Charter Schools - Publications

Proceedings of the National Charter School Authorizers and Sponsors Symposium - These proceedings summarize the March 2003 National Charter School Authorizers and Sponsors Symposium held in Portland, Oregon. The focus is on issues confronting authorizers, sponsors, and other stakeholders in the area of school choice, with the overall aim of producing better-run public schools of choice and ultimately increase student achievement.

NW Education: The Wild Blue Yonder: Charter Schools Fly Into the Unknown (Spring 2001) - The U.S. charter school movement is 10 years old this year. In the Northwest, charters were slow to get a toehold, lagging behind such pioneering states as Minnesota, Arizona, and California. But by now they've been around long enough for patterns of both promise and concern to emerge. Here we take you inside this bold new experiment in school reform and show you how it looks from the Northwest perspective. With Alaska taking the lead and Oregon and Idaho close behind, charter schools are carving out a definite niche in the region's school choice mix. Where these brave pioneers are headed is still a big unknown. But the journey is sure to be an adventure.

"Charter Starters": Leadership Training Workbook Series - This series of workbooks provides materials and resources in the following five core content areas: start-up logistics, regulatory issues, assessment and accountability, governance and management, and community relations. A training guide is also available for those providing technical assistance to charter schools.

Charter Schools and Community Relations :Video & Annotated Transcript - Charter Schools and Community Relations is a 40 minute video and annotated transcript. The package features six charter school and public relations experts discussing vital community relations issues, responding to difficult scenarios, and giving their best tips to an audience of over 70 charter school founders, developers, researcher and teachers from 15 different states. The combination is an excellent community relations resource for all types of schools.

Choice Matters: Policy Alternatives and Implications for Charter Schools (1998) - Examines the assumptions and values underlying the charter school movement, discusses the implications for education policy, and offers answers to the question: What must policymakers consider to ensure that charter schools work as their founders and supporters intend?
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Meeting the Equity Challenge in Public Charter Schools (1998) - Designed to increase awareness of the equity issues embedded in operating a charter school, and to help its staff to ensure equitable, high-quality education for all students, this guide looks at seven specific equity challenges, examines key equity issues and strategies to address them, and gives a summary of relevant equity legislation.
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A Profile of the Leadership Needs of Charter School Founders (1998) - This report provides descriptions and analysis of the leadership needs of charter school founders and the obstacles that charter school founders and leaders face in developing and sustaining successful schools.
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Founding Charter Schools: A Basic Guide to Working with News Media (1998) - Written specifically for those who are in the planning stages of forming a charter school, this basic guide offers some of the fundamentals of accessing, establishing relationships with, and working with media.

Charter Schools at the Crossroads: A Northwest Perspective (1996) - Proceedings of the Northwest Symposium for Charter School Policy