Commentary on Alternative Strategies for Identifying High-Performing Charter Schools in Texas

In the last few years policy makers and practitioners nationally have shown much interest in identifying, recognizing, and replicating successful charter schools, many of which are showing that they can educate low-income and otherwise at-risk students remarkably well. However past efforts to identify high performing schools have been problematic. Using these systematic, rigorous value-added methods, the authors identify 44 Open Enrollment charter schools that merit a “high-performer” rating. Nearly all of those campuses identified serve a disadvantaged student population. The article also finds that most of those high performers are highly cost-effective, earning high ratings on the cost-efficiency measures. The authors argue for more widespread use of value-added modeling in the state accountability system. The approach taken to identifying high-performers is sensible and fair, but any formulaic approach to school labels comes with some limitations

Is Personalized Learning Meeting Its Productivity Promise? Early Lessons From Pioneering Schools

Blending computer-based and teacher-led instruction promises to help schools meet students' individual needs by organizing and prioritizing staff and technology in more productive ways. However, this fiscal analysis of eight new charter schools that implemented personalized learning this year finds that early difficulty in forecasting enrollment and revenue can undermine implementation of the model.As a result of missed enrollment and revenue projections:The schools spent less on technology and more on personnel than planned: instead of a combined $1.7 million on technology in the early stages, they spent just$650,000Student-to-computer ratios were higher and schools spent less than planned on instructional and performance reporting software.Projected budget deficits in five of the schools threaten their ability to sustain on public funding.Among the brief's recommendations for those hoping to implement personalized-learning models in the future:Invest in student recruitment efforts up front to ensure enrollment targets are met.Develop a 'worst-case scenario' budget where fundraising and enrollment estimates fall 20 -- 25 percent below target.Manage contracts proactively: be explicit about needs, establish performance requirements, and negotiate trial periods to make sure products meet the school's needs.The eight personalized-learning schools included in this analysis were chosen to receive Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) competitive start-up grants. CRPE is midway through a study of twenty personalized-learning schools that received NGLC grants. The study examines how the schools allocate their resources, how they manage the new costs of technology, and whether they can become financially sustainable on public revenues. CRPE will continue to track spending in all twenty schools this year and publish its findings next spring.This study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Performance Management in Portfolio School Districts

Explores the challenges of performance-based oversight of portfolio districts -- districts trying to provide diverse types of schools with common standards and accountability -- and the capacities needed. Includes profiles and best practices

Making School Choice Work Series: How Parents Experience Public School Choice

A growing number of cities now provide a range of public school options for families to choose from. Choosing a school can be one of the most stressful decisions parents make on behalf of their child. Getting access to the right public school will determine their child's future success. How are parents faring in cities where choice is widely available? This report answers this question by examining how parents' experiences with school choice vary across eight "high-choice" cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Our findings suggest parents are taking advantage of the chance to choose a non-neighborhood-based public school option for their child, but there's more work to be done to ensure choice works for all families

District-Charter Collaboration Compact: Interim Report

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been monitoring, supporting, and analyzing the cross-sector collaborative work undertaken in 16 District-Charter Compact cities. CRPE tracks progress on agreements and reports on local political, legal, and financial barriers to collaboration, and also facilitates networking and problem-solving among participants. Using data and documents from interviews with district and charter leaders, this interim report details the first two years of Compact work and finds evidence that these cities have made mixed progress on a number of fronts, such as facilities sharing, equitable funding for charter schools, more high-performing schools, and improved access to high-quality special education. But challenges like leadership transitions, local anti-charter politics, and key leaders' unwillingness to prioritize time and resources for implementation have thwarted efforts in some cities. The report includes key Compact agreements and measurements of progress for each city, plus a checklist for district and charter leaders considering a collaboration Compact

Making School Choice Work

School choice is increasingly the new normal in urban education. But in cities with multiple public school options, how can civic leaders create a choice system that works for all families, whether they choose a charter or district public school?To answer this question, CRPE researchers surveyed 4,000 parents in eight cities (Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.) with high degrees of school choice. The researchers also conducted interviews with government officials, choice advocates, and community leaders in four cities, and looked at how many different agencies oversee schools in 35 cities.The study found that:In the eight cities surveyed, the majority of parents are actively choosing a school for their children.Parents face significant barriers to choosing schools, including inadequate information, transportation, and lack of quality options.Challenges facing families are not confined to the charter or district sector.Responsibility for schools often falls to multiple parties, including school districts, charter school authorizers, and state agencies, weakening accountability and making it difficult for leaders to address the challenges facing parents.The report finds that a more transparent, accountable, and fair system will require action from all parties, including school districts, charter authorizers, charter operators, and states. State and city leaders may need to change laws to ensure that districts and charter authorizers oversee schools responsibly and that families do not face large barriers to choice. In some cases, formal governance changes may be necessary to address the challenges to making school choice work for all families

Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts

Examines the growth of charter school management organizations, characteristics of students served, and use of resources; CMO practices; impact on students, including middle school test scores; and structures and practices linked to positive outcomes

Marked Campylobacteriosis Decline after Interventions Aimed at Poultry, New Zealand

A population-level food safety response successfully reduced disease incidence

One Health Aotearoa: a transdisciplinary initiative to improve human, animal and environmental health in New Zealand

The following article, Harrison, S., Baker, M.G., Benschop, J. et al. One Health Outlook 2, 4 (2020), was published online by BMC on31 January 2020 at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s42522-020-0011-0. It is © The Author(s) 2020, but is Open Access and is distributedunder the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), whichpermits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that appropriate credit is given to the originalauthor(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons license, and any changes are indicated. Permission to republishthe paper here has been obtained from the authors, and no changes have been made to the text