Challenges of Starting and Operating Charter Schools

Challenges of Starting and Operating Charter Schools PDF Author: Carolyn Sullins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
In 1998, The Cleveland Foundation developed a strategy to support select Cleveland area charter schools as part of its commitment to local school reform. The Cleveland Foundation provided start-up funding to four charter schools it deemed both promising and viable. In 2000, The Cleveland Foundation contracted with The Evaluation Center to provide technical assistance to these schools and to evaluate the four schools in terms of how they were developed and implemented. The study also examined the impact of these schools on the students they enroll as well as the communities in which they are located. This report focuses on the evaluation components of the project, addressing the following questions: (1) What has been the process of developing and implementing these schools? (2) What factors influenced the effectiveness of their development and implementation? (3) How are the charter schools utilizing the opportunity space they have been provided by the charter school law, and to what extent are they implementing the ideas contained in charter school theory as far as autonomous and site-level governance, professional opportunities for teachers, parental participation, innovative curriculum and instruction, and cohesion around mission? (4) Are charter schools able to promote academic growth in students? (5) Are charter schools accountable to the market? (6) Have the schools fulfilled the expectations of fiscal and regulatory accountability? (7) How do the charter schools affect Cleveland public schools and the district as a whole? (8) How have these charter schools provided an incentive for other public schools to reform? and (9) To what extent are charter schools using evaluation? In addition to addressing these questions, the full technical report also describes the national, state, and local contexts regarding charter schools and draws lessons from these schools that can apply to charter schools and traditional public schools alike. Appended are: (1) Detailed Description of Methods for Collecting and Analyzing Data; (2) Details on the Comparisons Schools in Terms of Location and Demographics; (3) Survey Results Regarding Charter School Missions; (4) List of Each Charter School's Partnerships and Funding Sources; and (5) Supplemental Results Regarding Academic Performance.

Challenges of Starting and Operating Charter Schools

Challenges of Starting and Operating Charter Schools PDF Author: Carolyn Sullins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1998, The Cleveland Foundation developed a strategy to support select Cleveland area charter schools as part of its commitment to local school reform. The Cleveland Foundation provided start-up funding to four charter schools it deemed both promising and viable. In 2000, The Cleveland Foundation contracted with The Evaluation Center to provide technical assistance to these schools and to evaluate the four schools in terms of how they were developed and implemented. The study also examined the impact of these schools on the students they enroll as well as the communities in which they are located. This report focuses on the evaluation components of the project, addressing the following questions: (1) What has been the process of developing and implementing these schools? (2) What factors influenced the effectiveness of their development and implementation? (3) How are the charter schools utilizing the opportunity space they have been provided by the charter school law, and to what extent are they implementing the ideas contained in charter school theory as far as autonomous and site-level governance, professional opportunities for teachers, parental participation, innovative curriculum and instruction, and cohesion around mission? (4) Are charter schools able to promote academic growth in students? (5) Are charter schools accountable to the market? (6) Have the schools fulfilled the expectations of fiscal and regulatory accountability? (7) How do the charter schools affect Cleveland public schools and the district as a whole? (8) How have these charter schools provided an incentive for other public schools to reform? and (9) To what extent are charter schools using evaluation? In addition to addressing these questions, the full technical report also describes the national, state, and local contexts regarding charter schools and draws lessons from these schools that can apply to charter schools and traditional public schools alike. Appended are: (1) Detailed Description of Methods for Collecting and Analyzing Data; (2) Details on the Comparisons Schools in Terms of Location and Demographics; (3) Survey Results Regarding Charter School Missions; (4) List of Each Charter School's Partnerships and Funding Sources; and (5) Supplemental Results Regarding Academic Performance.

Choices and Challenges

Choices and Challenges PDF Author: Priscilla Wohlstetter
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
ISBN: 1612505430
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
As charter schools enter their third decade, research in this key sector remains overwhelmingly contradictory and confused. Many studies are narrowly focused; some do not meet the standards for high-quality academic research. In this definitive work, Wohlstetter and her colleagues isolate and distill the high-quality research on charter schools to identify the contextual and operational factors that influence these schools’ performances. The authors examine the track record of the charter sector in light of the wide range of goals set for these schools in state authorizing legislation—at the classroom level, the level of the school community, and system-wide. In particular, they show how the evolution of the charter movement has shaped research questions and findings. By highlighting what we know about the conditions for success in charter schools, the authors make a significant contribution to current debates in policy and practice, both within the charter sector and in the larger landscape of public education.

Upstart Startup

Upstart Startup PDF Author: James Nehring
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 9780807741627
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Direct from the heart of public school reform, James Nehring offers a complete tour of one charter school -- walking us through the school's vision of learning, the day-today challenges, the many achievements, and the lessons learned. From the unique perspective of school principal and then full-time teacher, Nehring takes us deep into the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, providing rare insight into the strategic issues involved in launching a new school. This engaging narrative is certain to add credibility and inspiration to all those who are interested in learning how charter schools operate and how public education might be renewed in the process. The message of this book is at once simple and profound: charter schools work!

The Charter School Challenge

The Charter School Challenge PDF Author: Bryan C. Hassel
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815719939
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Charter schools have become a national phenomenon, garnering praise from both Democrats and Republicans. Because they appear to sidestep both political stalemate and the practical difficulty of implementing widespread change--the traditional barriers to improvement in American public education--charter schools hold great promise as an educational reform. Now, with charter laws on the books in more than thirty states, Bryan Hassel investigates whether charter schools have been able to avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up so many other "revolutionary" school reforms. After a broad overview of how charter laws have been adopted nationwide, this book focuses in depth on charter schools in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Hassel reviews the four states' implementation of charter laws and whether their programs are providing sufficient autonomy, resources, and potential to influence the broader education system--all essential components for charter schools' success. He concludes that if states want to give charter schools a full test, they should empower nonlocal entities to approve charter schools, establish the schools as distinct local entities, allow full per-pupil funding to go with students to the charter schools, and impose minimal constraints on the source and number of charter schools. The schools themselves will need to improve their infrastructure, and charter-granting agencies will have to rebuild the systems for monitoring schools' academic results and compliance with regulations. These policies are vital if charter schools are to realize their potential as a significant educational reform.

Adventures of Charter School Creators

Adventures of Charter School Creators PDF Author: Terrence E. Deal
Publisher: R&L Education
ISBN: 9781578861668
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Adventures of Charter School Creators takes the reader inside the world of individual educational entrepreneurs who have created charter schools from scratch and lived to tell about it. Drawn from examples across the country, individuals (and a few teams) tell their stories of the victories they enjoyed and the defeats they overcame to create their schools. They include an Episcopal priest working in the Pico-Union community of Los Angeles, a corporate attorney in Miami, a manpower training specialist in East Saint Louis, the chief financial officer of a major African American church in New York City, a retired military officer in North Carolina, as well as experienced school teachers and administrators. From these stories Deal and Hentschke extract and examine the issues of school leadership that are peculiar to those school leaders who have chosen to create schools from scratch. This book: Examines entrepreneurial leadership as a concrete manifestation of school leadership. Sheds light on the concrete differences between leadership in relatively autonomous start-up charters and the relatively dependent traditional schools. Anchors charter school leadership within the context of general (non-education) leadership and distinguishes it from what is typically associated with school leadership today. It describes: The general forces in society which are pushing public K-12 education into market-based initiatives. The general leadership issues of any break-away or start-up enterprise. Will be of interest to all educators.

Charter Schools in Action

Charter Schools in Action PDF Author: Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400823412
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Can charter schools save public education? This radical question has unleashed a flood of opinions from Americans struggling with the contentious challenges of education reform. There has been plenty of heat over charter schools and their implications, but, until now, not much light. This important new book supplies plenty of illumination. Charter schools--independently operated public schools of choice--have existed in the United States only since 1992, yet there are already over 1,500 of them. How are they doing? Here prominent education analysts Chester Finn, Bruno Manno, and Gregg Vanourek offer the richest data available on the successes and failures of this exciting but controversial approach to education reform. After studying one hundred schools, interviewing hundreds of participants, surveying thousands more, and analyzing the most current data, they have compiled today's most authoritative, comprehensive explanation and appraisal of the charter phenomenon. Fact-filled, clear-eyed, and hard-hitting, this is the book for anyone concerned about public education and interested in the role of charter schools in its renewal. Can charter schools boost student achievement, drive educational innovation, and develop a new model of accountability for public schools? Where did the idea of charter schools come from? What would the future hold if this phenomenon spreads? These are some of the questions that this book answers. It addresses pupil performance, enrollment patterns, school start-up problems, charges of inequity, and smoldering political battles. It features close-up looks at five real--and very different--charter schools and two school districts that have been deeply affected by the charter movement, including their setbacks and triumphs. After outlining a new model of education accountability and describing how charter schools often lead to community renewal, the authors take the reader on an imaginary tour of a charter-based school system. Charter schools are the most vibrant force in education today. This book suggests that their legacy will consist not only of helping millions of families obtain a better education for their children but also in renewing American public education itself.

Charter School Funding Considerations

Charter School Funding Considerations PDF Author: Christine Rienstra Kiracofe
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648028357
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Much has been written about how public schools in the United States are funded. However, missing in the current literature landscape is a nuanced discussion of funding as it relates to public charter schools. This text, authored by researchers and professionals working in the charter school world, provides readers with a comprehensive overview of issues related to the funding and operation of charter schools. The book opens with an introduction to charter schools and how they are funded. The financial management and oversight of charter schools and issues related to funding equity, including how charter schools impact district school finances, are addressed. Special considerations for charter schools related to serving special education students and transportation issues are also addressed. After reading this book, readers will have a thorough understanding of how charter schools are funded and managed financially.

How to Start and Successfully Operate a Charter School

How to Start and Successfully Operate a Charter School PDF Author: Dr. John von Rohr
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1490751254
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
"Dr. von Rohr is a force in charter schools in the United States" Joan Lange, National Schools Director, The Challenge Foundation. "Dr. von Rohr's Spartanburg Preparatory School exemplifies the original ideals of the charter school movement. His dedication and leadership have led to the school ranking near the top in statewide academics while the funding is near the bottom." Dr. Wayne Brazell, Superintendent, South Carolina Public Charter School District

The Urban Challenge in Education

The Urban Challenge in Education PDF Author: Joseph Scollo
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475814453
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
With the advent of charter schools in the United States, the face of public education has changed in this country. From its early beginning in Minnesota to its exponential growth in California the charter school movement has generated much controversy. It has been praised for its accomplishments, and criticized for its creaming of students. Over 130,000 students attend nearly 250 charter schools in the city of Los Angeles. This book presents an in-depth look at seventeen of those schools – urban schools that are making a difference in the lives of the students and families they serve. Readers will encounter a group of dedicated educational pioneers who are committed and passionate about their schools. These are people who have sacrificed much, and put their lives on hold to develop and implement schools that meet the needs of all students regardless of economic circumstance or background. From people who have mortgaged their homes toattain financing for their dream, to some that have changed careers to improve the quality of education for children and young adults.

Charter School City

Charter School City PDF Author: Douglas N. Harris
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022669478X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.