The PA Coalition of Public Charter Schools has certified City High as a High-Quality Public Charter School! 

City High submitted documentation demonstrating alignment with the 40 nationally recognized Standards of a High-Quality Charter School.  The PA Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) additionally conducted an on-site visit to City High that involved interviews by a licensed administrator with key stakeholders.  This process ensures that the school aligns with 40 nationally-recognized Standards spanning a range of components within these areas:

• Academic and Continuous Improvement
• Effective and Ethical Leadership
• Effective School Operations
• Culture, Community, and Relationship Building
• Effective Governance
• Finance

ABOUT THE QUALITY STANDARDS AND THE PCPCS PROCESS

The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) believes that a school’s success should be grounded in its ability to increase academic achievement outcomes for its students, not the vagaries of local authorizing conditions. Differing standards issued by authorizers across the state are highly problematic for PCPCS and our member schools.

PCPCS formally defines a “high-quality public charter school” as follows:
 

A high-quality Pennsylvania charter school is one that provides a safe and inspiring education equipping all its students with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and determination to thrive in and contribute to a diverse global society. A high-quality Pennsylva-nia charter school is governed by an ethical not-for-profit board and employs effective leaders, faculty, and staff unwavering in their commitment to educational and operational decisions made with the instructional needs of students at the forefront.

Through research and discussions with other state associations, PCPCS was exposed to many different concepts and programs that the various states use to measure a quality charter school. They chose to adopt the model of  Arizona Charter Schools Association in creating their own self-assessment and quality definition.  This effort resulted in a set of research-based, comprehensive quality statements that describe conditions and factors that contribute to quality schools and a definition for a high-quality school in Pennsylvania. Combining the knowledge and expertise of successful school operators with research-based best practices, the standards describe basic criteria that can be met regardless of a school’s size, philosophy, or educational model.