In the early 1970s, pessimism about public education in the United States was on the rise. To counter this outlook, researchers held a conference to identify public schools that were humane, caring, and effective, and from this conference arose a heightened awareness of alternative schools and their place in education. Subsequent years of…

This workbook is the first in a series devoted to all areas of charter-school development. It addresses the logistics of starting a school, such as drafting a charter, creating a vision and mission, accessing expert information, navigating the application process, acquiring a facility, establishing a legal entity, and contracting for services. The…

Locating and financing educational facilities is a significant challenge facing many charter schools. This report outlines five options state policymakers can pursue to enable charter schools to gain access to suitable, high-quality facilities. The five options addressed are: creating new revenue streams for facilities cost; giving charter schools…

This text describes ways to increase awareness of the equity issues embedded in operating a charter school. The guide discusses seven specific equity challenges facing charter schools, examines key equity issues confronting all schools and the strategies to address them, provides a summary of relevant equity legislation, and includes a selection…

This guidebook provides basic information to assist charter schools in accessing the federal programs and resources available to them. The programs represented in this guide are those that are commonly considered the most beneficial to charter schools. Most of the programs are administered directly by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Chapter…

In authorizing charter schools, Colorado created an avenue for parents, teachers, and community members "to take responsible risks and create new, innovative, more flexible ways of educating all children within the public school system." A brief outline of charter schools, followed by detailed instructions on how to apply for and start a…

This workbook is part of a series devoted to all areas of charter-school development. Fifth in the series, this volume focuses on community relations and how school founders can handle public relations, market their school, and deal with controversy. The text is divided into three sections. Section one examines why schools should engage in public…

Drawing on the Los Angeles Unified School District's experiences with charter schools, this brief highlights the difficulties in balancing the twin needs of charter-school autonomy and accountability, and their implications for the way in which charter schools and districts can work together. It identifies key challenges in district-school…

This guidebook provides charter schools with ideas when seeking financing, and touches on the issues they often face regarding appropriate site, managing the construction and renovation process, and facility operation that is safe and economical. Ideas presented are based on experiences of real charter schools. The document is organized around…

Prospective founders of charter schools must gain the approval of a public organization empowered by state law to grant charters. Common examples of chartering entities include state and local boards of education, boards of public universities and community colleges, and specially created charter-school boards. This guide is designed to help…

This sourcebook is a collection of some planning workshop ideas and tools that have been used by organizers of charter school workshops in a number of states. The purpose of the sourcebook is to help organizations assist potential charter school founders in their school planning through the application, chartering, and approval processes. The…

This report suggests that charter schools need to consider six critical questions as they develop a student accountability plan for their school. These questions are: (1) "What is our school's mission?"; (2) "What do we want our students to know and be able to do?"; (3) "How will we know whether our students are achieving or attaining the goals…

This workbook is part of a series devoted to all areas of charter-school development. The second of the series, this volume focuses on regulatory issues, such as special-education requirements, civil-rights regulations, federal and state laws and regulations, and requirements for parent involvement. The text is divided into four sections. Chapter…

Offers guidelines, culled from interviews with school board members and administrators, for school-board oversight of charter schools. (LMI)

As part of the Model Leadership Training Program for charter-school founders and leaders, a workbook representing the training component developed during the first year was prepared. During the first year, 12 teams of charter-school founders and leaders (N=48) participated in the Charter School Leadership Training Academy. The workbook provides…