Authorizing Charters: ‘Helping Mom and Pops in Ohio’

Excerpted from an upcoming book, this Fall 2010 Education Next article describes lessons learned by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s half-decade of experience as an authorizer of 10 “mom and pop” charter schools in Ohio.The article describes the foundation’s experiences after becoming a charter school authorizer in 2005, including schools that “sponsor hopped” in the face of new accountability measures, the benefits of providing technical assistance such as training and outside evaluation, and the challenges of financial hurdles and reporting requirements.