The enormous advantages that public charter schools present are being demonstrated year after year. Today I will focus on the New America School. It has various branches in the Denver Metropolitan Area: Lowry, Thornton, Eagle and Lakewood, Colorado, Gypsun, west of Vail, as well as in New Mexico. The school was founded in 2004 by the philanthropist and educational activist Jared Polis, together with other individuals in Denver, and has plans for expansion in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Utah and California.
What makes this public charter secondary school so exceptional is its focus on servicing immigrants and dedication to teaching English to non-native speakers (many times, Spanish speakers) between 15 and 21 years of age through specialized programs at it’s Center for Recent Arrivals. Educational efforts are centered around helping immigrants and their children, while they take preparatory courses. The Center offers students classes specifically designed to accelerate the language learning. The classes are 4 hours daily, dedicated to language and preparatory studies as well as additional classes about American life and culture.

This program is especially valuable because it tries to reach and inscribe those young people who aren’t registered for school and to do so program coordinators offer flexibility for students in the form of day and night courses, 4 day school weeks for students that work, waivers and funding for child-care, and have agreements with local Community Colleges, etc.
Once students reach the required level, they go on to English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes and begin to attend typical high school classes in History, Mathematics, Languages, and Sciences.
The New America School is a concrete example of how the public school charter system can present real solutions to the problems of education, training and the learning of English. The New America School is bravely exploring the infinite options that the “charter” system offers. So it’s not surprising that average daily attendance is at 72 % and 92 % of students are content with the education they receive at the school.

In 1993 when Governor Roy Pomer signed the Colorado Charter Schools Act, that converted charter schools in accepted schools integrated in the system, few imagined that they would be highly valued and considered among the best alternatives to traditional public school.
Charter schools, benefiting from independent management in school districts and the capacity to experiment with their own educational programs, study plans, autonomous budgets, represent an educational option that responds to many present day challenges in young people’s education.
The 12,000 students waitlisted for charter schools in the state of Colorado alone, demonstrates to what extent the system has been embraced by parents. Charter school students in Colorado continue to achieve better academic results and in the end, aren’t better results what really count in education?
The continued success of charter schools across the country is explained not only by the academic results achieved, but also by an admirable philosophy that attempts to make the American Dream of success and prosperity come true, through the education of all students, regardless of race or origins.