Charter School Community

Charter Schools Are… Tuition Free, Nonsectarian, Nonprofit Schools.

The Maryland General Assembly passed the Charter School Act of 2003 “…to establish an alternative means within the existing public school system in order to provide innovative learning opportunities and creative educational approaches to improve the education of students.” Authorizers, local Boards of Education, grant charters to independent operators to run public schools after they have completed a rigorous application process that the board manages and controls. Charter school operators are highly accountable for academic outcomes and fiscal practices in exchange for increased autonomy to operate according to their authorized school design. Using curricula aligned with the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum, they are accountable to: the authorizer that grants the charter, the public that funds them, and the parents who choose to send their children.

Patterson Park Public Charter School is a member of Maryland Charter School Network. Maryland Charter School Network (MCSN) is a nonpartisan, non profit statewide organization whose mission is to promote and serve the Maryland Charter School Network. www.mdcharternetwork.org.

Patterson Park Public Charter School is also a founding member of the Coalition of Baltimore Charter Schools, an organization that serves to connect public charter schools in Baltimore City.