The Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Irving Park's middle school is one of 130 schools nationwide piloting the Summit Learning Program (SLP), developed--and offered entirely free--by Summit Public Schools, a high-performing charter network based in California. Summit's eight schools, two of them in Washington State, are known for an…

Charter schools represent an increasingly important form of school choice in the United States. Charter schools are public schools, with a difference. Compared to traditional public schools, they are exempted from some of the state laws and regulations that govern traditional public schools. In this way, parents come to have a greater number of…

The student-centered school model of Epic Charter School in Oakland, California, framed around a hero's journey empowers middle school students with sense of unity and purpose in life, where they can feel part of a culture with a shared experience and with more opportunities to experiences growth and accomplishment. Design and engineering is front…

This report highlights the ongoing discussions between the believers of "online learning" vs. the "not enough proven research" for K-8 cyber schooling. Discussing successful processes and operations in states around the country, the author focuses on Maryland and, in particular, Baltimore schools, and reports that very little…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…