Charter Schools / Project Summaries
CharterConnect.org
January 2007 - Present
Partnering with the charter school community, the Center on Educational Governance is developing an interactive Web site – CharterConnect.org – that will become the “go-to” site for information sharing and social networking for leaders in the California charter school community – founders, school directors, governing board members, charter school authorizers, policy makers, researchers, and funders and other community partners. The site will contain information about the education programs in charters and also multiple measures for assessing charter school performance.Funding Source: Ahmanson Foundation, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Skirball Foundation, Weingart Foundation.
Charter Management Organizations: A National Study of Scale-Up and Strategic Planning
October 2008 - Present
The Center on Educational Governance is studying CMO scale-up and strategic planning. CMOs are nonprofit entities that oversee a network of charter schools and that 1) have a common, identifiable mission or instructional design across all schools; 2) have a home office/unified management team that provides significant, ongoing administrative support to charter schools; and 3) manage only classroom-based sites.The study aims to include all CMOs nationwide that operate at least 3 school campuses and have established plans to scale-up in the future (about 35 CMOs). Study methods include in-depth interviews with the CMO founder(s) and other members of the administrative team (2-3 interviews per CMO). Interview questions cover factors that influence scale-up, from finance and governance/management strategies to public policies at the federal, state and local levels.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education.
The National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance
October 2006 - Present
Emerging research suggests that most charter schools that fail are forced to close for non-academic reasons, most often because of organizational mismanagement and financial difficulties. The National Resource Center on Charter School Finance and Governance (NRC) provides provides an array of information to help policy makers, charter school authorizers and operators build and support high-performing charter schools. The NRC Web site contains an information clearinghouse; promising practices related to finance and governance; state policy guides; and tools and resources to help the charter school community assess the financial strength and governance capacity of charter schools.To access the NRC Web site, please click here.
Funding Source: United States Department of Education.
Charter School Indicators - USC
August 2003 - Present
In the spring of each year, the Center on Educational Governance releases its annual report on the performance of charter schools in California, CSI-USC. The report assesses performance in terms of both academic and financial measures. Beginning with the third annual report, data are reported for individual charter schools, as well as statewide with comparisons of charter and non-charter public schools.Funding Source: Ahmanson Foundation, Haynes Foundation, Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Weingart Foundation, William E. Siart, Trustee, University of Southern California.
Promising Practices Compendium: Highlighting Innovations in Charter Schools
January 2005 - Present
The Center on Educational Governance at USC offers a Web-based compendium of promising practices. Each promising practice profile provides information about the implementation and impact of the strategy. Promising practice profiles are in two areas: educational reform and school governance. The goal of the compendium is to offer evidence-based strategies for improving the quality and sustainability of all public schools, both charter and district-run.Please click here to access the Compendium of Promising Practices.
Funding Source: Ahmanson Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, Weingart Foundation.
Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys
December 2005 - Present
The Center on Educational Governance has developed online stakeholder satisfaction surveys to assist schools in assessing their performance. The surveys assess performance from the perspectives of parents, students and staff.Survey results are useful as a school management and accountability tool. The results also offer useful information for the school accreditation and the charter school renewal processes.
Please click here to learn how your school can participate in SSS-USC.
Funding Source: Ahmanson Foundation, Weingart Foundation, William B. Siart, Trustee, University of Southern California.
Supporting the Creation of Charter Schools: Using Cross-Sectoral Alliances to Enhance Capacity
October 2001 – December 2004
In this national study, the Center on Educational Governance conducted site visits to 22 charter schools in a sample of 11 states to examine how new-start charter schools use public-private partnerships to enhance capacity. Charter schools in the study partnered with a wide variety of public organizations, nonprofit groups, and for-profit businesses to enhance everything from their facilities to the curriculum and after-school services offered to students. The study also examined the factors that motivated organizations to develop strategic alliances, and the conditions that supported or impeded such alliances.Funding Source: Ahmanson Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, US Department of Education.
Pockets of Excellence: Organizing for Literacy Achievement
September 2000 – August 2001
The purpose of the Pockets of Excellence study was to identify Los Angeles Unified School District schools that showed improvement over a two-year period in reading, and to map out their successful literacy programs and the organizational and management strategies that supported them. The purposeful sample included two district-run schools, two site-based managed schools and two charter schools.Funding Source: Center on Urban Education, University of Southern California.
Innovations in Charter Schools: Impact on Student Achievement
September 1999 – March 2002
This study examined the implementation and impact of innovations aimed at improving elementary school reading instruction in six Los Angeles-area charter schools. Innovations in management structures, such as decision-making teams and school-based councils, and in organizational processes, such as novel professional development and parent involvement, were examined. Results of the study provide information useful to both charter and non-charter schools in their attempts to improve student learning and achievement in the area of reading.Funding Source: Haynes Foundation.
Los Angeles Unified School District Charter Schools Evaluation
December 1996 - 2000
The Center on Educational Governance collaborated with WestEd on the evaluation of 14 Los Angeles area charter schools, 5 of which were up for renewal. Study methods included comparing student achievement at charter schools to achievement at similar non-charter public schools. Organizational and management strategies were also examined. Parent satisfaction/involvement with charter schools was assessed.Funding Source: Los Angeles Unified School District.
Focusing on Charter Schools: Lessons to be Learned
May 1996 – March 1998
This study investigated the early stages of charter school development in three states -- California, Massachusetts and Minnesota. Using focus groups in each state, founders and directors from a total of seventeen charter schools were brought together to consider issues around leadership and the creation of learning communities —faculty recruitment and staffing, professional development, and school committees and grade-level teams.Funding Source: Danforth Foundation.
