Public education depends on expertise, work, money, and cooperation from multiple actors who have different interests and beliefs. These lead to competition and negotiation--in other words, politics. Failure to consider the politics of reform implementation and sustainability has doomed many promising K-12 school improvement initiatives. This…

To gather empirical evidence about the effects of multiple federal programs on school and school district operations, researchers interviewed teachers, principals, and categorical program coordinators at 24 elementary schools in eight districts across the nation. All the schools had four or more federal categorical programs and were known to be…

Universal school choice would strongly benefit all children, including the disadvantaged, by promoting candid and demanding relationships among teachers, parents, and students. So concludes the author's study of a privately funded voucher program, the Student-Sponsor Partnership Program in New York City. Individual sponsors pay tuition for…

Over the past 15 years, charter schools and teachers unions have battled in state legislatures, the courts and the media. But with increasing frequency, the two groups are facing each other in the everyday operation of schools. This report summarizes the opinions expressed at a meeting of local state, and national leaders from both the charter…