This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

When the charter school movement began in the early 1990's, one key set of players received little attention: the public entities that sponsor or authorize these unconventional schools. A charter is properly understood as a contract between two parties, the school operator and the authorizer. For the charter movement to succeed, both must do their…

Despite the fact that charter schools serve over 684,000 children nationwide, they remain a poorly studied form of education reform. This is primarily because many charter schools serve targeted populations such as at-risk, disabled, or delinquent students, which makes it very difficult for researchers to draw a fair comparison between charter…

This Preschool Parent Survey was designed to gather information on parents' perceptions of the Detroit Public School (DPS) preschool program and to assess the child care needs of parents of the district's preschool students. The 18-item questionnaire was mailed to the homes of 2,000 families in Detroit. Of the 2,000 surveys, 640 were completed and…

The 2006 Public Opinion Survey on Education in Indiana gauged the attitudes and perceptions of a representative sample of Hoosiers on such key educational issues as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs, No Child Left Behind and P.L. 221, school funding and taxes, teacher quality, school choice and charter schools, and the achievement gap in…

This book examines reform in American education over the past 50 years, analyzing why contemporary voucher plans and charter schools have yet to fulfill the expectations of their advocates. The book discusses: a historical perspective, insight into student achievement, voucher plans and charter schools, and policy recommendations. The eight…

This study polled 300 parents of New York charter school students to gauge the degree of parental satisfaction with charter schools. Data from telephone interviews indicated that parents were extremely satisfied with the work of their charter schools in almost every aspect of schooling. Their assessments were particularly striking when asked to…

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) works with school and district leaders to help them more strategically use resources--people, time, and money--to improve student performance. They have found that many school districts begin creating small high schools without a clear sense of how much they will spend or how to ensure that small schools…

Parental choice in education is growing. A dozen states and the District of Columbia provide a variety of private school choice programs. Forty states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter schools laws. A growing body of evidence suggests that parents of students participating in school choice programs are happier with their children's…

The purpose of this hearing was to examine the education system of New Orleans. Statements were presented by: Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman, Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development; Honorable Mary L. Landrieu, U.S. Senator from Louisiana; Honorable Richard Burr, U.S. Senator from North Carolina; Linda Johnson, President,…

These are critical times for Ohio's system of educating its young people. Initiatives to reform the public schools have been gaining momentum for some time. Elected officials, organized interest groups, think tanks, and civic leaders are tugging and pulling at the system, trying to move it this way or that. But where do the people of Ohio--the…

This document deals with the topic of the charter-school movement. Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood's article focuses on selected, key aspects of papers commissioned by the Comprehensive Center-Region VI from experts in the charter-school movement. It discusses the potential for enhanced teaching and learning in charter schools, management issues that can…

The 2000 poll shows substantial public satisfaction with public schools; willingness to improve the existing system; eroding support for high-stakes testing and for private- and religious-school choice; insufficient financial support as schools' biggest problem; and parents as having greater influence than teachers over student performance. (MLH)

Examines Michigan's educational reform efforts. The author describes the vision that guided the reform movement and outlines the state's education system when reform efforts were begun in 1989. Financial, structural, and political impediments to reform are discussed. Finally, the changes that have occurred and those that are being sought in order…

Detroit's Benjamin Carson Academy (BCA) is believed to be the nation's first charter school for juvenile offenders. Opened in 1999, BCA is housed in the newly built Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility, a state of the art, 89,300-square-foot building in downtown Detroit with half a dozen gymnasiums, two computer labs, a media center, mental…