The most important burden of charter schools is the need to demonstrate that the instruction they provide actually benefits students. They can hire their own teachers, make their own tradeoffs between spending on administration and teaching, locate anywhere in the community, and let parents know in advance what a child must do to succeed in the…

An Arizona study examined whether charter schools contribute to the racial/ethnic segregation of students in publicly funded schools. Data included Arizona school enrollment data for 1996, 1998, and 2002; school addresses for 2002 charter schools; and other relevant information specific to charter schools, obtained from the Arizona Department of…

In 1998, the San Francisco Board of Education granted a charter to Edison Schools, Inc., to manage the Edison Charter Academy. In 2001, it commenced a formal investigation of complaints that Edison had materially violated its charter and notified the school of its intent to revoke the charter. This briefing traces the events from the commencement…

More than 2,100 charter schools serving more than 500,000 students operate in 37 states and the District of Columbia. This book contains a report of a study that examined the first 10 years of the charter-school movement. The study addressed the following questions: (1) What students do charter schools serve? (2) Are charter-school teachers more…

After more than 10 years into the charter-school movement, a fundamental issue remains to be addressed, according to this paper. The issue reduces the charter movement down to its basic core premise, which is effectiveness. The question for all stakeholders is how effective is the charter-school model. Evaluation within the context of the…

This paper examines the ways in which entities external to schools, in this case for-profit educational management organizations (EMOs), can influence the development of school professional community. Drawing on case studies of six charter schools operated by three EMOs, this paper examines the presence of the five elements of professional…

This report focuses on gifted and talented education in six rural schools. An introduction summarizes a 1999 national assessment of rural gifted education and points out that the standards movement may hinder development of both effective rural schools and gifted programming. Of the six schools profiled, two were founded especially for gifted and…

This report describes activities and findings of Project SEARCH, an on-going qualitative research project investigating the current status of policies regarding children with disabilities in charter schools. The project has involved a preliminary analysis of all current charter laws to examine the inclusion of students with disabilities and a more…

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as No Child Left Behind ("NCLB"). This law dramatically affects how all schools, including charter schools, are held accountable for the academic performance of their students. Since the passage of NCLB,…

Discusses one teacher's conversion to the charter school concept and describes the first year of development and the impact of Boston's only public charter high school. Also discussed are the conflicting imperatives surrounding the one-size-fits-all charter school concept, including using a lottery system for enrollment, handling special education…

Former New York governor Mario Cuomo discusses the inequities of public schooling, the trend toward charter schools, and the importance of making education a national priority. Richard Lewis, founder and director of the Touchstone Center (New York City), discusses children's literature, the intrinsic motivation that children have for learning, and…

In the 2000 presidential race, education seems a top priority for Vice-President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. Although both candidates are promising billions of federal-aid dollars to raise standards, many believe they are ignoring factors such as student motivation and funding inequities. (MLH)

The faculty in the Department of Urban Education (DUE) at the University of Houston Downtown (UHD) have developed critical awareness of issues related to the responsibility of both teachers and teacher educators for addressing the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The purpose of this article is to provide relevant information on…

When Peter Meyer moved to Hudson, New York and placed his child in the local school system, he was shocked at the abysmal quality of education there. He was even more surprised to learn that there was very little movement for reform. He joined the school board with the hopes of enacting new policies, but found instead that it was an ineffecient…

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the new racist discourse within an urban charter school. The authors focus upon how the new racist discourse relieves Whites, "of any semblance of social responsibility and commitment" (Giroux, 1999). As multiculturalism and political correctness are being taught and encouraged in the society to work…