Enrollment in the state’s public charter schools has surged by 35% in four years, according to data from the New Hampshire Department of Education.
In 2019, 4,228 students were enrolled in New Hampshire public charter schools, compared to 5,695 in fall 2023.
Three more public charter schools are expected to open next fall, with another three anticipated in 2025, according to the DOE.
Nashua’s Academy of Science and Design, a K-12 charter school dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, topped the enrollment list, with 640 students this year.
“New Hampshire’s strong public charter schools have found unique ways to promote individualized learning and instruction, which is filling a niche in the educational market for families seeing a different pathway to learning,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said Thursday in a press release. “For some students, public charter schools may play an important role in helping them reach their fullest potential.”
According to the DOE’s report, the average per pupil cost in the state’s chartered public schools is $9,985, compared to $19,400 for district public schools.
Under state regulations, public charter schools approved by the New Hampshire Board of Education are free to New Hampshire resident students. The state pays the charter schools $9,000 per student from its education trust fund, and any overage is covered by the charter school, typically by grants and fundraising.
Among the state’s 32 current public charter schools, seven are designed for at-risk students who haven’t thrived in a traditional school model. Six of these received supplemental federal funding in fall 2023, according to the education department.
In the first national ranking of public charter schools — according to performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress tests for fourth and eighth graders in reading and math — New Hampshire placed fourth among 35 states. The rating analysis by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance didn’t include testing from charter high schools. Several such schools in New Hampshire serve students at risk for dropping out of traditional high school.
Since 2004, the first year public charter schools operated in New Hampshire, nine have closed because of declining enrollment. During that time, public school enrollment dropped by roughly 46,000 students statewide.
Traditional public schools serve students based on zip codes. Public charter schools serve pupils based on interest, need and other targeted factors and are not confined to residents of a particular school district. When there is no longer a demand or need, enrollment drops and public charter schools close, according to the Department of Education.
The Academy for Science and Design in Nashua says it has a graduation rate of 100%. It was named to U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 lists of best U.S. high schools, best U.S. charter schools and best U.S. STEM schools.
The public charter schools in New Hampshire posting the biggest enrollment gains since the 2019-2020 school year include the Academy for Science and Design (535 to 640 students); Windham Academy Public Charter School (167 to 369 students); MicroSociety Academy in Nashua (230 to 306 students); Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies in Manchester (26 to 87 students); Strong Foundations Charter School in Pembroke (283 to 336 students) and Virtual Learning Academy Charter School in Exeter (349 to 534 students), the state’s only online public high school.
In the past 12 months, most new charter school applicants were secondary schools focused on at-risk students and classical education models, according to the education department’s report. Most current applications are from arts-focused elementary schools.
