Leadership/Entrepreneurship / Project Summaries
Charter Management Organizations: A National Study of Scale-Up and Strategic Planning
October 2008 - Present
The Center on Educational Governance (CEG) 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 currently 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 another member 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 policy at the federal, state and local levels.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education.
Urban School Districts Reform Initiative
July 2005 - Present
Four urban school districts were awarded 3-year implementation grants by the Weingart Foundation, as part of its Urban School Districts Reform Initiative. The Initiative was launched in 2006 with the goal of supporting targeted reform efforts in smaller (5000-35,000 students) urban school districts educating high numbers of low-income students. The CEG research team assisted the Weingart Foundation in developing the Initiative and in selecting the four districts. During the grant period, the research team facilitated a collaborative learning community among the four districts, and evaluated implementation across the four reform projects.
Funding Source: Weingart Foundation.
