Twelve studies find that overall gains in charter schools are larger than other public schools; four find charter schools’ gains higher in certain significant categories of schools; six find comparable gains; and, four find that charter schools’ overall gains lagged behind traditional schools.
Source: Charter School Achievement: What We Know, July 2005 Update
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In the Site Visitors Team Leader Guide, the Colorado League of Charter Schools assists volunteers in how to report the findings of their site visits. This brief document guides site visitors in how to record their observations and how to craft both commendations and recommendations.
1. The first page would be an introduction and overview written by the team leader. The names of the team members should be listed. This is not the place for much detail or substance, just a quick summary of the nature of the visit and what the team found.
See sample, "Introduction to the Report," from a League-sponsored visit
2. The second page (or two) would be an Executive Summary. The purpose would be to capture the essential findings of the team. We recommend presenting, first, a few of the major strengths of the school, some of the areas where the commendations were strongest, and second, a few of the major recommendations that touch on key items for the school’s improvement and well-being.
See sample, "Executive Summary," from a League-sponsored visit
3. Under each question please provide:
Observations, Commendations, & Recommendations
The most important of these three are the Observations, to provide a mirror for the schools of what the team sees taking place, and to validate the school’s own self-study. There may be a few cases where there is little the team has to say under commendations or recommendations; in such cases, short responses will be fine.
Study the examples from past League-sponsored site visits. The numbers, 1-5, indicate that each page and example is from one of five different external reports.
Recommendations using these five examples:
- Write in complete sentences and paragraphs, as in report 1, not in bullets, such as report 2
- Provide sufficient detail in the observations, as in reports 1, 3, and 5. Some answers on report 4, for questions 3a and 3b, seem too brief and general.
- The team’s final report should include the letter of that specific question being answered, as was done in reports 2, 3, 4, and 5. If some questions are combined, as in report 1, the LETTERS OF THE COMBINED QUESTIONS should be clearly stated, so the reader knows which questions are being addressed (3a-c).
- Include, as do all five examples that follow, a subheading indicating that the following paragraph is
OBSERVATIONS
or
O
or Observations
Keep voice in third person plural:
"The observers were impressed with the staff and their ability to…" or "The team found that the school has made reasonable progress in meeting…"
Or write in the first person plural:
"We noted that…" "Our team found that…" "It was our impression that…."
Avoid any use of "I" – that would not represent a team’s findings or report.
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