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…

Summarizes educational reform initiatives in Michigan, highlighting legislative actions such as the 1990 Public Act 25 ("the Quality Education Package"), professional certification reforms, experiments with school choice and charter schools, the Michigan Partnership for New Education; and abolition of property taxes to fund education.…

Discusses current issues in the funding of charter schools: (1) inter-district inequalities; (2) intra-district inequalities; (3) inadequate spending; and (4) special needs funding. Explores four additional issues related to the core identity of charter schools and the nature of their students. Devotes extra attention to charter schools in…

Research suggests there is little correlation between spending more on public education and getting better results. The success of Catholic and charter schools, which receive far less money, underscores that more money is not the key to better educational outcomes. Giving parents power to send their children to schools that deliver what works is…

Examines how charter schools can avoid past pitfalls, describing: policy dilemmas (e.g., state charter laws and political opposition); school-level dilemmas (e.g., lack of business acumen and enrollment problems); and the life cycle of charter schools (e.g., staff burnout and worrisome test scores). Notes solutions to startup problems, examining…

The District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony A. Williams, is not alone among big-city mayors in extending a growing interest in public education to charter schools. This article discusses big-city mayors that have launched initiatives to form more of the independently run, but publicly financed schools. The notion of creating charter schools that…

In August 2004 the first ever federally funded school voucher program began in Washington, D.C. Eligible students could attend a private school of their choice in the District of Columbia. Each participant received up to $7,500 for school tuition, fees, and transportation. In addition, the D.C. Public School System (DCPS) and D.C. charter school…

Bringing charters to scale remains a major challenge. To learn more about barriers to the expansion of high-quality public charter schools and how they might be removed, the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools convened a meeting of leaders from…

"The 2009 Legislative Briefing" is a topical summary of actions during the 2009 legislative sessions that affect education in the 16 SREB states. Topics include: state budgets and the economy; tax and revenue; teacher and faculty pay raises; retirement systems; issues affecting teachers and education leaders; health and safety;…

As interest in expanding the number of high quality charter schools available to parents and students has grown, policy makers have increased their focus on identifying and providing support to new charter programs that have the potential to improve student outcomes and satisfy parent and student needs. Since 1994, the U.S. Department of Education…

In response to widespread demands for better public education and for more choice among public schools, a number of state legislatures in the early 1990s permitted educators and local communities to develop "charter" schools. This report presents the first-year findings of the National Study of Charter Schools, sponsored by the U.S. Department of…

The Colorado Charter Schools Act requires the State Board of Education to compile the evaluations of charter schools received from local boards of education and to review information regarding waivers from state regulations and statutes. This document is a response to the mandate. The study focused on the 14 schools that had been operating for at…

Focusing on student achievement, this 1997 evaluation study examines Colorado charter schools' record in meeting goals of the state's Charter Schools Act. The report includes only the 24 charter schools operating for at least 2 years at the end of 1996-97. Tension between two central values, autonomy and accountability, complicate state-level…

There is little doubt that charter schools in California are starting to get more attention from both their supporters and their detractors. This report provides an overview of where charter schools stand today in California and the context in which they will either thrive or struggle in the years to come. It includes a quick look at the origin…

This paper is designed to help funders avoid some of the pitfalls of embarking on major reform efforts in troubled urban districts, proposing exploratory case studies as a tool to improve philanthropic giving. The paper explains what is behind the two major flaws of philanthropic investment (not knowing how one thinks schools will improve and not…