U.S. Senator Carper of Delaware, California Governor Schwarzenegger, New York City Mayor Bloomberg and Colorado State Senator Groff Named 2008 Champions for Charters During National Charter Schools Week

Senator Carper Award Presentation at Capitol Hill Reception

Tuesday, May 6th 5 PM, Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2325

WASHINGTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For their continuing strong support of public charter schools, four outstanding public officials will be honored as recipients of the 2008 Champion for Charters Award at a reception tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6th in the Rayburn House Office Building (Rm. 2325) in Washington D.C. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the leading organization supporting the expansion of quality charter schools, presents the award.

Award recipients are:

• U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) has been a stalwart supporter of charter schools since the first bill he sponsored in the U.S. Senate in 2001, the Empowering Parents Act. He has consistently supported the funding needed to grow and sustain high-quality public charter schools, and was instrumental in securing passage and signing into law Delaware's charter schools bill in 1995.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has consistently fought to maintain the flexibility and accountability in California's charter law that has allowed these innovative public schools to flourish. He expanded the charter facility grant program, which specifically targets low-income communities, and his administration created and implemented a more independent statewide charter school authorizer through the state board of education. As a result of these actions, the number of charter schools in the state has expanded by more than 50% since he took office.
• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has advocated and supported the significant growth of public charter schools since taking over the city's public school system in 2002. Under his and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's direction, the New York City Public Schools have given charter schools free access to district facilities, start-up funding of $15 million and provided additional support for special education students in charter schools. Mayor Bloomberg also provided critical support to raising the state-imposed cap on charter schools in New York.
• Colorado State Senator Peter Groff co-sponsored an innovative law enacted in 2004 that created the Colorado Charter School Institute, which is the state's independent charter authorizer. He has consistently fought to increase the state's support for charter school facility costs and has helped defend the state's charter law against various attempts to weaken it.

The public officials were selected because they:

• Championed a major public charter issue or initiative, particularly over the past year
• Serve as a highly visible public charter school advocate
• Consistently support public charter schools as a quality school choice option and/or policy

"Improving public education is politically difficult, but these policy makers stand out as forward-thinking leaders who recognize that America's parents and children deserve to have high-quality public education options," said Nelson Smith, president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

National Charter School Week 2008 runs May 5 through May 9 with the theme "Growing Excellence." Public charter schools around the nation are hosting and participating in activities to mark the movement's success and growth, and are participating in a dynamic video campaign to create and share with state and federal legislators short videos highlighting the success of their schools.

In a Capitol Hill Briefing at 10am on Tuesday May 6th (Dirksen, Room 11), the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will release results of a new national opinion survey on public charter schools and a compendium of new public charter school statistics.

Nationwide in 40 states and Washington DC, over 4,300 public charter schools enroll more than 1.2 million public school students. In fall of 2007, 350 more public charter schools opened and an additional 115,000 public school students enrolled in charters.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (www.publiccharters.org) is the national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. The Alliance works to increase the number of high performing charter schools available to all families, particularly low-income and minority families who currently do not have access to quality public schools. The Alliance provides assistance to state charter school associations and resource centers, develops and advocates for improved public policies, and serves as the united voice for this large and diverse movement.