Robin Lake concludes this volume with a discussion about the charter school side of the collaboration equation: Why are charter schools collaborating with districts? What do charter schools have to gain and lose? What kinds of compromises are being made, and what are some possible long-term implications? Lake argues that working with school districts is a necessary step in the maturation of the charter school sector, a step that may allow charter schools to have an impact on a much higher number of students than they could otherwise reach. But the collaborations are thus far creating schisms within some charter school communities. Ironically, even as formalized collaborations tame longstanding mistrust from the school districts, the collaborations could create long-term animosities within the charter school sector.
