Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and an affiliate of AEI’s James Q. Wilson Program in K–12 Education Studies, where he works on K–12 and higher education issues. He’s the author of Education Week’s iconic blog “Rick Hess Straight Up” and Education Next’s popular “Old School with Rick Hess.” Dr. Hess is also an executive editor of Education Next and a contributing editor to National Review. He is the founder and chairman of AEI’s Conservative Education Reform Network.
An educator, political scientist, and author, Dr. Hess has published in several scholarly outlets, such as American Politics Quarterly, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Teachers College Record, and Urban Affairs Review. His work has also appeared in popular outlets including the Atlantic, National Affairs, the Dispatch, Fox News, the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
In this chapter, Rick Hess and Bruno Manno make a compelling case that understanding what various types of students, parents, teachers, principals, school districts, and others want and need from the charter sector could allow greater targeting of charter schools and would also give focus to philanthropic investments and policy changes.