charter school

American  

[chahr-ter skool] / ˈtʃɑr tər ˌskul /

noun

charter schools plural

1. an autonomous public school created by a contract between a sponsor, as a local school district or corporation, and an organizer, as a group of teachers or a community group, often with a curriculum or focus that is not traditional.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• charter schools
  plural

Etymology

Origin of charter school

First recorded in 1800–10; current use dates from 1985–90

Example Sentences

For Kate Brody, whose first-grade son attends a charter school in the San Fernando Valley, the addictive nature of her son’s school-assigned iPad led to potty accidents during class.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

In response, districts including Malakoff ISD in Texas and at least one charter school in Arizona canceled scheduled Lifetouch photos, with some officials announcing they would keep pictures “in-house for the rest of the year.”

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

At a public charter school in California, students create financial plans for their future selves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

The top-scoring school was a Success Academy charter school in the Bronx, where the student-body poverty rate is 90% and 94% of students scored proficient in third-grade reading in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Ma asked this all the time, and I couldn't tell if she really had a hard time keeping up with the grading system of our charter school or if she was just being shady.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds