Assembly Bill 786, which would establish a K-12 charter school in Dane County to be run by the UW System, received the support of members of the community before the Committee on Education Reform Thursday.
Charter schools are tax-supported public schools, but function independently with a different educational philosophy and curriculum.
Supporters of the bill hope the Board of Regents will approve a contract of operation for the International Academy-Madison Campus. The charter school will be reserved strictly for Dane County residents.
Similar schools currently operate through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Scott Bukolt, president and COO of The Douglas Company, said it is important to 'produce well-educated graduates who are more prepared to compete and contribute in an increasingly complex world and internationally-shaped job market.'
Interest in charter schools has increased in the wake of concern that students in the United States are lagging behind internationally and need to be better prepared for a college setting.
The nation's Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, recently released statistics placing American teens below the international averages in mathematics and literacy, claiming that two-thirds of students leave high school unprepared for college curriculum.
Jody Varney, a mother of two college students, one who attends the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and one who attends Cornell University, said, 'Only now do I realize the lack of preparation they received [from a public school] on core knowledge in reading, writing and math.'
The Wisconsin Education Association Council released a statement opposing the charter schools. It was particularly concerned about control being placed in the hands of college and universities and displacing the influence of local taxpayers. Taxpayers usually control local schools through electing local, community-based school boards rather than more far-removed groups like the University of Wisconsin's appointed Board of Regents.
