This report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) profiles six charter schools that have “proved successful at closing the achievement gap for their largely African American and Latino student populations” and examines the different enrollment strategies at the schools, with some focused on underserved areas and others being more representative of their entire city. The report features West Denver Prep and DSST Public Schools, both of Denver, Colorado; Achievement Prep and E.L.
Denver Public Schools' Framework for Effective Teaching is a model that charter schools might want to further explore when designing teacher evaluation systems.
Through multimedia, including videos and downloadable publications, the Colorado League of Charter Schools has built a comprehensive website to guide individuals interested in developing new charter schools or replicating a successful model in a new location. Although some resources are applicable to those wishing to start a charter school in Colorado only, the documents pertaining to SMART goals, writing grants, and other topics are pertinent to all audiences throughout the country.
Developed as a collaborative effort between the Colorado League of Charter Schools, the Colorado Department of Education, and the Charter School Institute, the Starting a Charter School in Colorado website was designed to help prospective developers navigate the application process. Included are an application process flowchart, an application checklist and review rubric, and Colorado-specific contract resources.
This 2002 report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute focuses on conditions in four states that have influenced the development of charter schools in suburban communities. The context for charter schools in suburban Colorado, New Jersey, and Connecticut is described and then compared to conditions in Illinois. The report by Pushpam Jain of the University of Maine covers the role of laws, parents, state agency support, and the impact of issues such as desegregation.
This study, conducted by RAND researchers, used student-level data to compare public charter schools in Chicago, San Diego, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee, and the states of Ohio, Texas, and Florida, with traditional public schools.
The National Charter School Resource Center and the U.S. Department of Education hosted a full-day conference in New Orleans on May 12, 2011, titled Transforming Urban Public Education: Exploring the Potential of City-Based Strategies. The presenters explored emerging city-based movements that are embracing high-quality charter schools as an integral component of citywide reform initiatives that are designed to improve the quality of public education for all students.
Through a combination of policy analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools produced this April 2011 report on charter schools that were able to secure vacant public school facilities from their local districts. The report concludes with a series of best practices recommendations based on the profiles.
This April 2010 issue brief by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools investigates “autonomy in action” through case studies documenting the experience of five high-performing charter schools.
