Charter Schools

Strong Teachers, Good Design Important for Virtual Charters to Succeed

Education Dive, July 11, 2019, by Shawna De La Rosa Students in online charter schools have generally performed less well than their peers in brick-and-mortar classrooms, but this doesn’t have to be the case. With specific strategies, online schools can be a viable alternative to traditional public education, according to a new report from Public […]

Meeting the Potential of a Virtual Education: Lessons from Operators Making Online Schooling Work

In general, virtual charter schools have had poor outcomes. A 2015 study from CREDO (the Center for Research on Education Outcomes) found that, on average, students enrolled in online charter schools lost 180 days of learning in math and 72 days of learning in reading compared to similar students in brick-and-mortar schools. But virtual schools […]

Forging Parent Partnerships to Better Serve Students with Special Needs

Walton Family Foundation, July, 9, 2019, by Johannah Chase Report details how charter schools and parents can work together to improve outcomes for students with disabilities Parents are the experts on their children. They know the hidden strengths they possess, talents that schools might not easily unearth. They understand the unique challenges their children experience in a […]

Why Charter Champions Should Partner with Parents to Support Students with Disabilities: New Report from Public Impact

In Better Together: Why Charter School Champions and Parent Advocates Should Partner to Better Support Students with Disabilities, Public Impact issues a call to action for charter champions—including charter associations, city-based education organizations and other reform organizations that see charters as an integral piece of a thriving system of public schools—to form and deepen partnerships […]

How Charter School Facility Incubators Can Overcome Common Charter Barrier: Case Study from Public Impact

Charter schools frequently confront inadequate facility funding, few affordable and suitable buildings, inadequate facility expertise among charter founders, and gradual expansion of enrollment and grade levels that requires more or new space. Charter school facility incubators provide affordable, short-term space for new and growing charter schools. In a new report, Charter School Facility Incubators: A […]

Parent Power: To Improve Special Education in Charter Schools, Tap Students’ Original Advocates — Their Families — Report Says

The 74, June 28, 2019, by Beth Hawkins When it comes to living up to their obligation to serve students with disabilities, public charter schools face a host of challenges. In addition to the perennial headache of underfunding, there are bureaucratic constraints, a woeful lack of teacher preparation in special education and difficulty finding and […]

Better Together: Why Charter School Champions & Parent Advocates Should Partner to Better Support Students with Disabilities

This call to action explains why partnerships to better support students with disabilities are needed, the forms they might take, and how to get started.

Charter School Facility Incubators: A Case Study of Washington, D.C.’s Innovative Approach to Charter School Facilities

Case study provides an in-depth look at the design and operations of Building Pathways, a charter facility incubator in Washington D.C.

Big Ambitions: IDEA Public Schools Aims High for Growth + Quality

In 2000, IDEA Public Schools opened its first campus on the U.S.-Mexico border. Today, IDEA operates 79 schools serving 45,000 students in six regions, proving that it’s possible to grow rapidly while maintaining quality. And IDEA plans to keep its foot on the gas. It’s on track to enroll 100,000 students by 2022, and one […]