A hearing was held before the Subcommittee on Empowerment of the House Committee on Small Business to build a record of a lot of things that are working in urban education in high risk zones. In his opening remarks, Representative Souder (Indiana) noted that there is no question but that the best way to combat unemployment and the problems that…

This booklet provides business leaders and coalitions with information and resources they can use to support charter schools in their own communities. Section 1 provides a brief overview of the charter school movement and discusses the key features of charter schools, which are self-managed public schools that operate through performance contracts…

This study evaluates the effect that the size of a state's school districts has on public high school graduation rates. The authors calculate the graduation rate over the last decade and examine the relationship between these graduation rates and changes in each state's average school district size. The study finds that decreasing the size of…

This report has describes how the young Indianapolis charter school initiative can claim a number of successes: (1) Many community leaders have stepped forward to spearhead the creation of charter schools, bringing new energy and resources into public education; (2) Parents have flocked to the new schools, lining up on waiting lists and noting…

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author takes a close look at charter schooling in Ohio, examining the history, status quo, challenges, and the future of the charter school effort there. He finds terrific examples of success, but points out that there are some very real challenges, including…

This year's Brown Center Report examines several issues that are important to No Child Left Behind and ongoing efforts to improve American schools. The first section of the report analyzes the latest data on student achievement and asks how the nation's students are doing in reading and mathematics. Achievement in rural schools receives a closer…

In recent years there has been a substantial change in the way education is structured, managed, and financed in Australia. The move toward more self-managing schools, with school councils, school charters, school global budgets, quality assurance, and other features has been especially apparent in the state of Victoria, where the Schools of the…

Although charter schools are rapidly becoming an integral part of the public-school landscape, much remains unknown about them. This paper reports on the findings of a descriptive-research study that comprised an analysis of U.S. charter-school statutes. The focus of the investigation was on equity in the areas of student recruitment, admission…

This collection of papers identifies the leading sources of inequality in public education and proposes public policy remedies. The eight chapters are: (1) "Introduction: Making K-12 Public Education an Engine for Social Mobility" (Richard D. Kahlenberg); (2) "Summer Learning and Home Environment" (Doris R. Entwisle, Karl L. Alexander, and Linda…

An ethnographic study reports on the practices of a sixth grade American Indian teacher at an urban charter middle school for American Indians. The study used classroom observations, interviews, and informal conversations over a 3-week period to determine and understand the personal and institutional influences on her instructional practices. The…

The United States Department of Education's (Department or ED) Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP) provides support for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools; the evaluation of the effects of charter schools; and the dissemination of information about charter schools and successful practices in charter…

Urban schools' success depends on their responsiveness to student, parent, and community needs. Responsive programs include alternative high-engagement, remedial, or "last-chance" schools; charter schools; full-service schools providing health and social services; immersion programs for single-gender African-American students;…

Case studies of nine Alberta charter schools examined the role of charter schools in educational reform. The real promise of charter schools resides less in fostering innovation and efficiency in public education, and more in providing parental school choice and addressing diverse values and goals of education. (Contains 28 references.) (Author/TD)

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)

Discusses the impact of school choice on educational outcomes, examining: whether there is any evidence that the various alternatives to traditional public schools are delivering education in a fundamentally different and more efficient form; what the equity consequences and demographic implications are for enhanced school choice; and how enhanced…