CMU leads by example with charter school authorization

By Meredith Mayberry
Edited by Sarah Schuch

Central Michigan University is a leader in charter school authorization.

As the first authorizing university in the nation, CMU set the standards for the quality of education charter schools provide.

“CMU is a national leader when it comes to charter public schools,” said Scott Ray, external relations director at CMU’s center for charter schools.

The university authorized its first school in 1994 and now has its hand in 58 charter public schools.

As the first university to authorize charter schools, Central was under political pressure to make such an endeavor a success, according to the CMU Center for Charter Schools.

CMU had to develop its own strategies and policies, having no other university to model itself after.

“CMU has been pioneering new initiatives that improve educational options for all and set high standards for school accountability and oversight,” according to Central’s Center for Charter Schools Web site, www.cmucso.org.

The site says the university has made a promise by becoming an authorizer. It has promised to transform public education by providing parents with a choice of where to send their child. It also promised to drive schools to improve standards through competition and to hold schools accountable to higher standards.

“We’ve closed over 10 schools over the years for not meeting the standards,” said James Goenner, executive director of the center for charter schools.

Ray said, despite CMU’s involvement, the schools are not run by the university. Instead, Central ensures the quality of education they provide in order to raise the national level of education.

The schools are individual public schools, Ray said.

Almost 30,000 students are served through CMU’s authorized charter schools, according to cmucso.org.

Central has become a trendsetter, impacting other state universities to become charter school authorizers as well.

Seven other universities in the Michigan are following CMU's lead and have become charter public school authorizers, according to the Web site.