Charter Schools

Displaying 301-330 of 1116 results
Commentary
9.4.2019
Accountability & Testing, Charter Schools, Governance

A new reality for charter schools in California

Caprice Young

As part of a national war against school choice, the California teachers union is pouring more than a million dollars a month into anti-charter legislative efforts. Unfortunately, a new “compromise” bill crafted by Governor Gavin Newsom whose language was released this week indicates the union is about to get a big return on its investment. Caprice Young, a Fordham Institute trustee and a leading figure in the state’s charter sector, explains how this painful moment came about—and what it means for California charter schools going forward.

Commentary
9.4.2019
Evidence-Based Learning, Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Personalized Learning, Teachers & School Leaders

In most elementary classrooms, kids are all over the map academically. Here’s how two schools cope.

Michael J. Petrilli

Almost a decade ago, I wrote that “the greatest challenge facing America’s schools today [is] the enormous variation in the academic level of students coming into any given classroom.” Unlike plenty of what I’ve said over the years, this one has stood the test of time.

Commentary
8.21.2019
Charter Schools, Governance

Democratic presidential candidates are wrong: Racist redlining caused school segregation, not charter schools

Derrell Bradford

During a political campaign, the savviest candidates excel at two things. First, they offer a compelling message that differentiates them from their competitors. Second—which demands true skill and sophistry—they ascribe all their own failings to those very same competitors, forcing them to answer for political, policy and social issues for which they are not responsible.

Commentary
8.14.2019
Accountability & Testing, Charter Schools, Governance

The messy reality of school turnaround

Dale Chu

Ten years ago, then U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a clarion call to turn around 5,000 of the nation’s most distressed schools, serving nearly three million students. It was an audacious goal set by an audacious leader—the likes of which are in terribly short supply these days. A decade later, states have fallen far short of his challenge, and the sticky problem of failing schools refuses to go away. But experience has provided three lessons to those who would make these efforts.

Commentary
8.14.2019
Accountability & Testing, Charter Schools, Curriculum & Instruction, Personalized Learning, Teachers & School Leaders

The new PDK poll: Gems amid the gravel

Chester E. Finn, Jr.

For more than half a century now, back-to-school time has brought another Phi Delta Kappan survey of “the public’s attitudes toward the public schools.” They invariably recycle some familiar questions (e.g., the grades you would give your child’s schools and the nation’s schools). Other topics, however, come and go.

Commentary
7.30.2019
Charter Schools

Hidden from the headlines

Headlines about colossal mismanagement issues in Ohio charters—the biggest being the ECOT meltdown—dominate the school choice narrative in the Buckeye State. These stories raise the question: Why are Ohio charters so bad? This query and the dominant narrative that flows from it have long provided cover for charter opponents, even as some of the negative coverage is well-deserved. But it’s the wrong question—and it distracts us from a bigger, far more compelling story.

Podcast
7.24.2019
Charter Schools

The Education Gadfly Show: What rural Americans think about charter schools

On this week’s podcast, Danish Shakeel, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how information affects attitudes toward charters in rural America. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the impact of Boston’s charter schools on students with disabilities and English language learners.

Podcast
6.5.2019
Charter Schools, Teachers & School Leaders

The Education Gadfly Show: The benefits of having a same-race teacher

On this week's podcast, Seth Gershenson, Associate Professor at American University and author of Fordham's latest study, Student-Teacher Race Match in Charter and Traditional Public Schools, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss that research. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how the actions of turnaround schools affect teacher mobility.

Report
6.4.2019
Charter Schools, Teachers & School Leaders

Student-Teacher Race Match in Charter and Traditional Public Schools

There’s mounting evidence that, for children of color especially, having one or more teachers of the same race over the course of students’ educational careers seems to make a positive difference. But to what extent, if any, do the benefits of having a same-race teacher vary by type of school? Existing “race-match” studies fail to distinguish among the traditional district and charter school sectors. This study fills that gap and finds that the effects of having a same-race teacher appear stronger in charter schools than in the traditional district sector—and stronger still for nonwhite students.

Podcast
4.17.2019
Charter Schools

The Education Gadfly Show: Will charter opposition come for D.C.?

On this week’s podcast, Jessica Sutter, a newly elected member of the DC State Board of Education, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the politics of Washington’s ed reform scene. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how Philadelphia school closures affect academic and behavioral outcomes.

Commentary
3.29.2019
Charter Schools

At the wheel of Idaho’s public charter school program

A willfully one-sided and misguided “study” emerged the other day from something that calls itself the “Network for Public Education” that purports to show that the federal government has wasted a lot of money trying to expand and improve America’s public charter schools. This outfit, which appears to get support from the teacher unions and their fellow travelers, cites several states that, in the authors’ view, have mishandled the money and bungled the program.

Commentary
3.8.2019
Charter Schools

Running successful schools is all about attitude

I met with an architect a few days ago to discuss the needs of GEO Prep Academy’s new building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His original plan included classroom space big enough for each one of our 650 students. I told him to cut that number in half. He looked puzzled, so I explained that, for our high school to succeed, we really have to have the right attitude from day one.

Podcast
8.1.2018
Charter Schools

Golden State charter politics

On this week's podcast, Carlos Marquez, a senior vice president at the California Charter Schools Association, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the state’s charter school politics. On the Research Minute, Adam Tyner examines the effects of the Investing in Innovation Fund.

Commentary
7.9.2018
Charter Schools

Subscribe today and stay up to date on charter school news

Ohio Education Gadfly

Did you know that there’s a great new resource to help you keep up with charter school news in the Buckeye State and across the country? It’s called Ohio Charter News Weekly and you can have it delivered to your email Inbox every Friday.

Commentary
7.6.2018
Charter Schools

Ohio Charter News Weekly - 7/6/18

Chad L. Aldis, Madison Yoder

Big changes are coming for Ohio’s dropout prevention and recovery charter schools

Commentary
7.5.2018
Charter Schools

An Evaluation of Tennessee’s Achievement School District and Local Innovation Zones

Jessica Poiner

Since 2012, Tennessee has taken a unique approach to intervening in struggling schools. With the goal of turning around the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in the state (known as priority schools), officials introduced two separate models: the Achievement School District (ASD) and Innovation Zones (iZones).