Charters Must Avoid Recreating the Failed School District Financial Model
Charter schools start out with big advantages, but there’s no guarantee they’ll keep them. It depends on whether they avoid the same financial traps that school districts have fallen into. New charter schools control hiring and spending and can adapt to changes in students’ needs and improvements in instructional methods. In comparison, districts are frozen […]
What’s Next for Newark?
After more than two decades of state supervision, Newark’s public schools are slated to return to local control. When the state hands the keys back to the city, local leaders will inherit a district that’s in a fundamentally different position than it was in 1995, the year the state took over. Back in 1995, Newark […]
Tapping the Political Power of State Chiefs
Many have observed that the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act provides states a prime opportunity to support improvement in K-12 education. But can state chiefs, historically weak and with few formal powers, deliver? In a new paper published today, we argue that they can. While chiefs employ few people and control little money, their […]
How State Education Philosophy Informs Local District-Charter Cooperation Efforts
States diverge considerably in their philosophy about the relationship between school districts and charter schools, and the difference seems to matter to local collaboration efforts. Two states—Arizona and Massachusetts—exemplify how state education authority philosophies knowingly or unknowingly influence local action. Arizona’s charter law embraces market-based competition and eschews cooperation, which is a prescription that makes […]
A troubling contagion: The rural 4-day school week
Americans are waking up to the plight of rural and small town areas. Rural students and workers need government and philanthropic help to link to jobs, higher education, and career opportunities, whether near their homes or in cities. But rural residents need to avoid making matters worse for themselves. One troubling development, adopted totally by […]
With Liberty Comes Responsibility: Why the Portfolio Strategy Matters Now More Than Ever
Earlier this month, CRPE hosted its 14th Portfolio Network meeting in Philadelphia. We brought together nearly 150 community, district, and charter leaders from 23 cities. These are all leaders who are working across sector lines to focus on great education for all kids in the city. For me, this year’s meeting seemed all the more […]
Is Charter School Growth Flat-Lining?
A recently released annual update from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools included a surprising fact: a mere 329 charter schools opened across the country in the 2016-2017 school year. In no year since the Alliance began tracking new charter openings has the total number of new schools been so low. Looking back at […]
Taking Betsy DeVos Up on What She Has Said
The newly confirmed education secretary Betsy DeVos has been a very controversial nominee. Many have raised serious concerns about her experience and views. Given the intensity of the debate, it will take time before education reformers who opposed her can contemplate working with her. But it will eventually need to happen. It’s hard to know […]
Necessity, Not Nicety: What We’ve Learned About District-Charter Alliances
In some of the cities known as ground zero for noisy fights about charter schools, quiet partnerships are underway between district and charter leaders. In New York City and Newark, district educators are meeting with their charter school counterparts to share successful teaching strategies. In Chicago, charter and district leaders have worked out ways to […]
A Better Future for Rural Communities Starts at the Schoolhouse
Donald Trump’s voters in rural areas and small towns made a point: they were left behind while a lot of the country made economic progress and they want that to change. It doesn’t matter whether you consider these voters adorable or deplorable. They have expressed a grievance in the most democratic of ways—through their votes. […]