SAME STRICT STANDARDS AS ALL OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS...AND SERVE NEARLY 100-THOUSAND STUDENTS. "MY GRADES WENT UP A LOT AND WITH SMALLER CLASS SIZES YOU LEARN A LOT MORE THAN USUAL." "THEY BEGIN HERE AND GROW UP TO BECOME YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG LADIES, THEY COME IN WITH SOME BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE ALSO BEEN GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO TRY OUT NEW APPROACHES TO EDUCATION SUCH AS ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SCIENCES AND ART. "STUDENTS ARN DIFFERENT WAYS, WE DON'T PRESENT LEARNING ONE WAY, WE PROVIDE DIFFERENT AVENUES SO ALL LEARNERS ARE MET." "CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE AN INCREASINGLY DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, ON AVERAGE THEY SERVE MORE MINORITY STUDENTS THAN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS." " WE CAN SEE ESPECIALLY THE MINORITY STUDENTS ARE NARROWING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP BETWEEN WHITE STUDENTS AND MINORITY STUDENTS." FLORIDA'S EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SAYS SO FAR, CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE MIRRORING THE ACADEMIC GAINS OF THEIR TRADITIONAL SCHOOL PEERS. ANGELA SALERNO, WCTV, EYEWITNESS NEWS TALLAHASSEE. IN THE PAST DECADE, THE NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN FLORIDA HAS GROWN TO MORE THAN 350. IN GEORGIA, THERE ARE 60 OF THEM UP AND RUNNING. TUNE IN TONIGHT FOR PART