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Deepening disaffection with conventional public schools has inspired flight to private schools, home schooling, and new alternatives, such as charter schools. Barely a decade old, the charter school movement has attracted a colorful band of supporters, from presidential candidates, to ethnic activists, to the religious Right. At present there are about 1,700 charter schools, with total enrollment estimated to reach one million early in the century. Yet, until now, little has been known about the inner workings of these small, inventive schools that rely on public money but are largely independent of local school boards.
List of contents
Acknowledgments Introduction: Growing Charier Schools, Decentering the State Bruce Fuller The Public Square, Big or Small? Charter Schools in Political Context Bruce Fuller We Hold on to Our Kids, We Hold on Tight: Tandem Charters in Michigan Patty Yancey An Empowering Spirit Is Not Enough: A Latino Charter School Struggles over Leadership Edward Wexler and Luis A. Huerta Selling Air: New England Parents Spark a New Revolution Kate Zernike Diversity and Inequality: Montera Charter High School Amy Stuart Wells, Jennifer Jellison Holme and Ash Vasudeva Losing Public Accountability: A Home Schooling Charter Luis A. Huerta Teachers as Communitarians: A Charter School Cooperative in Minnesota Eric Rofes Breaking Away or Pulling Together? Making Decentralization Work Bruce Fuller Notes Contributors Index
Summary
The charter school movement has attracted a colorful band of supporters, from presidential candidates, to ethnic activists, to the religious Right. This book provides shrewd and illuminating studies of the struggles and achievements of these new schools, and offers practical lessons for educators, scholars, policymakers, and parents.
