FAME EARNS CHARTER RENEWAL BY ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
FAME Public Charter School to continue to serve immigrant students from the Middle East and Southeast Asia throughout Alameda County

Fremont, CA – The Alameda County Board of Education last night approved the renewal of FAME Public Charter School (FAME) for an additional five years. Initially approved in 2005 as Alameda County’s first and only countywide charter school, FAME currently operates three public charter campuses and an independent study program, attracting students from seven counties and fifteen school districts within Alameda County. 

“By voting to renew FAME, the Alameda County Board of Education is truly recognizing our record of academic success and service to underserved Bay Area communities,” said FAME Founder and Director Maram Alaiwat. “FAME’s dedicated staff, teachers and parents have worked extremely hard to ensure that our students have every chance to succeed both in the classroom and in life outside school. We will continue to provide high-quality, innovative educational opportunities to best serve the Bay Area’s diverse communities. We look forward to another five years of serving these communities in the Bay Area.”

FAME is the only countywide charter school providing specialized educational opportunities to Alameda County’s traditionally underserved immigrant communities from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It has experienced four years of academic success, showing continued improvement on statewide tests, including a growth in their Academic Performance Index (API) of 709 in 2005 to 743 in 2009.  This academic success also includes FAME’s English language intervention program, which has led to a high number of its English Learners re-designated as fluent in English. More than twenty-five percent of FAME’s students are classified as “English Learners” whose native languages include Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and Pashto.

An increased number of Alameda County families are choosing FAME for its multicultural education and Arabic language program. In addition to English language intervention, FAME offers Arabic as a second language to all its students beginning as early as Kindergarten. Its goal is to enable students to complete academic coursework and converse in Arabic and English, while developing a deep understanding of the Middle Eastern culture in which Arabic is used. As part of its new charter, FAME will be launching the nation’s first K-12 dual-immersion Arabic program next year.

FAME submitted its renewal application on September 16, 2009.  Charter schools in California by law must go through a renewal process every five years.  The Alameda County Board of Education approved FAME’s renewal in a five to two vote.

About FAME Public Charter School
FAME Public Charter School (FAME) was founded in 2005 as the first and only countywide charter school serving Alameda County. A high-achieving charter school specializing in getting its students fluent in English and Arabic, FAME currently operates three public charter school campuses, as well as an independent study program.  FAME serves Alameda County’s diverse immigrant population, with the goal of preparing all its students to graduate and attend college.  FAME strives to create an education community where students from all social, academic and economic backgrounds can learn to their highest potential.  Visit FAME at www.famecharter.org.