Miami Herald: Miami-Dade, Broward in Top 10 for charter school enrollment

Nov 3, 2009

The Miami Herald published this article on October 30, 2009.

The Miami-Dade school district ranks seventh in the country in charter school enrollment, according to a study released Thursday by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Broward came in 10th.

Charter schools are funded by taxpayer dollars but run by their own governing boards. They do not charge tuition.

According to the study, 23,865 students in Miami-Dade and 19,867 in Broward attend charter schools.

Lynn Norman-Teck, a spokeswoman for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, attributed the figures to parents becoming “savvy education consumers.”

“Parents look for what best suits their child,’ she said.

The Miami-Dade and Broward school districts are the fourth- and sixth-largest in the country, respectively.

— LAURA HERRERA