A charter school is a public school that provides instruction in any combination of grades, kindergarten through grade twelve. Parents, teachers, or community members may initiate a charter petition, which is typically presented to and approved by a local school district governing board. The law also allows, under certain circumstances, for county boards of education and the State Board of Education to be charter authorizing entities.

Specific goals and operating procedures for a charter school are detailed in the agreement between the charter authorizing entity and the charter developer. A charter school is exempted from many of the statutes and regulations that apply to school districts. Students enroll in charter schools on a voluntary basis.

Anyone may develop, circulate, and submit a petition to establish a charter school. EC Section 47605(a)  requires charter developers to collect signatures to indicate support for the petition. The petition must contain a prominent statement that a signature means that the person signing is meaningfully interested in teaching in, or in having his or her child(ren) attend the school.

The CATCH Charter petition was created by Miss Pat and a team of urban educators in 2003 and has been approved and renewed three additional times in the past 15 years.  It has been endorsed by LAUSD Board Members, Superintendents, local principals, and education pioneers from across the United States. 

Under California law, charter schools must adhere to state standards and tests, but have greater flexibility in designing curriculum. Charter schools are also accountable to state and local education authorities. As public schools, charters do not charge tuition.  They are open to all state residents, but most of CATCH's student body resides in, either, the Leimert Park neighborhood or Baldwin Hills community of Los Angeles.  There are currently more than 500 charter schools operating in California, serving about 180,000 students. And in Los Angeles, there are more than 200 charter schools serving approximately 20% of the K-12 eligible population.  Nationwide, the number of students attending charter schools has been increasing steadily for the past 10 years, and CATCH is proud to be a part of this narrative from the beginning – when the vision for what's possible through charter schools was only just beginning.