Today some 5,600 charter schools are in operation, with more than two million students. Some critics persist in a fruitless argument that these schools have failed, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary. But regardless of your opinion about them, charter schools are here to stay. Those concerned about public education should quit debating…

In this report for the Progressive Policy Institute's 21st Century Schools Project, the author takes a close look at charter schooling in Ohio, examining the history, status quo, challenges, and the future of the charter school effort there. He finds terrific examples of success, but points out that there are some very real challenges, including…

The Texas example illustrates the challenge faced by today's charter movement: how to meet growing demand while maintaining quality. Its considerable progress is sometimes obscured by headlines about the few schools at the top that generate enormous excitement and world-class achievement and the few at the bottom that use their autonomy for unwise…

High quality after-school programs provide numerous social, family, and community benefits. In addition to helping parents balance work and life responsibilities, these programs offer prime opportunities to enhance learning--particularly for struggling students. After-school programs also help to promote equity among students by providing…

This report traces the origins, evolution and impact of Minnesota's pioneering charter school law--on its own schools, students, and communities and on the development of charter laws in many other states. It notes that, unlike what is now happening elsewhere, new schools are now being chartered at an accelerating pace in Minnesota. And because…

This report has describes how the young Indianapolis charter school initiative can claim a number of successes: (1) Many community leaders have stepped forward to spearhead the creation of charter schools, bringing new energy and resources into public education; (2) Parents have flocked to the new schools, lining up on waiting lists and noting…

In New York City and state, charter schools are slowly gaining momentum through performance that speaks for itself, and with quick action by authorizers and charter advocates when schools fail. But as the New York charter experience should demonstrate to districts and states nationwide, meeting the urgent need for systemwide improvement is far…

Arizona's charter experience over the past decade has clearly shown the power of a relatively open chartering system. Schools have sprung up in all corners of the state; parents and teachers have flocked to them in great numbers. Interesting new approaches have emerged. Quite a few of the schools have been strikingly successful. In many places,…