Entrepreneurs Can Breathe New Life into the Charter School Movement
Citing some recent CRPE work on charter school stagnation in the San Francisco Bay Area, Matthew Ladner has issued a grim assessment of the charter school movement’s health. The slowdown in Northern California mirrors the nationwide trend. So do the underlying factors: butting heads within the charter school ecosystem, a lack of accessible facilities, and […]
Partnering with Districts to Support System Transformation: An Interview with Samantha Olson of the Colorado Education Initiative
Samantha Olson is the Vice President of Strategy for the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI), which supports districts and schools in personalized learning and systems change. CEI was part of the Regional Funds for Breakthrough Schools initiative, the subject of a recent CRPE report. Olson spoke to CRPE’s Sean Gill about CEI’s work. Gill: CEI held […]
Unified Enrollment in Chicago: A New Tool Highlights Old Truths
Going into the new school year, Chicago Public Schools dramatically simplified school choice in the city by creating a unified high school enrollment system. Rather than submitting multiple applications to multiple district-run choice programs and charter schools with multiple deadlines and acceptance timelines, families were able to rank their preferred public school options in one […]
For Brandon: How One Family’s Struggle Can Help Us Imagine an Education System That Does Better by Exceptional Children
Twenty-five years ago CRPE was founded on the idea of the school as the locus of change. Today we are reexamining our old assumptions in light of new technical possibilities, changes in the economy, and a recognition that even the most effective schools may need to develop new approaches to better serve students whose needs […]
What John McCain’s Example Teaches Us about Character in Schools
Watching all of the tributes to John McCain this week, it’s been hard not to think about how much character matters and wonder whether our schools do enough to develop it. McCain was of a complex character. By his own admission, he had plenty of weaknesses. But what made him worthy of so many honorifics […]
In Washington State, New Choices for Students with Disabilities
In our recent special education study, we found that Washington state’s charter schools are serving students with disabilities at a higher rate than the national charter school average. When our data revealed the schools were also serving students with a wide range of disabilities in a mostly inclusive environment, I reflected on my own experience. […]
Strategies for Nimble Cities: Lessons from Stepping Up, Our 18-City Project
In 2017 CRPE published an analysis of student and school outcomes in 18 high-choice cities. It showed us that many cities were closing the gap between the city and state on key outcomes like graduation. But while the education system as a whole improved, achievement gaps by income and race/ethnicity remained. Across the country, disadvantaged […]
Personalized Learning’s Weakest Link?
Much of the work going on nationally to study and build the evidence base for personalized, student-driven learning focuses on changes in traditional metrics—scores on state standards-based tests and on similar forms of academic assessment, such as NWEA’s MAP tests. This is valid and worthwhile, but it is not the whole story. In fact, in […]
Removing the Boundaries Between High School, College, and Career
Twenty-five years ago, CRPE was founded on the idea of the school as the locus of change. Today we are reexamining our old assumptions in light of new technical possibilities, changes in the economy, and a recognition that even the most effective schools may need to develop new approaches to better serve students whose needs warrant […]
Today’s Education Systems Won’t Support Tomorrow’s Learners
Today CRPE released a report that delivers some hard news about what we broadly refer to as “personalized learning.” As it has come to be defined in the field, personalized learning has little to do with technology and is more about finding ways for students to work at their own pace and in ways that […]
