Prior to 1992, California parents were confined to few choices for their offsprings' schooling. There were the public schools run by the state, private schools and homeschooling...then officials enacted California's Charter School Act. This made public charter schools an option that created radical change in the community. These schools were self-governing, yet within the public school system. Schools with personalized education provided new, flexible, and innovative approaches to educate students in California and meet the needs of the growing population, providing an alternative to a voucher system.
Many charter schools are members of the California Charter Schools Association. These schools have the advantage of a central hub to share, collaborate, and support each other's curriculums and programs with a view toward improvement. The association holds periodic workshops and conferences for school staff members. As of January 2011, there are 912 charter schools in California and the growth has been steady over 10 years. Most of the state's charter schools are accredited by the association itself or Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC.)
Online charters follow the distance learning approach, so students enrolled in these schools work at home with their parents. Students are assigned teachers who guide, keep track of performance, and conduct lessons and tests. The school provides accredited public school education, materials, documentation, resources, assessment and support. Parents must follow teacher programs and guidelines, and students submit assignments and tests online. These schools are a solution for homeschooling parents who want public school education and accountabiity. Some examples of online charters in California are Choice 2000 Online Charter School in Perris and Golden Valley Charter School that serves Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles counties.
Many charter schools provide enrichment classes in addition to core academics. Some classes encourage advanced students to explore ideas and events beyond the regular curriculum. Students are given opportunities to extend learning through parents' creativity and exploration. Some charter schools in California work with parents to arrange for extra-curricular enrollment at approved vendors ranging from providers of Karate lessons to ceramics and music teachers.