Download or read book How The Other Half Learns written by Robert Pondiscio and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inside look at America's most controversial charter schools, and the moral and political questions around public education and school choice. The promise of public education is excellence for all. But that promise has seldom been kept for low-income children of color in America. In How the Other Half Learns, teacher and education journalist Robert Pondiscio focuses on Success Academy, the network of controversial charter schools in New York City founded by Eva Moskowitz, who has created something unprecedented in American education: a way for large numbers of engaged and ambitious low-income families of color to get an education for their children that equals and even exceeds what wealthy families take for granted. Her results are astonishing, her methods unorthodox. Decades of well-intended efforts to improve our schools and close the "achievement gap" have set equity and excellence at war with each other: If you are wealthy, with the means to pay private school tuition or move to an affluent community, you can get your child into an excellent school. But if you are poor and black or brown, you have to settle for "equity" and a lecture--about fairness. About the need to be patient. And about how school choice for you only damages public schools for everyone else. Thousands of parents have chosen Success Academy, and thousands more sit on waiting lists to get in. But Moskowitz herself admits Success Academy "is not for everyone," and this raises uncomfortable questions we'd rather not ask, let alone answer: What if the price of giving a first-rate education to children least likely to receive it means acknowledging that you can't do it for everyone? What if some problems are just too hard for schools alone to solve?

Download or read book On the Rocketship written by Richard Whitmire and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The face of American education is evolving—and the roadmap is clear On the Rocketship: How Top Charter Schools are Pushing the Envelope examines the rise and expansion of leading charter school network Rocketship, revealing the "secret sauce" that makes a successful program. A strong narrative with a timely message, the book explores how Rocketship started and the difficulties encountered as it expands. Designing schools for children who have been failed by traditional schools is extremely challenging work. Setbacks are inevitable. Later in the book the narrative shifts to the national picture, exploring how high performing charter schools are changing the education landscape in cities such as Denver, Memphis, and Houston. The book emerges just as charter schools are running into stiff political opposition in New York City and elsewhere. Even in San Jose, Rocketship's home base, the pushback against charter schools is gaining speed. On the Rocketship becomes a valuable resource for explaining what's at stake in this battle. Lose these schools, in New York, San Jose and other cities, and low-income and minority students lose their best shot at a quality education. Written by a veteran journalist who followed Rocketship through a school year, the book explores some of the factors that make Rocketship and other charters successful, including the blended learning that was pioneered at charter schools, especially Rocketship. Many schools around the country are looking to Rocketship as a model for implementing blended learning. The interplay between charter schools and blended learning is setting a change in motion, and the American education system is ready to evolve. On the Rocketship details this phenomenon, providing insights for educators across the nation.

Download or read book Successful Charter Schools written by U. S. Department of Education and published by International Law & Taxation Pub. This book was released on 2004-12-01 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve years after the first charter school was launched, the charter school movement is now entering its adolescence. Like many pre-teens, it's had its share of growing pains, but I am confident that it is about to hit a growth spurt. That is because charter schools are enormously popular with their primary clients --parents and students-- and because they are starting to show promising results in terms of student achievement. The basic tenets of charter schools-give them room to be innovative, hold them accountable for results, and let parents decide if they meet the needs of their children --are perfectly aligned with the historic No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which also focuses on accountability for results in return for more flexibility, and with providing more options for parents than ever before. One of the promises of charter schools is that they can serve as laboratories of innovation --they can be public education's "R&D" arm. Because they have greater autonomy than traditional public schools, and since they tend to attract pioneering educators, they can try out new approaches to education that, if proven effective, can be transplanted back into the larger public education system. It is in this spirit that we highlight eight of the most successful charter schools in the United States. These schools were chosen after an exhaustive national search. They were primarily selected because they have demonstrated success over time in boosting student achievement. Surely many more charter schools could have been identified, and these should not be considered "the best" charter schools in the nation. Nevertheless, they are among the best, and each has much to teach other charterschools --and traditional public schools-- about teaching and learning, management strategies, staff development, and many other topics.

Download or read book How to Start and Successfully Operate a Charter School written by Dr. John von Rohr and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-22 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Dr. von Rohr is a force in charter schools in the United States" Joan Lange, National Schools Director, The Challenge Foundation. "Dr. von Rohr's Spartanburg Preparatory School exemplifies the original ideals of the charter school movement. His dedication and leadership have led to the school ranking near the top in statewide academics while the funding is near the bottom." Dr. Wayne Brazell, Superintendent, South Carolina Public Charter School District

Download or read book Charter School City written by Douglas N. Harris and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-07-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.

Download or read book Charter School Leadership written by Cameron Curry and published by R&L Education. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leadership is a critical piece of managing a high performing public charter school. Understanding the issues and the challenges faced daily by school leaders takes on a significant role when creating, managing, and sustaining high expectations and performance. With limited resources available on this industry specific topic, Cameron Curry has created a user-friendly guide to help emerging or seasoned school leaders focus on five key elements for school success. Based on his 14 years of managing three high impact public charter schools, the author has utilized these principles and witnessed firsthand the benefits they bring to students, parents, and his school colleagues. Understanding the importance of your school’s mission and creating a great school culture are just part of a leader’s responsibility. The elements of embracing parent involvement, becoming an effective communicator, and learning how to maximize the potential of all school employees, creates a further understanding of what it takes to be an effective charter school leader.

Download or read book A Smarter Charter written by Richard D. Kahlenberg and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2014-09-19 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moving beyond the debate over whether or not charter schools should exist, A Smarter Charter wrestles with the question of what kind of charter schools we should encourage. The authors begin by tracing the evolution of charter schools from Albert Shanker's original vision of giving teachers room to innovate while educating a diverse population of students, to today's charter schools where student segregation levels are even higher than in traditional public schools. In the second half of the book, the authors examine two key reforms currently seen in a small but growing number of charter schools, socioeconomic integration and teacher voice, that have the potential to improve performance and reshape the stereotypical image of what it means to be a charter school.

Download or read book A Smarter Charter written by Richard D. Kahlenberg and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2014-12-04 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A remarkable new book.... Wise and energetic advocates such as Kahlenberg and Potter can take the charter movement in new and useful directions.” —The Washington Post Moving beyond the debate over whether or not charter schools should exist, A Smarter Charter wrestles with the question of what kind of charter schools we should encourage. The authors begin by tracing the evolution of charter schools from teacher union leader Albert Shanker’s original vision of giving teachers room to innovate while educating a diverse population of students, to today’s charter schools where the majority of teachers are not unionized and student segregation levels are even higher than in traditional public schools. In the second half of the book, the authors examine two key reforms currently seen in a small but growing number of charter schools—teacher voice and socioeconomic integration—that have the potential to improve performance and reshape the stereotypical image of what it means to be a charter school. Important reading for policymakers, educators, researchers, and all citizens interested in the future of America’s public schools, A Smarter Charter features: Profiles of charter schools that are bucking the prevailing trends, including their performance data and the challenges they face. Best practices from successful charter schools, such as methods for attracting a diverse student body and examples of innovative teacher contracts. Reform strategies that can improve student outcomes in a variety of public schools, not just charters. “Kahlenberg and Potter have delivered a thought-provoking, serious contribution. Agree or not with their views on the purpose and performance of charter schools, they have important things to say on where charters have been, where they need to go, and how they can get there. Friends and foes of charter schooling, alike, would do well to read this book.” —Frederick M. Hess, resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute “Read this book and draw inspiration and ideas from charter schools and educators bucking the trend and reclaiming that original, collaborative, and powerful promise and spirit. I hope parents, educators in all sectors, concerned citizens, policymakers, philanthropists—and charter sector leaders—will take its compelling message to heart and act on it.” —Dennis Van Roekel, former president, National Education Association “A tour-de-force, laying out in singular fashion what has gone wrong with the charter school movement, and what must be done to get it back on track.... A Smarter Charter is a must-read for those concerned with the future of charter schools and public education.” —Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers

Download or read book Charter Schools and Their Enemies written by Thomas Sowell and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In dozens of places in New York City where a charter school and a traditional public school hold classes in the same building, charter school students in those buildings have achieved "proficiency" on statewide tests several times more often than traditional public school students taking the same tests. In 2013, a fifth-grade class in a Harlem charter school scored higher on a mathematics test than any other fifth-grade class in the entire state of New York. That included, as the New York Times put it, "even their counterparts in the whitest and richest suburbs, Scarsdale and Briarcliff Manor." Nationwide, charter schools have only a fraction of the number of students who attend traditional public schools. But charter schools enrollment is growing faster, especially in low-income minority communities. From 2001 to 2016, enrollment in traditional public schools rose 1 percent, while charter school enrollment rose 571 percent. In cities across the country, with many students on waiting lists to transfer into charter schools, public school officials are blocking charter schools from using school buildings that have been vacant for years, in order to prevent those transfers from taking place. Even in states where blocking charter schools from using vacant school buildings is illegal, the laws have been evaded. In some places, vacant school buildings have been demolished, making sure no charter schools can use them. Book jacket.

Download or read book Charter Schools written by Liane Brouillette and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-03-01 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes the reader inside the charter school movement, answering such questions as: *What is a charter school? *How are charter schools different from other public schools? *What does it take to create a charter school? *What motivates the people who initiate such schools? *What lessons can be learned from the experiences of those who have founded charter schools? *What does the growth of the charter school movement mean for society at large? Using detailed case studies of seven schools in three states, this book explores the challenges faced by the founders of these schools and develops guidelines for creating a successful school. Seymour Sarason's work on the creation of settings is used as a basis for examining the complex human interactions that contributed to formation of a unique culture at each school, as well as to establish guidelines for setting up a successful school. Introductory and concluding chapters place the charter school movement within a broader social and historical context. Tensions between the American tradition of local control of schools and the centralized tradition of schooling imported from Europe in the late 19th century are discussed. The gradual bureaucratization of U.S. public schools during the 20th century is described, along with problems that have been associated with the increasingly hierarchical and impersonal nature of educational institutions.

Download or read book Leading the Dream written by Debo Powers and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-11-06 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a story about turning dreams into reality. Told from the perspective of the founding principal, it is the story of how a small group of dedicated educators and parents created a school from nothing but dreams and hard work; a school that would be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the top eight charter schools in the nation just five years after its doors opened. This is a story of commitment, passion, and persistence-a real labor of love-that continues to enrich the lives of young people, teachers, and parents who have had the good fortune to be a part of it.

Download or read book The Charter Movement written by Jeannine L. English and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1999-08 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The charter school movement is not only an experiment that identifies the best educational methods but also as a tool to achieve change within the educ. systems. California has more than 100 charter schools, and there is tension between their critics and proponents. The authors visited 26 charter schools, including the first, the largest and a mix of urban and rural sites. While the academic results are not clear, charter schools can be judged at least a partial success on the basis of test scores, parental satisfaction, academic innovation, enhanced opportunities for teachers, and increased focus on low-achieving students.

Download or read book Charter Schools in Eight States written by Ron Zimmer and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charter schools now exist in 40 states, but the best charter-school studies to date have focused on individual states. This book examines charter schools in eight states with varied policy contexts. It assesses the characteristics of charter schools' students, their effectiveness in raising student achievement and promoting graduation and college entry, and their competitive effects on student achievement in traditional public schools.

Download or read book From Promising to Proven A Wise Giver s Guide to Expanding on the Success of Charter Schools written by Karl Zinsmeister and published by The Philanthropy Roundtable. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-five years ago, charter schools hadn’t even been dreamed up. Today they are mushrooming across the country. There are 6,500 charter schools operating in 42 states, with more than 600 new ones opening every year. Within a blink there will be 3 million American children attending these freshly invented institutions (and 5 million students in them by the end of this decade). It is philanthropy that has made all of this possible. Without generous donors, charter schools could never have rooted and multiplied in this way. And philanthropists have driven relentless annual improvements—better trained school founders, more prepared teachers, sharper curricula, smarter technology—that have allowed charter schools to churn out impressive results. Studies show that student performance in charter schools is accelerating every year, as high-performing models replace weaker ones. Charter schools as a whole already exceed conventional schools in results. The top charters that are now growing so fast elevate student outcomes more than any other schools in the U.S.—especially among poor and minority children. Charter schooling may be the most important social innovation of our age, and it is just beginning to boom. Philanthropists anxious to improve America have more opportunities to make a difference through charter schools than in almost any other way. This book provides the facts, examples, cautionaries, inspiration, research, and practical experience that philanthropists will need as charter schooling shifts gears from promising experiment to mainstream movement bringing improved opportunity to millions of students.

Download or read book The Charter School Experience written by Michael Bitz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Charter School Experience: Voices from the Field is a unique book that presents readers with balanced perspectives from teachers, students, parents, and school leaders at charter schools across the United States. Through first-person narratives, the book highlights the delicate intricacies of what makes a school charter succeed or fail. Unlike a book written by academics far removed from the practice of education, this book gives voice to the people most impacted by charters: the families and educators who have embraced these schools for better or worse, and who now have enriching stories to tell. These experiences—embodied in introspective and moving chapters—go well beyond the news headlines and politicized studies that have spotlighted charters in the past. In this book, teachers highlight their successes and failures in charter school classrooms, parents explore decisions to enroll in charters, school leaders discuss the social missions of charters, and students write about how charter schools have impacted their lives. The result is an engaging collection of ideas for a wide audience, including people researching, attending, and making policy on charter schools in the United States and around the world.

Download or read book Scripting the Moves written by Joanne W. Golann and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inside look at a "no-excuses" charter school that reveals this educational model’s strengths and weaknesses, and how its approach shapes students Silent, single-file lines. Detention for putting a head on a desk. Rules for how to dress, how to applaud, how to complete homework. Walk into some of the most acclaimed urban schools today and you will find similar recipes of behavior, designed to support student achievement. But what do these “scripts” accomplish? Immersing readers inside a “no-excuses” charter school, Scripting the Moves offers a telling window into an expanding model of urban education reform. Through interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and parents, and analysis of documents and data, Joanne Golann reveals that such schools actually dictate too rigid a level of social control for both teachers and their predominantly low-income Black and Latino students. Despite good intentions, scripts constrain the development of important interactional skills and reproduce some of the very inequities they mean to disrupt. Golann presents a fascinating, sometimes painful, account of how no-excuses schools use scripts to regulate students and teachers. She shows why scripts were adopted, what purposes they serve, and where they fall short. What emerges is a complicated story of the benefits of scripts, but also their limitations, in cultivating the tools students need to navigate college and other complex social institutions—tools such as flexibility, initiative, and ease with adults. Contrasting scripts with tools, Golann raises essential questions about what constitutes cultural capital—and how this capital might be effectively taught. Illuminating and accessible, Scripting the Moves delves into the troubling realities behind current education reform and reenvisions what it takes to prepare students for long-term success.

Download or read book Reinventing America s Schools written by David Osborne and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From David Osborne, the author of Reinventing Government--a biting analysis of the failure of America's public schools and a comprehensive plan for revitalizing American education. In Reinventing America's Schools, David Osborne, one of the world's foremost experts on public sector reform, offers a comprehensive analysis of the charter school movements and presents a theory that will do for American schools what his New York Times bestseller Reinventing Government did for public governance in 1992. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city got an unexpected opportunity to recreate their school system from scratch. The state's Recovery School District (RSD), created to turn around failing schools, gradually transformed all of its New Orleans schools into charter schools, and the results are shaking the very foundations of American education. Test scores, school performance scores, graduation and dropout rates, ACT scores, college-going rates, and independent studies all tell the same story: the city's RSD schools have tripled their effectiveness in eight years. Now other cities are following suit, with state governments reinventing failing schools in Newark, Camden, Memphis, Denver, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Oakland. In this book, Osborne uses compelling stories from cities like New Orleans and lays out the history and possible future of public education. Ultimately, he uses his extensive research to argue that in today's world, we should treat every public school like a charter school and grant them autonomy, accountability, diversity of school designs, and parental choice.