This 2013 report from the PEW Charitable Trusts focuses on the use of closed public school district buildings in 12 cities. The report notes that charter schools have occupied 42 percent of the surplus buildings in the cities since 2005 and that more than 300 unused sites remain.
This 2011-12 Wisconsin Charter Schools Yearbook from the state’s Department of Public Instruction covers the history, operation, funding, and legal requirements of charter schools in the state. The number of charter school across the state grew from 17 in the 1997-98 school year to 232 in 2011-12, when 40 new charter schools opened. A list of schools, including brief descriptions, is provided.
REL Midwest hosted this December 2011 webinar for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders across all seven REL Midwest states to increase their understanding of the research on charter school effectiveness and authorizing policies in the region. Dr. Mark Berends of the National Center on School Choice provided an overview of findings from rigorous research evaluating charter school effectiveness and identified specific evidence-based practices associated with high-performing charter schools.
This feature article from the Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center’s October 2011 E-Newsletter offers a review of the charter school landscape in Wisconsin and Illinois, as well as in its national context.
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.
This 2007 article describes seven alternative certification programs in detail, drawing on interviews and document reviews. The seven programs are: Teacher Education Institute in Elk Grove, California, Unified School District; Milwaukee’s Metropolitan Multicultural Teacher Education Program; North Carolina’s NC TEACH; New Jersey Provisional Teacher Program; New York City Teaching Fellows Program; Teach for America; and the Texas Region XIII Education Service Center’s Educator Certification Program.
Teacher turnover in charter schools is more likely driven by the same factors that lead teachers to leave traditional public schools than a so-called “charter effect,” according to a September 2010 report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
This EducationNext article by Beth Hawkins explores two teacher-led charter schools, the School for Urban Planning and Architecture in Milwaukee and New Country in Minnesota.
