Defines and discusses alternatives to traditional public schooling, including private and home schools, contract schools, charter schools, and school-based finance systems. Implications for principals are reflected in a drive for more rigorous state tests and standards and the growing use of technology, which stresses independent study. Charter…

There is an increasingly popular view of government to shift costs of education formerly borne at the national level to the states, and the states, in turn to shift costs and risks to individuals that has created a "perfect storm" of economic and political trends. The idea of privatizing a portion of Social Security and the continuing press for…

Parents have the legal right to send their children to private schools. This paper presents findings of a survey that compared the opinions of sitting school board presidents (n=1,500) with those of Chamber of Commerce executives (n=1,300) across the United States. The survey asked each group about their attitudes toward charter schools,…

Although making profits from public education is not new, what is new is the recent development of corporate interest in taking over the organization and management of public education specifically for profit-making purposes. The study reported in this paper focuses on the intrusion of "big business" into an educational arena that…

This paper compares the development since the 1980s of privatization of education services in the U.S. and U.K. In both countries, education management organizations (EMOs) have become institutionalized to some degree, with policy-borrowing between the two countries and common ideological predisposition toward market solutions. Despite this…

Describes the efforts of teachers and parents to open a charter school in Denver, which is being vigorously blocked by the school board. Discusses the pros (offer nontraditional teaching methods and institutional autonomy) and cons (drain public funds from poor schools) of charter schools. (LMI)

Corporate involvement in public education is nothing new. This book offers a critique of the growing corporate control and commercialization of public schools. Chapter 1 describes the history of business influence on American education with a focus on the case of Wisconsin, in which the corporate-led restructuring of the American economy has…

The last 2 decades of the 20th century have witnessed a growing movement to reform the American education system. While people debate why and how reform should be accomplished new initiatives are being developed and applied in many different areas: student performance standards, curricular innovation, assessment, accountability, professional…

British government policies promoting public-private partnerships enabled the privatization of failing schools. In the U.S., the private sector has drawn upon a political network of well-financed institutions to advance privatized education, most recently among charter schools. Privatization has not yet been very successful, but promises to be…

Controversy abounds in states and communities across the United States about how best to manage the nation's schools. Much of the current debate over school reform can be reduced to a single question: Who should decide? This report discusses some of the ways in which policymakers have attempted to give schools greater flexibility from rules and…

Charter schools incorporate the focus of magnet schools but often go beyond their academic specialization to more social goals. They can operate at both elementary and secondary levels, although they are always quite small. The greatest difference, however, between charter schools and other public schools is their status as a bridge between public…

This document provides a brief history of urban school governance and summarizes some of the unique governance structures that have emerged in six American cities and one Canadian province over recent years. By 1920, ward-based systems in most urban areas had given way to systems with a high degree of centralization. These systems were more…

Charter schools, performance contracts, and school choice programs are among the initiatives for change that can be made into an integrated program for reforming urban education, one that shifts from a bureaucratic and archaic system into a deregulated system that focuses on student performance. (SLD)

On January 31, 1996, Pioneer Institute Executive Director James A. Peyser delivered an address to the Boston Economic Club, in which he proposed radical reforms to the structure of public education. This publication contains an edited transcript of the speech. The speech argues that after 30 years of stagnation and decline, only fundamental…

Selections in this book, which grew from a seminar at New York University between 1994 and 1996, discuss the recent educational innovations of charter schools, contracting arrangements, and choice that are designed to liberate educators and raise the levels of opportunity for all students. The essays, which focus on the urban experience, explore…