"Keeping the Promise?" examines one of the most complex reforms in education: charter schools. This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of essays examines the charter school movement's founding visions, on-the-ground realities, and untapped potential-within the context of an unswerving commitment to democratic, equitable public schools. Essays include policy overviews from nationally known educators such as Ted Sizer and Linda Darling-Hammond, interviews with leaders of community-based charter schools, and analyses of how charters have developed in cities such as New Orleans and Washington, D.C. Contents of this book include: (1) Charter Schools and the Values of Public Education (Ted Sizer and George Wood); (2) Unlovely: How the Market Is Failing the Children of New Orleans (Leigh Dingerson); (3) Profits and Privatization: The Ohio Experience (Amy Hanauer); (4) "Evolution" or Destruction? A Look at Washington, D.C. (Zein El-Amine and Lee Glazer); (5) Boston's Pilot Schools: An Alternative to Charter Schools (Dan French); (6) Lessons from the Ground: Interviews with Charter School Educators (Barbara Miner); and (7) Keeping the Promise: The Role of Policy in Reform (Linda Darling-Hammond and Kenneth Montgomery). An index is included.