UST Charter School Authorizing Overview

Our Philosophy

UST has established a philosophy to guide its authorizing efforts in decisions to renew its existing charter schools, to authorize additional charter schools in the future, to allow expansion of existing charter schools, and to evaluate the ongoing performance of its authorized charter schools. This philosophy, and the policies used to implement it, ensure that UST establishes an authorizing relationship with only top-quality charter schools whose mission and purpose are in alignment with the following tenets of UST’s Authorizing Philosophy:

• Education that Promotes Moral Responsibility
UST believes that it is a necessary role for its charter schools to demonstrate the ability to use an ethical framework in decision making. Educators must process, articulate and act from a well-reasoned, ethically grounded educational philosophy. These charter schools demonstrate a strong sense of social justice, emanating from a well-reasoned ethical perspective that supports the basic tenets of a democratic society.

• Education that Promotes Critical Thinking
UST believes that educators must employ critical thinking skills about the theory and practice of schooling, reflecting broad understandings in humanities, social sciences and current events. Students need to develop basic skills in literacy and numeracy to develop the skills to think critically. In addition, each school that UST authorizes must commit to a curriculum that helps students identify important elements of a problem situation, gather needed information from a variety of sources and analyze data for insight and decision making.

• Education that Promotes Wise Action
UST expects its charter schools to create and maintain a culture for learning marked by practices that promote broad participation on the part of all constituents in the school community. UST believes that wise action on the part of a school is the result of engaging students, staff, parents and the community at large in continuing dialogue that will inform the vision, mission, policies and procedures of the charter school.

• Education that Promotes Skillful Work
UST believes that charter schools are a viable option for families who wish to provide the best possible educational opportunities for their children. Therefore, charter schools authorized by UST should establish a track record of skillful work on the part of the students, including student achievement marked by excellence in relation to other schools in their neighborhood, city, state and nation.

• Education that Advances the Common Good
UST is committed to working with children and families in need, ones who have traditionally been left behind while other segments of society have thrived. UST’s mission is to advance the common good through the authorization of charter schools who demonstrate a commitment to fairness and equity for all students, regardless of their social status.