Corporations, Chambers and Charters: How Businesses Can Support High-Quality Charter Schools

 
adapted from Dana Brinson by Julie Kowal, Bryan Hassel, Jacob Rosch, and Sarah Crittenden, Instituted for a Competitive Workforce and The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, October 2008</I>

At a time when many students are not graduating from high school prepared for postsecondary education and work, two-thirds of new jobs require advanced training or a college education. Charter schools strike many business leaders as one of the most effective ways to support education and their future workforce. This guide provides specific advice to charter leaders interested in cultivating supportive relationships with business leaders, donors, and local chambers of commerce.
 
 
 

The Color of Success: Black Student Achievement in Public Charter Schools

 
by Gerard Robinson and Edwin Change, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, June 2008

In numerous communities throughout the nation, innovative, charter schools are making notable strides in advancing Black student achievement. This brief profiles seven charter schools having success in working with African American students. Leaders of these successful charter schools describe how providing a safe learning environment, having high expectations of all students, hiring high-quality staff who are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, and involving parents and the surrounding community in the life of the school have translated to student success.
 
 
 

Signs of Promise: Hispanic Student Achievement in Charter Schools

 
by Todd Ziebarth, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, November 2006

Latino children are the fastest growing and largest minority group in the United States. Alarmingly, only half of all Latino students graduate from high school. Charter schools have the potential to significantly improve Latino student academic achievement. This publication highlights four charter schools that have successfully worked with Latino students and communities. Several examples of best practices and recommendation are provided for building teacher, leader, and organizational capacity in working with Latino communities.
 
 
 

Charter School Communications Playbook

 
by Gary L. Larson, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, December 2008

The sustainability and success of a charter school depends in large measure on how well the public understands and supports its mission and goals. A thorough, well-planned strategy for communicating with the public is critical to gaining public support and building a successful charter school movement. This playbook is designed to help charter school advocates improve communication with the public via the news media and through other communications avenues.
 
 
 

The Strengths and Challenges of Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy: What the Research Says

 
By Michelle Renee and Sara McAlister, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, January 2011

Community organizing for school reform offers an urgently needed alternative to traditional approaches to school reform. The report begins by defining community organizing for school reform and describing how it works in practice and what makes it unique. The report then looks at existing evidence on the impact of community organizing and discusses its strengths and limitations.
 
 
 

Building Local Leadership for Change: A National Scan of Parent Leadership Training Programs

 
By Anne T. Henderson, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, 2010

This report describes parent leadership training programs around the country; examines their structure, curriculum, and evaluation results; and discerns lessons for New York City's Parent Training Center. The potential for parent leadership programs to impact families, students, and charter schools is huge. The program examples in this paper show that a small amount of start-up funding and a dedicated core of committed advocates can attract partners and leverage resources into a powerhouse program. Charter leaders may use the strategies here to increase parent involvement and leadership in their schools.
 
 
 

Organized Communities, Stronger Schools

 
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, May 2009

This study looked at organizing efforts by residents of seven urban communities across the country to improve their public schools. The report documents the organizing campaigns and measures the impact on three critical indictors of education reform: district-level policy, school-level capacity, and student outcomes. Charter school leaders may use the strategies here to build community support.
 
 
 

Successful Family Engagement in the Classroom: What teachers need to know and be able to do to engage families in raising student achievement and, Classroom Family Engagement Rubric

 
Lela Spielberg, Flamboyan Foundation, March 2011

Parental engagement includes several different education stakeholders and is especially important for charter schools. Charter teachers may be the most influential players when building relationships between students' families and the school. This brief and accompanying rubric outline some of the most important actions, attitudes, and practices of teachers who successfully engage families. The rubric serves as a useful tool for charter leaders who are designing and evaluating teachers and family engagement practices within their school.
 
 
 

Preparing to serve English language learner students: School Districts with Emerging English Language Learner Communities

 
Regional Education Laboratories, Institute of Education Sciences, June 2008
This report aims can help independent charter schools, with a specialized focus on rural charter schools, navigate the challenges of newly enrolling or rapidly increasing English language learner students. This guide provides background information, best practices, and a framework to build capacity to support the achievement of English
 
 
 

Spotlight On Bullying

 
Education Week, 2012
This issue brief provides charter school leaders practical tools and strategies for preventing bullying in their schools. The report focuses on the role of policymakers to end bullying, research demonstrating the effect of bullying on student performance, cyber bullying, and the "ecology" of bullying. Additionally, the report provides anti-bullying resources for charter school leaders.
 
 
 


Network of Independent Charter Schools, A Project of the Center for Educational Innovation - Public Education Association (CEI-PEA)
Public Education Association, 28 West 44th Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10036, 212.302.8800
The information, resources, guidance and advice of the Network of Independent Charter Schools do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.