With the addition this September of three more schools and another 1,500 students, both of these limits will be reached. Since 1994, the Commonwealth has received 123 charter school applications from a wide array of organizations and community coalitions. Thirty-four of these applications received initial approval and 25 actually received charters. Charter schools don't fit a particular mold but rather range from progressive to traditional. While one school focuses on the arts, another's emphasis is on character.
Half serve urban areas, with the rest serving suburban and rural areas.
The average school size is 238, and most all of the schools expect to expand, which would bring the average school size in three years to about 500. The average cost per student is calculated for every school district, and that sum is deducted from a district's state aid for all of its students who enroll in a charter school. The same amount is then given to the charter school. Charter schools, treated as if they were school districts by the state Department of Education, are also eligible for state and federal program funds. These funds have been distributed to charter schools based on a formula that takes into account the size of the school.