ED, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, is currently sponsoring a number of research and technical support initiatives related to charter schools. These various projects are intended to assist charter schools in their development, as well as to provide information on the status and progress of charter schools nationwide. More information about all of the initiatives listed in this chapter may be found in the Federal Support section of the US Charter Schools web site.18
Research and Studies
National Study of Charter Schools. At the recommendation of Congress, ED sponsored a nationwide comprehensive study to help charter school leaders and policy makers understand charter schools and learn how they can operate most successfully. This four-year study, which began in 1995, was conducted by Research, Policy and Practice (RPP) International and the University of Minnesota Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI). It includes an annual survey of charter schools, site visits, and analyses of charter school policy issues.
In an effort to document and analyze the charter school movement, this study provides descriptive information on the number and type of charter schools that become operational and factors that facilitate or hinder the charter schools' development and implementation. It analyzes the impact of charter schools on student achievement and on local and state public education systems. The first-year report included data from 90 percent of all charter schools in operation during the 1995-1996 school year. During the third and fourth years, the study attempted to obtain data from all operating charter schools.
Research on Charter School Accountability. A key feature of charter schools is that they are to be held accountable for meeting the standards of student performance stated in their charter and for following equitable procedures in student admissions. This two-year study on charter school accountability, initiated by the Center on Reinventing Public Education in 1997, documents ways charter schools and government agencies approach accountability, and traces the consequences of different accountability methods for schools' ability to pursue coherent instructional programs and serve families and children.
Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities. This two-year study, conducted by the Research Triangle Institute between 1997 and 1999, examines how charter schools serve students with disabilities through intensive case studies in 32 charter schools nationwide. Research includes the reasons parents are enrolling students with disabilities in charter schools, the nature of services provided, and the outcome goals charter schools have for students with disabilities. A 1998 preliminary report may be found at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/chartdisab/.
Charter School Finance. The American Federation of Teachers, in conjunction with Policy Studies Associates, Inc., began a two-year study of charter school finance in September 1998. The study aims to determine whether states' policies and practices for charter school finance help meet the policy goals set forth in their charter school legislation. Areas of study include charter schools' access to funding and other resources, spending patterns, level of financial independence, and extent of financial oversight. The entire report can be obtained at http://www.aft.org/charterfinance/home.htm.
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has, since the late 1980's, conducted a number of surveys designed to collect data on the characteristics of schools and school staff. The effort includes an integrated set of surveys that collect information on schools, their principals, and their teachers. SASS is a comprehensive national survey concerning the school work force and aspects of teacher supply and demand. It provides information on teacher qualifications, school involvement, class size, and many other topics that can be used to describe schooling. More information is available on their web site at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass.
Evaluation of the National Public Charter School Program. This study examines the impact of the federal charter schools program on the development and implementation of charter schools. The evaluation will look at how the program encourages the development of charter schools, including the effects of state grantees and charter granting entities. It will identify the key characteristics of federally funded charter schools, including flexibility provisions, educational approaches, accountability structures, student achievement systems, and the extent to which specific population are targeted.
The Charter School Roadmap. Commissioned by the National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance Policymaking and Management, and sponsored by ED, this publication provides a survey or 'map' of the charter school landscape and the differences between laws in different states through 1998. Prepared by the Education Commission of the States and the National Conference of State Legislatures, the document helps guide policymakers through areas they need to examine in their initial consideration of charter schools or their reevaluation of existing charter school legislation. View the entire document at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Roadmap/intro.html.
Study of Growth in Student Achievement. Recognizing the importance of accountability in education, ED has awarded a contract to the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs to study how effective public schools measure growth in student achievement. With the help of nationally recognized assessment experts, the project will first develop criteria for effective school-level student assessments. The project will solicit nominations for schools whose assessment programs meet these criteria, and will ultimately choose thirty outstanding public schools — 15 charter schools and 15 other public schools — to study. Results will be shared via Internet and published material, and a conference will convene to discuss the lessons learned from the study. To view the executive summary from the final report, visit http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/school-change/research.htm.
Project SEARCH (Special Education as Requirements in Charter Schools). Project SEARCH is a qualitative research study at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) funded under a field-initiated grant from ED, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The research is designed to investigate current special education policies and practices in charter schools and develop a set of policy recommendations. A variety of data gathering strategies are being used, including structured phone interviews and site visits, to study policy issues related to the administration of special education in charter schools. The culminating activity will be the development of a set of policy recommendations that will be presented for review and validation at a national policy meeting of federal-, state- and district-level general and special educators, parents, representatives of charter schools, and other interested parties. To learn more about Project SEARCH, visit their web site at: http://www.nasdse.org/project_search.htm.
Study of Competing Strategies for Education Reform. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is supporting a 3-year field-initiated study involving charter schools. This study, to be completed by December 2000, assesses two competing strategies for educational reform in Michigan: Charter Schools and Professional Development Schools. Through comparative case studies of charter schools and professional development schools, the research team is examining the degree to which each strategy is successful in addressing and overcoming common obstacles to educational reform. These include the creation and sustenance of school communities, the establishment of standards and accountability for meeting them, and the development of strategies to "scale up" reforms from the individual school to the broader education system.
Projects
U.S. Charter Schools Web Site. The U.S. Charter Schools (USCS) web site, first opened to the public in April 1997, provides technical assistance information to charter school operators and developers. This information clearinghouse and on-line community was developed by WestEd in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education. The site is located at http://www.uscharterschools.org.
Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL) Charter School Leadership Academy. The purpose of the NWREL Charter School Leadership Academy was to demonstrate and assess strategies for leadership training for those who were in the process of founding charter schools. The outcome of the project includes specific curriculum, training strategies, and a replicability plan for national dissemination. The project was conducted by NWREL and was funded by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, visit the project's web site at http://www.nwrel.org/charter/academy.html.
SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) Leaders Institute. The SERVE Leaders Institute was a three-year project that addressed the challenges faced by charter and other public school leaders. The Institute provided opportunities for leaders to collaborate and leverage resources for mutual benefit. The leadership program was based on: innovative learning experiences that are supported with multiple technologies; content grounded in the practical issues faced by today's school leaders; the inclusion of individuals who are excited by challenges, committed to creating change, demonstrating continuous learning, and representing diverse communities; and results-driven formative evaluation models which provide data for both individual and program success. Though funding ended in 1999, useful information may be found at, http://www.serve.org/leaders/.
SRI International and the National Education Association (SRI/NEA). A collaboration between SRI and the NEA Charter School Initiative, this project was designed to develop and assess strategies for promoting communication and sharing of practices between charter schools and other potential partners. It built on a five-year effort by the NEA to work with ten schools, including charter schools in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, and Hawaii. The project concluded its work in September 1999, producing a final report entitled, "We're Here to Complete and not Compete." For a copy of this publication, please contact Nancy Adelman of SRI International at (703) 247-8434.
Cross Fertilization of Ideas and Practices (Project #2). TERC, the City on the Hill Charter Public High School , and the Jeremiah Burke High School are collaborating to create a teacher-researcher community to work on the shared goals of improving mathematics education in the city of Boston and preparing all students to study calculus by the 12th grade. A team of teachers and researchers meet monthly throughout the school year, in structured, day-long meetings, to reflect on their own work as mathematicians, their classroom practices, and broader systemic issues. Funding for this project will be ending in September 2000.
Employer-Linked Charter School Project. Public Policy Associates, in collaboration with the National Alliance of Business and Michigan Future, Inc., is working to support the development of new employer-linked, career-oriented charter schools. The first phase of the project featured the development of a national inventory of existing career-oriented charter programs along with case studies of selected schools. The case studies capture compelling descriptions, images, and success stories to be shared with business and other community stakeholders potentially interested in developing new employer-linked charter schools. The full text of these reports, as well as a Practitioner's Guide and other useful technical assistance materials, are available at the project's web site.19 The second phase of the project focuses on outreach activities which will link the project's "Talent Bank" of educators and employers with experience in developing career-oriented charter school programs to a learning network of school organizers and developers interested in developing similar programs. In addition, site-based technical assistance will be offered on a limited basis. This multifaceted approach to disseminating project findings and materials should stimulate the development of a significant number of new employer-linked charter schools in the next 12 to 24 months.
Council for Basic Education (CBE) Charter School Teacher Fellowship Program. To strengthen the academic content of public charter schools in the United States, the Council for Basic Education (CBE) developed the Charter School Teacher Fellowship Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The summer 2000 program is designed for three-member teams of teachers from charter schools in the United States to spend six weeks of self-directed, independent study to focus on serious ideas that support the academic content of the curriculum. Awards of $8,000 are made to teams that consist of a team of K-12 teachers in public charter schools. Each teacher will receive $2,500, and $500 will be awarded to the charter school for books and materials directly related to the fellowship.
Interactive CD-ROM Business Software. ED has made a Phase II award under the Small Business Innovative Research Contract program to support the development of software that charter school administrators might use to resolve some of their administrative issues. Seward Learning Systems, Inc. is developing an electronic performance support system consisting of an integrated CD-ROM and interactive Web site to teach basic business processes, including budgeting, financing, fundraising, fund accounting, and managing the financial, legal, and human resource aspects of charter schools. SLS may be contacted directly at (612) 721-4444 or on the web at http://www.sewardls.com.
18 http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/fs/index.htm
19 (http://www.employercharterschools.com)