As an avenue of educational reform and organizational restructuring within public education, school choice has gained in popularity over the last twenty years. The charter school movement, in particular, has enjoyed a high growth rate since its introduction in 1992. Advocates of charter schools claim the schools' regulatory freedom and unique structure foster improved academic performance and educational success. However, the literature shows charter school students' performance is typically below and, at best, on par with that of neighboring public school peers. Given this mismatch of purported academic advantage and observed performance, this study aims to add to the literature by explaining why parents choose charter schools and remain in charter schools. Using the Texas Education Agency's 2006 Survey of Charter School and Traditional School Parents this study will examine why parents consider different aspects of schooling more important than others. Survey responses will be analyzed to explain possible relationships between factors affecting charter school enrollment, race, and socioeconomic status. / Master of Science

The advent of charter schools has been one of the biggest reform initiatives in the history of schooling in the US: charters have significantly altered the landscape of many of our country’s largest public-school systems (Bracey, 2002; Hassel, 2009; Hill, 2006). Recent studies have examined a number of aspects of charter school leadership; however, there has been little research on charter school chief executive officers (CEO). The CEO is a relatively new role that oversees the entire charter school or network and is almost always independent of the principal. This mixed-methods study examined the organizational dynamics of Philadelphia Charter School CEOs by using a survey, personal interviews, and quantitative data analysis to obtain information regarding all CEOs of Philadelphia. Interviews were focused on the CEO job role and day-to-day duties, CEO successes and struggles, and what prior experiences prepared CEOs for this role. The quantitative findings show two correlations: suggesting that male CEOs and CEOs of stand-alone schools are in charge of schools with higher school performance. Five common themes emerged across CEOs during interviews: loneliness, overconfidence, under preparedness, non-traditional career path, and having a prior work experience in the field of education was crucial to success. Lastly, it was discovered that certifications and prior education experience were not commonplace for current CEOs, 19 of the 64 CEOs in this study did not have prior education experience. / Educational Leadership

Packer and Goicoechea (2000) and Wortham (2006) propose that academic learning is both personal and social transformation. This transformation is continuously negotiated through classroom interaction and curricular choices. The current ethnographic study of an urban southwestern charter high school investigates academic learning in two contexts: a Spanish heritage-language (SHL) class and a humanities class.The study examines Mexican-origin students' resistance to studying their ancestral language. From the first day of their SHL class, students refused to speak Spanish (despite their proficiency), rejected published Spanish-language materials, and acted out. Student resistance was rooted in their perceived lack of relevant tasks and materials, teacher-respect for their home language and culture, and student belief that learning "proper Spanish" could threaten social and familial relationships (see also Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Labov, 1972a; Mehan, Hubbard, & Villanueva, 1994).The resistance of the heritage language learners contrasts sharply with the engagement of the same students in their Humanities course in which students connect enthusiastically with subject matter and instructor. Findings suggest that engagement was fostered through the teacher's strict adherence to the principles of place-based learning (Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b), critical democratic pedagogy (Shor, 1992), and the instructor's teacher ethos.Latinos have the greatest high school dropout rate in the United States while simultaneously being the largest growing demographic group (Carreira, 2003; "US Census Report," 2004; Waggoner, 2000). The pairing of these two statistics should draw alarm. Thus the study of Latino student engagement and resistance to academic learning is crucial for understanding this problem as well as exploring what pedagogies hold most promise. In terms of HL instruction, analyses reveal that a critical place-based approach to heritage-language instruction holds such promise.

The main purposes of this study are (1) to clarify the function of NEA and AFT and original source of law, concrete action, and case study relating to teachers¡¦ rights. (2) to explore the roles of American teacher organizations in dealing with controversial events related to teachers. (3) to discuss the strategies American teacher organizations adopt in striving for the rights of teachers. (4) to make recommendations to the development of teacher organizations in Taiwan. The scope of this study includes three important controversial events related to teachers: charter school, strike and takeover. Moreover, the subjects of the study are as following: (1)charter school: Minnesota, Michigan, Washington;(2)strike: Philadelphia School District, Detroit School District, Chicago School District;(3)takeover: Cleveland School District, Philadelphia School District, Newark School District. In order to achieve the above purposes, this study had adopted content analysis and Bereday¡¦s comparative studies. Firstly, to describe and interpret the subjects of the study. Secondly, four tentative conclusions were achieved: 1. Because local teacher organizations are affiliated with different teacher organizations (NEA or AFT), they pay attention to different educational issues. 2. When teacher organizations deal with controversial events related to teachers, they adopt systematic strategies and steps. 3. The criteria whether teacher organizations support or oppose the controversial events is based on self-interest and the quality of public education. 4. The trend of the merge of NEA and AFT affects the cooperation of two teacher organizations and their local organizations in dealing with controversial events related to teachers. To support the four hypotheses above, four findings were concluded: 1. The operation of teacher organizations is accordance with systemic strategic. 2. The controversial events which teacher organizations oppose usually violate teachers¡¦ rights and public education. 3. The cooperation among teacher organizations is the trend of changing time. 4. The role of teacher organizations deeply affects the educational reform of nation. Finally, suggestions based on the research findings were proposed to the educational authorities, teacher organizations, and future research.

Georgia Charter School Act of 1998 intends to increase student achievement through academic and organizational innovations, and increased flexibility granted to charter schools. With the legislative intent in mind, the primary purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which student achievement in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools differ across the Georgia start-up charter schools and charter system schools as measured by the achievement, progress, and achievement gap scores of 2014 Georgia’s College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI). The data set, which is publicly available on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement website and Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) website, includes 87 start-up charter schools and 265 charter system schools in operation during the school year 2013-14 as reported by the GADOE Office of District Flexibility and Governmental Affairs. Informed by the legislative intent for the Georgia charter school law, the review of the literature conducted for this study examined innovations and increased autonomy in charter schools followed by the student achievement studies involving charter schools across the nation. The method of Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to analyze the data, following the selection of the sample through propensity score matching procedure. The Factorial ANOVA procedure revealed no significant differences between the mean scores for charter system schools and start-up charter schools as far as the achievement, progress, and achievement gap components of the 2014 CCRPI are concerned. This result led to the conclusion that start-up charter schools and charter system schools fulfill their legislative obligation of increasing student achievement to a similar extent. This study contributes to the policy and political dialog surrounding charter schools. Results from the analysis will: (a) reveal which type of charter school fulfills statutory obligations of increasing student achievement more effectively, (b) inform legislators in adopting new laws or revising current laws regarding school choice options, (c) help leaders of charter systems decide whether to introduce or expand start-up charter school offerings in their district portfolios, and (d) help parents choose the best school option among those available.

abstract: This dissertation is based on an empirical study that focused on student reenrollment, an essential but largely overlooked element of school choice policies. Based on the school choice literature, I extended the hypothesis of parental charter school choice to the subject of reenrollment. In doing so, I referred jointly to theories from the fields of public choice and business, in order to better understand student reenrollment in a maturing education market. By tracking student enrollment records over multiples years and linking them to school attributes (socio-economic status, racial/ethnic composition of the student body, school quality label), student demographics, and student academic performance, I established a complex student reenrollment database. I applied a rigorous statistical model to this data, allowing me to identify a number of important insights about student reenrollment in a maturing education market. I described the reenrollment patterns at the state level, as well as a predictive model of reenrollment outcome at the individual level. My analyses indicate that student reenrollment was the most common school choice outcome: most students reenrolled in their present schools, regardless of that school's quality label; however, the student reenrollment rates in charter schools were lower than those in traditional public schools. I observed patterns of segregation in student reenrollment within Arizona, as reenrollment appeared to be significantly polarized with respect to school attributes and students' characteristics. There were two distinct patterns that appeared to coexist in Arizona's student reenrollment data: quality-oriented reenrollment and similarity-oriented reenrollment. The findings of this study extend the school choice literature to include student reenrollment. This study challenges the application of market metaphors in the context of school choice, which generally advocate the reform of public schools through encouraging students to switch, promoting school competition and thereby improving public education quality. Instead of using command and control policies to shame schools into improvement, however, policymakers and parents should employ school accountability policies and the practice of school labeling as a trigger to reinvest in struggling schools, rather than encouraging students to find a new one. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

Prior to 1998 charter schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia were non-existent. Students who wanted to be educated in ways alternative to public education would need to seek out private schools or homeschooling. The Patrick Henry School of Arts and Sciences (PHSSA), a year round elementary charter school in the City of Richmond, is the first elementary charter school in Virginia. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the events and actions that led to the establishment and operation of PHSSA, as a public charter school. The main research question for this study is, what has occurred and had to be overcome in order to enable the first elementary public charter school in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be approved and to continue as a charter, renewed twice for a total existence of 10 years? This research provides recommendations for those seeking to implement and continue the renewal of a charter school where the authorizer is a local school board. Participants interviewed were representatives of the community--parents and community leaders--who were involved in the startup of Patrick Henry at various stages of its existence. A systematic method of document review and structured interviews of key informants was conducted. Analysis revealed the problems and successes of this elementary charter school. Outcomes from the interviews should foster understanding of the creation and continued renewal of charter schools in Virginia. The study may provide counsel for future public charter school endeavors in the Commonwealth. / Doctor of Education / Public charter schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia began with the authorization of public charters in 1998. As written in the Code of Virginia (§ 22.1-212.5): Public charter schools in Virginia are nonsectarian, nonreligious, or non-home-based alternative schools located within a public school division. The Patrick Henry School of Arts and Sciences (PHSSA), a year-round elementary charter school in the city of Richmond, is the first elementary charter school in Virginia. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the events and actions that led to the establishment and operation of PHSSA. This study provides recommendations for those seeking to implement and continue the renewal of a charter school. Participants interviewed were representatives of the community--parents and community leaders--who were involved in the startup of PHSSA. Outcomes from the interviews should provide understanding of the creation and continued renewal of charter schools in Virginia. It also may provide guidance for future public charter school endeavors in the Commonwealth. .

The need to spur innovation and improve student performance initiated the formation of, under different legislative acts, charter schools that include variations of traditional public schools. With the enthusiasm and level of investment going into the formation of charter schools, it is necessary to explore whether these schools have achieved their objectives. This study explored whether Texas open enrollment charter schools perform bettered compared to Texas public schools. The study applied a causal comparative quantitative research design. School data on graduation and dropout rates, college preparation, attendance rates, and overall performance were analyzed quantitatively. Student achievement data available for statistical analysis includes student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) state assessment from 2007 to 2011. Data analysis for race, special programs, at risk, economically disadvantaged, and limited English proficiency was incorporated. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance techniques were included in the data analysis. The analysis extended to post hoc tests to determine variables that caused variation. The study found Texas open-enrollment charter schools had more African American students but fewer Whites compared to public schools. Students in public schools performed better than those in charter schools, and Whites yielded the best performance. Charter schools had high dropout rates, low attendance, and low graduation rates, while public schools had low dropout rates, high attendance, and high graduation rates. Finally, public schools had more students ready for college than charter schools.

No description available.

No description available.