The privatization of public funds for education through school choice programs has fueled the expansion of virtual online charter schools. This redirection of funds contributes to the idea that virtual school success is comparable or even superior to the performance of traditional public schools. The schools most adversely affected are the schools…

Spurring parental involvement has been a core objective of charter school reform. This study compares for-profit-managed and nonprofit-managed charter schools and their public school peers in Detroit on two indicators of parental involvement. Nonprofit-managed charter schools generated higher rates of general parental involvement, net of…

We examine the views of low-income urban parents toward their neighborhood school. Policymakers must understand the attitudes of these individuals, particularly because they represent some of the most vulnerable groups in our education system. As national education policies have made it easier for parents to choose schools, attention has…

School choice has become a cornerstone of education reform plans across the nation especially in urban settings where immigrant populations often settle. Latino enrollment in charter schools has increased accordingly. Yet, little is known about how Latino parents, who arguably face significant linguistic, cultural, and economic barriers, engage in…

Examined how one urban charter school struggled during its first year to overcome several barriers, such as the initial small facility, limited curricula, and strained teacher-administrator relationships, to become a cohesive team that nurtured a unique community of learners. Case study data indicated that keys to success included teacher…

Describes a five-year ethnographic study of an African-centered charter school to determine the pedagogical theory undergirding the school's development and maintenance. The analysis reveals an absence of coherence in the community of teachers about the ethos of the school. (SLD)