BRIEF – Charter Management Organizations: Innovations, Opportunities, and Challenges
This brief summarizes the major findings from the National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness: Report on Interim Findings.
The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness: Report on Interim Findings
This interim report from the National Study of CMO Effectiveness explores how CMOs vary according to their theories of action, structural organization, and growth strategies and delves into the ongoing organizational and financial challenges that CMOs face.
The Disproportionate Impact of Seniority-Based Layoffs on Poor, Minority Students
Looking at the 15 largest districts in California, this analysis finds that teachers at risk of layoff are concentrated in schools with more poor and minority students, concluding that “last in, first out” policies disproportionately affect these students and their schools.
Seniority Rules: Do Staffing Reforms Help Redistribute Teacher Quality and Reduce Teacher Turnover?
This paper finds that shifting from a seniority-based hiring system to a “mutual consent” hiring system leads to a short-term increase in turnover and inexperienced teachers, but after a few years the level of inexperienced teachers and turnover goes back to an uneven distribution across schools.
BRIEF – Unique Schools Serving Unique Students: Charter Schools and Children with Special Needs
This short policy guide to the book, Unique Schools Serving Unique Students: Charter Schools and Children with Special Needs, summarizes the findings from case studies and parent surveys. The brief identifies policy, research, and investment opportunities needed to confront the challenges charter schools and parents of special needs students face.
Multiple Pathways To Graduation: New Routes to High School Completion
Leading districts are creating multiple pathways to graduation that might keep students from dropping out. Early results are promising.
How Do Charter Schools Compete for Teachers? A Local Perspective
Drawing on an an original survey of hiring practices in charter schools and their local school districts in six-states, this paper offers an exploratory look at how charter schools compete for teachers across local contexts.
K–12 Job Trends Amidst Stimulus Funds: Early Findings
This brief explores trends in K–12 education jobs—those funded through the stimulus and by other means—to answer the question of what role ARRA played in overall education employment.
Beyond Teacher Reassignments: Better Ways Districts Can Remedy Salary Inequities Across Schools
This brief demonstrates how, contrary to common worry, closing Title I’s “comparability provision” loophole would not force districts to mandatorily reassign teachers.
Overview – Can Charter Schools Become a Crossover Hit? (HFR ’09)
In this overview of the 2009 edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality Robin Lake explores whether attention from President Barack Obama and his Department of Education will help move charters from the margins to the mainstream.