As Access To Charters Grow, Charter Leaders Join To Drive Quality, School Choice Throughout The State

CHICAGO, Oct. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Representing 54,000 students enrolled in Illinois charter public schools, hundreds of leaders and advocates pushed the school choice movement forward this week by sharing best practices that drive quality, accountability and value throughout communities charters serve. Organizers of the annual Statewide Charter School Conference also unveiled new resources, including a new online tool that tracks and compares charter school performance.

The two-day conference, hosted by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS), featured national and local public education thought leaders and interactive workshops where participants compared notes and heard from experts in an effort to build on the quality of education that public charter public schools deliver.

"As the role of charter public schools in public education grows, it is important that we push ourselves to continually innovate and improve on the quality education that students get in our classrooms," said Andrew Broy, president of INCS. "The dedicated and talented educators in charter schools are some of the best in the country, and it is important that we come together as a community to support each other and share best practices."

The Charter School Data Tracker, the online resource that INCS launched, allows parents and school leaders to track charter school performance and also compare them across all public schools. Users can compare a wide subset of data and view overall performance as well as an individual school's. Find out more at www.incschools.org

Conference go-ers participated in workshops, including:

• Creating Systemic Change for Public Schools: Sharing Best Practices Across the Public Education System in Illinois
• Parent Empowerment for Student Achievement and Stronger Schools
• Face to Face with Elected Officials, including Sen. Heather Steans, Rep. Dan Burke, Rep. Pam Althoff and Chicago Ald. Will Burns
• Closing the Achievement Gap for Students of Color

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) is dedicated to the improvement of education by establishing high-quality charter public schools that transform lives and communities.  As the voice of the Illinois charter schools, INCS advocates for legislation on behalf of the charter sector, provides support to strengthen charter schools, and influences education policy for the benefit of all public school students.

SOURCE Illinois Network of Charter Schools