Last November I wrote about the different types of charter schools operating in Wisconsin.  My hope was to list in one place a simple description of a reform model that people often find confusing.

Today I am going to dig a little deeper into the demographic profile of Milwaukee’s independent charter school sector.  In 2011-2012 18 independent charter schools operated in Milwaukee.  Seven were authorized by the City of Milwaukee, and 11 were authorized by UWM.

Below is a comparison of the demographics of independent charter school students with the demographics of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students.  All data is from the Department of Public Instruction.

Total Enrollment

• City of Milwaukee: 2,431
• UWM: 4,299
• City and UWM: 6,730
• MPS: 79,130

Percentage of Minority Students

• City of Milwaukee: 95.9%
• UWM: 92.8%
• City and UWM: 94.0%
• MPS: 85.8%

Percentage of Low-Income Students

• City of Milwaukee: 81.0%
• UWM: 80.3%
• City and UWM: 80.6%
• MPS: 83.5%

Percentage of Special Needs Pupils

• City of Milwaukee: 11.2%
• UWM: 8.2%
• City and UWM: 9.3%
• MPS: 19.7%

I have three takeaways from this information:

1)    Independent charter schools, like schools in MPS and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, are serving an overwhelmingly low-income minority population.

2)    There are no significant demographic differences between the students attending City and UWM charters.

3)    Independent charter schools enroll a smaller percentage of students eligible for special education services compared to MPS.