Charter Schools

by Weil, Danny K.

• ISBN13: 9781576072455
• ISBN10: 1576072452
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: Abc-Clio Inc

Summary

A timely work that examines this unusual experiment and the controversies that surround public choice and charter schools as a means of educational reform.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(32)
The Emergence of Charter Schools	1	(2)
Who Selects Charter Schools?	3	(1)
Does Everyone Support Charter Schools?	4	(2)
Defining a Charter School	6	(1)
Differences between Charter Schools and Other Educational Reforms	7	(5)
Vouchers	7	(1)
Magnet Schools	8	(1)
Privatization of Schools	9	(1)
School On-Site Management	10	(1)
The Debate over Educational Standards and Assessment	11	(1)
Why Charter Schools?	12	(1)
Educational Choice	13	(3)
Why Educational Stakeholders Choose Charter Schools	16	(13)
Parental Frustration	16	(5)
Teacher Frustration	21	(5)
Student Frustration	26	(3)
Conclusion	29	(4)
Chronology	33	(6)
Curriculum and Instructional Approaches	39	(24)
A General Look at What Some Charter Schools Are Doing	39	(5)
Preserving Native-American Heritage	39	(1)
Oakland Charter Academy	40	(1)
A Curriculum Designed by Children	41	(1)
Alianza Bilingual Immersion Model	42	(2)
A Back-to-Basics Charter School	44	(1)
A Specific Look at What Some Charter Schools Are Doing	44	(17)
Freire Charter School	44	(5)
Minnesota New Country School	49	(3)
O'Farrell Community School	52	(4)
Mater Center Charter School	56	(2)
Pimeria Alta School	58	(3)
Conclusion	61	(2)
Charter Schools and the Law	63	(32)
State Laws That Affect Charter Schools	66	(6)
Funding and the Law	66	(1)
Charter School Costs	66	(1)
Charter School Funding	67	(2)
District Revenues and the Law	69	(1)
Teacher Issues and the Law	69	(1)
Admission Policies and the Law	70	(1)
Autonomy and the Law	70	(1)
Equity and the Law	70	(1)
Accountability and the Law	71	(1)
Legal Accountability of Charter Schools	72	(1)
Understanding Charter School Laws in One State: Michigan	72	(3)
Directions in the Law	75	(1)
Looking at Charter Laws State by State	76	(10)
Starting a Charter School	86	(9)
Doing a Situational Analysis	87	(1)
Assembling a Core Group of True Believers	87	(1)
Designing the Plan	88	(2)
Gaining Approval for the Charter	90	(1)
After Approval: Opening the School	90	(1)
Developing, Enabling, and Sustaining a Learning Community	91	(4)
Politics and the Charter School Challenge	95	(42)
Historical Background	95	(20)
American Industrialism and the Factory School	96	(9)
Post-World War II Politics of Public Education	105	(3)
The 1960s and the Politics of Education	108	(2)
Conservatism, the 1980s, and the Politics of Public Education	110	(5)
School Choice and the Politics of the Charter Movement in the 1990s	115	(17)
The Politics of School Choice	116	(1)
The Emergence of Public Choice	117	(2)
Competition and Public School Choice	119	(3)
Charter School Supporters	122	(3)
Opposition to Public Choice and the Charter School Movement	125	(1)
The Controversy over For-Profit Management Firms	126	(2)
The Controversy over the Segregation of Schools	128	(2)
Admission Practices and Discrimination	130	(1)
Undecided Educators and Unanswered Questions	131	(1)
Conclusion	132	(5)
Teachers' Unions and Charter Schools	137	(28)
Introduction	137	(4)
Where Unions and Anti-Union Charter Proponents Agree	141	(3)
Combating Privatization	144	(6)
Charter School Reliance on Private Resources	146	(1)
The Privatization of School Management	147	(2)
Contracting Out for Specific Services	149	(1)
Union Positions on Charter School Legislation and Development	150	(9)
Standards and Accountability	150	(3)
Accessibility to Charter Schools	153	(2)
Teacher Professionalism	155	(1)
Collective Bargaining and Charter Schools	155	(1)
Teacher Certification	156	(1)
Local District Approval of Charter Schools	157	(1)
Public Accountability and Charter Schools	158	(1)
Transforming Teachers' Unions: Rethinking Roles and Responsibilities	159	(3)
Summary	162	(3)
Organizations, Associations, and Government Agencies	165