A charter school is a public school that operates independently of the district board of education. In effect, a charter school is a one-school public school district. A group of people — educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs or others — write the charter plan describing the school’s guiding principles, governance structure, and applicable accountability measures.

The charter leaders can make hiring and curriculum decisions that work best on its own campus rather than using curriculum from an administrative office of a large district. Charters are still held to the same standards as traditional public schools in terms of accountability for student learning of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), are required to administer standardized tests such as the STAAR, and are rated using the same criteria the Texas Education Agency uses for all public schools.

Charters also have the capability to limit class size. UT-UCS at Kozmetsky believes strongly that class size does matter – and that even the very best teachers should be allowed ample time to address the individual needs of each student.

Charters receive public average daily attendance funds per pupil to educate students. However, charter schools receive no facilities funding, as traditional public schools do, in accordance with state law.

Charter schools are public schools and therefore cannot “choose” which students attend. By law, charter schools must have a fair and open admission process, conducting outreach and recruitment to all segments of the community they serve. Like other public schools, charter schools are nonsectarian and nondiscriminatory in admission and employment practices.

Eligibility for enrollment at UT-UCS at Kozmetsky is based on a family’s residence within our service are. No tuition may be charged.

Kozmetsky was created to serve K-8 students living in the SafePlace shelter and was expanded in 2012 to serve students residing at the Austin Children’s Shelter.  Staff are trained in trauma-responsive strategies and school staff work closely with personnel from SafePlace and Austin Children’s Shelter to create plans to address needs in a wraparound model characterized by high-quality planning and problem-solving, collaboration, opportunities for choice, individualization, youth guided goal structure, and celebrations of success.

You can find information on how The University of Texas is funded here: http://giving.utexas.edu/why-give/why-we-need-your-support/.

The University of Texas provides us an enormous wealth of intellectual resources in the form of faculty and staff who provide training, mentoring, and time to assist the school in its mission.

No. Just like any other public school, our students are served free of charge.