A debate about “backfill”—whether charter high schools should add students to replace those who drop out—has just begun (see here, here, and here). Some argue that successful charter school models should not have to deviate...
CRPE studied these efforts to determine how leaders can overcome the challenges of working across traditionally competitive boundaries. When done well, collective action can lead to tangible results:
For Charter Schools:
For School Districts:
For the Community:
CRPE’s studies on district-charter relationships focused most closely on 23 cities with District-Charter Collaboration Compacts supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Between 2011 and 2017, under a grant from the Foundation, we regularly interviewed leaders in school districts, charter schools, and support organizations to track progress on these agreements, reported on local political, legal, and financial barriers to collaboration, and facilitated networking and problem-solving between cities. In January 2017 we published our seminal study, Bridging the District-Charter Divide to Help More Students Succeed. In cities with size-able charter school student populations, we concluded that cross-sector policy coordination is a necessity, not a nicety. However, despite the urgent need, cooperation on common issues was too often treated as a time-limited, forced marriage rather than as a sustained effort and long-term relationship. This study built upon our 2013 interim assessment of 16 Compact Cities.
Our reports include:
Many of CRPE’s other reports offer examples of district-charter cooperation, including:
A debate about “backfill”—whether charter high schools should add students to replace those who drop out—has just begun (see here, here, and here). Some argue that successful charter school models should not have to deviate...
When charter schools were first introduced as an alternative to the traditional school system, the promise was that high levels of autonomy and rigorous accountability would allow schools to produce exceptional results for the students...
Earlier this month, CRPE brought together 180 district and charter leaders from 30 cities around the country in Memphis for a meeting on school choice: “Good Options and Choices for All Families” was the theme,...
This paper looks at new efforts to ensure special education functions effectively in New Orleans’ full-choice public education landscape.
Published in coordination with A+ Denver, the report evaluates Denver’s SchoolChoice enrollment system from 2012 to 2014.
I’m a sucker for a good Year in Review. When else do we push ourselves to assess impact and think about what’s coming next? Here’s what we at CRPE are pondering as we contemplate the...
Minneapolis was one of only eight cities to sign a District-Charter Collaboration Compact in 2010. In their agreement, Minneapolis Public Schools MPS, six charter schools, seven community organizations, and two former mayors all signed on...
At CRPE we’ve always believed it’s not preordained that all kids will benefit equally from more choices among public schools. Like any public policy, the results are likely to depend upon an array of complex...
A survey of 4,000 parents in eight “high-choice” cities finds parents are taking advantage of choice, but they want more good options.
This fall, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation named Cleveland as the twenty-first city to participate in its District-Charter Collaboration Compact initiative. Cleveland serves approximately 56,000 students; about 16,000 of them are enrolled in 73...
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