Rural schools, particularly high poverty rural schools, often have difficulty hiring and retaining qualified teachers. Here, we discuss three programs the Arkansas Department of Education has used to attract teachers to teacher Geographic Shortage Districts (GSDs) through material incentives. Unfortunately, none of the programs have had much…

KIPP Delta succeeds at its stated mission, probably because of its careful attention to culture building. What distinguishes this KIPP school is thoughtful work linking the daily processes of schooling to the goals of schooling, in this case success in college. Day to day tactics reflect broader themes: having a clear mission and hiring staff who…

We assess whether the organizational culture of traditional public schools shapes their response to competition from charter schools in Arizona, which has a high level of charter school competition. We focus on traditional public elementary schools from 1995 to 1998, when charter schools were introduced in this state. We explore this topic by…

Chubb and Moe (1990), Coulson (1998), and others favor comprehensive school choice. In contrast, Guttman (1987), Smith and Meier (1995), and others argue that markets decrease participation in and resources devoted to public education. Synthesizing each, we test the proposition that market and political forces complement rather than detract from…

The U.S. charter school movement has expanded rapidly, but this growth is geographically uneven at the school district level. Focusing on Arizona--which has the least restrictive charter school law in the United States--we use district variables to determine the factors driving charter market share in 41 districts. Included in our analysis is an…

Examined the responses to charter school competition of four small Arizona school districts. Overall, districts lost students to charter schools because they did not satisfy significant constituencies. Their responses depended on overall enrollment trends, quality of charter competition, quality of district leadership, and district size. Responses…

Discusses burgeoning charter-school movement in Arizona and its effect on public schools. Asserts evidence gathered through surveys and interviews suggests competition incrementally improves education for all students. Identifies ways in which schools hit hardest by competition react and refutes critics' claims regarding school choice. Discusses…

In the inaugural issue of the "Journal of School Choice," John Merrifield offers an important, insightful, and highly provocative critique of charter schooling in an effort to "get people to think about the issues...and seek additional evidence". In "Charter Laws: Disaster, Detour, Irrelevant, or Reform Tool?" Merrifield maintains that economic…

Surveyed Arizona teachers to investigate how personal traits influenced their attitudes toward charter schools and school vouchers, also examining school- and district-level variables shaping charter school teachers' views about choice. White, experienced, unionized, democratic educators and those working in positive school environments were less…

Consideration of choice-based reform in educational governance rests heavily on the assumption that markets will improve school performance. Nonetheless, little empirical research has examined how educational organizations respond to competition. This paper hypothesizes that administrators are likely to respond by adopting governance…

This paper examines the genesis of Arizona's charter school law and discusses the key features of that law. Drawing on published sources and interviews conducted from November 1997 to March 2000 with 46 Arizona educators and policymakers, the paper details the conditions that prompted the broad push for charter schools. The text describes the…

Arizona allows charters to be granted by local school boards, the state board of education, or gubernatorially appointed boards. Regulatory loopholes allow multiple campuses, private school conversions, and outside-of-district charters. Market-based choice depends on political support, a strong state government, and enormous parental and teacher…