Why We Advocate?

Every day the Delaware Charter Schools Network advocates for children, families, educators, and the community. Primarily we advocate for our charter school children, but in reality, it is for all children. Charter schools provide a choice for the education of our children. In Delaware, the parents of over 18,000 children have been able to exercise their right to choose the educational environment and method that fits the individual needs of their child. We work every day to preserve and enhance the choices that we currently have and help to create collaborations and the atmosphere to add more.

The DCSN is working to improve current and create more collaborations between charter school leaders, teachers, parents, and board members. By providing opportunities for all in our village to work together and support each other, we will increase the success rate for our children. To do the work that we do, we need your help because we cannot do it alone. We need your time, your talents, your charitable contributions, and most importantly, we need your voice.

Legislative Advocacy

Charter Schools ARE Public Schools. Because of that, our schools are subject to most, though not all, of the same statutes and regulations that our district counterparts are. Charter schools were created, however, to be free from most legislative burdens to show that with more autonomy in exchange for accountability, we can positively impact student outcomes.

Unfortunately, over time, that flexibility has been chipped away. This is why legislative advocacy is so important to us. Legislative advocacy can be as easy as inviting a legislator to visit your charter school for an event or a one-on-one tour of the campus. It does not take much, especially in a small state like Delaware, to connect with the people who write and vote on legislation. We know that our legislators have the power to affect change in our education landscape.

We also know that there are great stories of the day-to-day transformative power in our schools! These true accounts of the work that is happening with and for our students are the best ways to dispel the untruths that are constantly being used against our schools.

We are always looking to feature stories about our charter teachers and parents that we can 'shout out’ to the world. This and other actions can be taken by you, our community members, to help our work and impact the lives of Delaware children! To find out more about how you can help our cause, visit our Take Action page.

Importantly for this work, you need to know who your elected officials are. If you don’t know, you can find them here: Find My Legislator - Delaware General Assembly