This is the first in a series of reports to be published by the National Alliance in partnership with Public Impact highlighting the experiences of school leaders of color in charter schools across the country. While the impact school leaders have on student performance has been well documented, there has been little attention to how leaders'…

This is the second in a series of reports to be published by the National Alliance in partnership with Public Impact highlighting the experiences of school leaders of color in charter schools across the country. While the impact school leaders have on student performance has been well documented, there has been little attention to how leaders'…

Urban K-12 public schools often face challenges that are not found in schools located in suburban areas. Students in urban schools are often not prepared to attend college and are more likely to drop out of high school. This is often the result of limited resources in urban schools, yet educators are expected to close the achievement gap and…

A lack of diversity permeates the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. Under-representation within STEM fields can stifle innovation and progressive approaches to the future of STEM. Traditional STEM pathways focus on identifying participants who show academic promise in schools. One segment of young people, youth who…

California has seen recent policy changes, including the adoption of new standards, revised funding formulas and updated accountability mechanisms, all aimed at increasing equity and improving student outcomes. Yet, challenges in serving students with disabilities persist for many school districts. Solutions to these challenges compel additional…

In this article, we examine how children ages 8 to 10 characterized the audiences of digital videos they made in school. Children's perceptions of their viewers reflected, and in many cases complicated, current theorizing about the vast potential audiences of digital texts. Our analysis of videos and interview data surfaces several findings…

In cities where public charter schools serve a large share of students, the costs of ongoing sector divisions and hostility across district and charter lines fall squarely on students and families. Exercising choice and accessing good schools in "high-choice cities" can be difficult for many families, especially some of the most…

Recent years have witnessed not only the growth of charter schools, but also a surge of philanthropies acting as institutional entrepreneurs who offer both funding and legitimacy. And yet, over a short period of time, foundations' once diffuse giving has become increasingly concentrated. In order to explain these changing dynamics of philanthropic…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has been studying the four-day school week since 2015. Since then, the phenomenon of the four-day school week has spread into non-rural areas and interest appears to be growing. Given these apparent changes, the author wanted to know more about recent trends in the initiative. As districts continue…

The California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) Toolkit for Instructional Materials Evaluation (TIME) is a suite of tools and processes for evaluating and selecting instructional materials aligned with the CA NGSS. This 11th report in the NGSS Early Implementers Initiative evaluation series is intended for school and district…

In 2018, California's education community was preparing for a pivotal moment. A new governor would soon take the reins and voters would elect a new superintendent of public instruction. The "Getting Down to Facts II" (GDTFII) project, released in September 2018, assessed the state of preK-12 education in California. As year 2 of…

Community partnerships empower charter schools by strengthening their capacity to serve the needs of students, families, and staff through deliberate partnerships with community-based entities. The autonomy that charter schools are afforded uniquely equips them with the flexibility to engage partners and even design schools for which one or more…

Reflecting post-bureaucratic organisation theory, education reformers intended charter schools to empower school-level leaders, most typically principals, with autonomy to pursue clear, student-centred missions. Yet little research explores whether charter school principals have more power than traditional public school counterparts. We summarise…

In this report, the authors present the results of a long-term tracking study that follows 1,177 students who applied to enter 1 of 13 oversubscribed Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) middle schools through a 5th or 6th grade admissions lottery in 2008 or 2009. Those students are now old enough to have attended college for at least two years. This…

Home education support groups and associations are increasingly becoming hubs for home learning communities to share resources and knowledge. This literature review examined (a) motivations for joining homeschool groups; (b) values and beliefs that led to the formation of homeschool groups; and (c) how the culture of homeschool groups aids in…