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ERIC Number: ED616256
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 54
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Broken Promises: An Analysis of Charter School Closures from 1999-2017
Burris, Carol; Pfleger, Ryan
Network for Public Education
Charter schools began in the 1990s as an experimental alternative to public schools. Today they are a multi-billion dollar sector composed of both nonprofit and for-profit corporations that embrace the philosophy of the marketplace. Supporters of charters see school failure as a natural feature of the model. They argue that schools do not fail at the rate of private startups and consider that to be a success. This report provides the first comprehensive examination of charter failure rates over time--beginning in 1999 and ending in 2017. By following all charter schools, from the year they opened, the authors were able to determine how long they lasted before closing down. They also determined how many students have been displaced by failing charter schools. Findings provide strong evidence that the charter sector has a systemic problem: charter schools often fail to consistently serve communities because their existence is often short-lived. A geographic analysis that focused on three of America's poorest cities--Detroit, Tucson, and Milwaukee--was also conducted to determine where closures are concentrated. The authors found that closures were disproportionately more likely to occur in the poorest parts of cities, in census tracts where poverty rates exceed 30 percent. They also found that the reasons for closures went far beyond academic accountability, with schools shutting down for multiple reasons including mismanagement and fraud. These closures sometimes occur abruptly, leaving families scrambling to find a new school for their child, at times in the middle of the school year. In light of this report's findings, policymakers must decide whether tax dollars should continue to flow into the creation of more charter schools, given the certainty that many of these schools will fail. Or, limited funding could instead be dedicated to shoring up and reviving public schools--systems that, however challenged, are the backbone of the nation's historic commitment to serving every child with a free, public education. [This report was funded by the Lannan Foundation and Play It Forward.]
Network for Public Education. 225 East 36th Street, Apartment 10-O, New York City, New York 10016. Tel: 646-678-4477; e-mail: info@networkforpubliceducation.org; Web site: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Network for Public Education (NPE)
Identifiers - Location: Michigan (Detroit); Arizona (Tucson); Wisconsin (Milwaukee); Florida; Ohio; Texas; California; Minnesota; New York; Colorado
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A