First Lessons: Charter Schools as Learning Communities

Twenty-eight states, over the past six years, have authorized the creation of charter schools as an alternative form of public education. Charter schools are seen as opportunities to create highperforming learning communities, with improved student performance and other positive results as the goals of these new institutions. The creation of high-performing learning communities is central to the success of charter schools, but we need to know if these schools, as currently constituted under their enabling legislation, are capable of creating such learning communities. We want to know what elements help to build or to obstruct these learning communities. To answer these questions, Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) researchers became acquainted with the founders, teachers and administrators in 17 charter schools in Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Charter schools provide, within the public education system, a new governance structure that is freed from most district and state regulations. Charter schools are intended to increase consumer choice within the public education system. And, most importantly, charter schools are meant to encourage innovation in teaching and learning practices in order to improve student performance. A 1995 survey of charter school founders, conducted by the Education Commission of the States, reported that “better teaching and learning for all kids,” “running a school according to certain principles and/or philosophy,” and “innovation” were the top three reasons for starting a charter school

School-Based Management: Promise and Process

This issue of CPRE Finance Briefs summarizes research that investigated how school-based management can be implemented so that it is more than just a catch-phrase. Making the transition to SBM is neither simple nor quick. Neither is it possible for SBM to succeed simply by giving schools more power over such things as budgets, personnel and curriculum. In addition to power, schools need hefty portions of three other commodities that private sector research has found to be essential for making good and productive decisions: Knowledge of the organization so that employees can improve it. Teachers and other stakeholders need technical knowledge, such as how to employ new approaches to teaching, business knowledge, sch as how to develop a budget, and knowledge of interpersonal and problem-solving skills so they can apply what they know to achieving school goals. Information about student performance and comparisons with other schools about whether parents and community leaders are satisfied with the school, and the resources available, either monetary or other. and Rewards to acknowledge the extra effort SBM requires as well as to recognize improvements

Managing Networks for School Improvement: Seven Lessons from the Field

In recent decades, new networks for school improvement (NSI) have proliferated across the country. These emerging organizational structures present education leaders with an opportunity to build dynamic infrastructures to engage schools in improvements to teaching and learning. NSI are diverse. Some NSI are part of school districts, while others are contracted by school districts to design blueprints for school improvement. What all NSI have in common is a central hub supporting a set of member schools, like the center of a wheel and its spokes. In this guidebook, we focus on common lessons for designing improvement infrastructures from the perspective of leaders across four different types of networks, including: Local district superintendents who support schools in a particular geographic area; Field support centers, which partner with district superintendents in the intermediary space between the central office and schools; Affinity organizations, which are independent non-profit organizations that work under contract from the central district office to support a select group of district schools; and Charter school management organizations that operate outside the district, supporting their affiliated member schools. Our aim was to better understand how NSI were responding to the increased demands of recent shifts to more rigorous college- and career-ready standards. These seven lessons emerged from interviews with central office administrators overseeing NSI and staff working in network hubs, as well as from observations of professional learning (PL) sessions provided by hubs. We hope these lessons are useful to your work improving teaching and learning in your school, network, or district

Developing Foundation-University-Grantee Collaboratives as a Model for High-Impact Philanthropy

· This article reports on results from the Weingart Foundation’s Urban School Districts Reform Initiative. The goal of the initiative was to improve urban education, and ultimately raise student achievement, by supporting sustainable reforms in school districts educating high numbers of low-income students. · The Weingart Foundation determined the scale and scope of the effort, and set forth specific goals and timelines; the districts were invited to propose projects that were organic and integrated into their own strategic plans. · Based on research conducted by an intermediary, potential grantees were identified; six grantees were interviewed about their strategic plan priorities and four were ultimately chosen to receive grants. · The foundation worked closely with these districts over a three-year period. · Based on this experience, three key design elements were identified: 1) Confine the initiative to a content area or target population, 2) Pay attention to geography, and 3) Encourage boundary-spanning

English Language Learners Make the News

An after-school journalism program motivates English language learners to improve their English skills

Parent Involvement in Urban Charter Schools: New Strategies for Increasing Participation

Decades of research point to the benefits of parent involvement in education. However, research has also shown that White, middle-class parents are disproportionately involved. Charter schools, as schools of choice, have been assumed to have fewer involvement barriers for minority and low-income parents, but a 2007 survey of charter leaders found that parent involvement remains a significant challenge. This qualitative study utilizes Epstein\u27s model of family involvement to examine parent involvement programs at twelve charter schools across six U.S. states. Findings suggest that parent involvement activities in the study sample of urban charter schools fit Epstein\u27s typology fairly well. However, the strategies used to implement these activities and to attract hard-to-reach parents are fairly innovative: Study schools offered wrap-around services, incentives, and contracts to enhance and ensure participation; utilized technology for advertising parent volunteer opportunities; and involved parents in the decision-making and governance of the school. Overall, these strategies were linked with increasing parents\u27 self-efficacy and comfort level in participating in their children\u27s educatio

Family Engagement in Education: Seven Principles of Success

Families have helped schools and students in schools across the nation in a number of ways. Family members help in classrooms, in the school office, and on field trips. They tutor students, act as mentors, and translate materials for other families. They raise funds for the school, help write grants, and organize activities to promote the school in the community. In the charter school arena, families have helped write charter applications and serve on charter school governing boards

Improving Service Delivery in Education Through Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of the Role of Cross-Sectoral Alliances in the Development and Support of Charter Schools-super-

This article explores cross-sectoral alliances as mechanisms for enhancing service delivery in public education. We assess the extent to which the three economic sectors-nonprofit, for-profit, and public-are involved in partnerships with charter schools and identify the benefits that charter schools receive from partnering with other organizations. Copyright (c) 2004 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.