Supplying a System of Charter Schools: Observations on Early Implementation of the Massachusetts Statute
This report examines the “supply side” of education reform – the extent to which proposals to decentralize public education can be implemented by the individuals, groups, or institutions prepared to operate schools in the new system. Charter schools are the focus of this study, and particularly the early development of the system of schools permitted by the charter school statute that Massachusetts enacted in 1993.
A Nonprofit Technical Assistance Activity for Charter Applicants in Pennsylvania: Mission, Functions, Capabilities and Plans
This Report describes the mission, functions, capabilities and plans of a potential nonprofit Technical Assistance Activity (TAA) for charter school applicants under House Bill 1834, the Charter School Act previously under consideration by the Pennsylvania legislature. We have published the report to advance understanding of the Pennsylvania initiative and because the information and advice contained herein has broader application to charter schools and the charter movement.
A Guidebook for Chartering Agencies
This is a guidebook for school boards and other government agencies given the power to permit private individuals and groups to operate autonomous public schools under state charter school legislation.
So You Want to Start a Charter School? Strategic Advice for Applicants: Recommendations from an Expert Workshop
In September of 1995, the Program on Reinventing Public Education invited twelve experts to Seattle for a workshop about the business side of charter school start-up. This report summarizes the strategies for charter school start-up recommended by the workshop participants.
Autonomy, Accountability, and the Values of Public Education
This report was written for a very specialized audience—individuals considering the passage or amendment of charter school legislation.
The Educational Consequences of Choice
In this article, Paul Hill argues that there is ample evidence that universal public school choice would strongly benefit all children, including the disadvantaged, by promoting candid and demanding relationships among teachers, parents, and students.
Priority Shift: The Fate of Mandatory Busing for School Desegregation in Seattle and the Nation
This paper examines the trend in school districts, across the country and in Seattle, of substantially withdrawing from mandatory integration policies.
What Are Charter Schools? An Introduction to the Concept and the Statutes
This article provides details about the charter school concept: its relationship to other well-known proposals for school reform, the essential characteristics of a charter school, and the approaches taken by states to implement the charter concept.
High Schools with Character
This paper analyzes big-city high schools: how they function and how the education of the low-income minority youth in these high schools can be improved.