There is growing concern that some public service providers may be nonprofit in name but not in fact. We consider this issue in the context of nonprofit charter schools, which sometimes subcontract their daily operations to for-profit management organizations. We use unique data from Ohio to study how nonprofit charters' reliance on for-profit…

This article examines the theoretical basis of the community as it is evoked in health evaluation. In particular, we examine how hospitals carrying out Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) define communities as well as the implications for these definitions for how to study and engage community problems. We present qualitative findings from…

This article takes advantage of a recently released national data set on school site expenditures to evaluate spending variations between traditional district operated schools and charter schools operated by for-profit versus nonprofit management firms. Prior research has revealed the revenue-enhancement, private fund-raising capacity of major…

After a tumultuous reception, the Biden administration's regulations for the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) were finalized in July. Although the Administration backpedaled partway on issues related to community demand and racial integration, its final rules cracked down on so-called "for-profit charters," in line with the…

In the academic and policy debates over the merits of charter schools, two things are clear: First, they are here to stay and, second, their quality varies widely. Policy makers therefore need to understand how to design charter laws that promote the creation of high-performing schools. Crucial to this discussion is the charter authorizing…

The National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI) is a nonprofit organization committed to improving educational outcomes that traces its roots back to the early 1990s. NMSI's College Readiness Program (CRP) is a long-standing program with the goal of promoting STEM education in high schools to improve students' preparation for college. The three-year…

In 2005, digital media artist/activist Liv Gjestvang founded a nonprofit organization, Youth Video OUTreach (YVO), to teach lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth skills to create a documentary about their lives that could serve as a centerpiece for outreach and advocacy efforts by/for LGBTQ youth. While…

Is it time for Ohio to take bolder steps toward turning around its most troubled schools and districts? If so, what might the alternatives look like? Options for rebooting these troubled schools have come in the form of mayoral control, state takeovers, market competition through charter schools and other choice programs, as well as millions of…

Data indicates that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) are increasingly receiving community based services in lieu of institutionalization. The Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota reports that the number of people living in large state run institutions decreased from 117,147…

There is wide agreement that the well-paying jobs of the future will require postsecondary credentials. But for many students attending community college, developmental (or remedial) classes in reading, composition, and/or mathematics--the courses that students often must complete before they can enroll in courses that confer credit toward a…

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's long and deep immersion in Ohio education policy, particularly in the charter-school realm, includes a half decade of direct experience as "authorizer" of several charters. Initially, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) was chief authorizer of charter schools in the Buckeye State. After the state…

Instead of putting the entire achievement burden on schools, what would it look like to hold a whole community responsible for long-range student outcomes? This report explores the concept of "shared accountability" in education. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act ushered in a new era of accountability in American education: for the…

This paper describes how Appreciative Inquiry was used to design an organization's evaluation system that would contribute to the staff's capacity to engage in evaluation and to think evaluatively. By building on participants' peak evaluation experiences, their values and wishes with regard to evaluation, and what is commonly accepted as…

America continues to make progress in meeting its high school dropout challenge. Leaders in education, government, nonprofits and business have awakened to the individual, social and economic costs of the dropout crisis and are working together to solve it. This year, all states, districts, and schools are required by law to calculate high school…

Among the great strengths of a policy-oriented foundation like Joyce is the willingness to take a long view, to be patient investors in ideas that take time to have impact, and to take chances on projects that may not work out. But in times of crisis, Joyce team and partners also have an obligation to be responsive to immediate challenges in their…