The number of charter schools in California has exploded in recent years, with nearly 1,200 open for the 2014-15 school year. In fact, from 1999 to today the number of charter schools in California has increased by more than 650%. The chart below shows just how dramatic the growth of charter schools in California has been:
Today students can enroll in seat-based programs, with schedules similar to traditional schools, or independent study, where much of the work is done online from home. One of the fastest growing formats is a combination of the two types, where students work part-time at a learning center and part-time at home or somewhere other than school. These hybrid programs are taking advantage of the benefits of blended learning curriculum, where students learn in online and offline modalities.
With so many options it can be difficult to choose the right school. K-12 education has gone from a largely closed market, monoplostic environment to a school free-for-all. Here's a blog we published in November to 2014 that might help. As 2014-15 draws to a close in the coming weeks, now's a great time to finalize plans for next year. Finding the right school now can take a lot of pressure off this summer!