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Why Public Charter Schools Must Become Even More Innovative

Bet ter.

Broader.

In their �rst 24 years, public charter schools have

demonstrated that they can be a signi�cant force

for improvement in U.S. public education. Since the

passage of the �rst charter school law in Minnesota

in 1992, the sector has spawned more than 6,700

new public charter schools serving 2.9 million

students in 43 states and Washington, D.C.1 What’s

more, a growing research base indicates that charter

schools, especially those in urban districts, often

produce better outcomes for students.2

Raising the Bar

Bigger.

School operators.

It may be tempting to think that the charter

sector can meet the challenges of “better,

broader, and bigger” simply by intensifying its

efforts, but that seems unlikely.


The public char ter sector faces t hree daunt ing challenges t hat i t must meet to achieve i ts potent ial — and cannot meet wit hout more innovat ion.

27th

17th

1,000,000+

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Pol icymakers.

Cit y-based educat ion organizat ions.

Funders.

SCHOOL OPERATORSPo

licym

akers

Funders

City-Based Education

Organizati ons


As the public charter sector approaches its 25th

birthday, it faces a set of challenges:

Simply put, the sector needs to be

and

Raising the Bar

Since 1999, a 600%-plus increase in public charter school enrollment

CREDO: In many urban areas, public charter st udents outperform students in t radit ional schools

additional days of learning in MATH

Now in 43 states and DC

additional days of learning in READING


The United States lags other economically developed count ries in math and reading

And even in cit ies where charters outperform t radit ional schools, overall performance is low

27th17th

To meet those demands, the charter sector

needs to be not just as good as it is today, but

substantially better than its current performance.

Bet ter

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Broader

The most “ disconnected” youth

1 in 3 students in rural areas and small towns

6 million-plus students with disabilit ies

4.4 million English language learners


Bigger

PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS: 359,240

52,050

24,500


140,000

68,200


36,750

18,500

ABOUT 1 MILLION STUDENTS

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THE MORAL CASE

Incremental improvement has been the norm

for decades, and the results have been tragically

disappointing.


The level of innovation in the public charter sector

is nowhere close to what is needed. A large number

of charter schools don’t break the mold. Relative

to the total number of charter schools, not many

models are dramatically different from the norm.

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Personnel

Use of space

Use of t ime

Use of technology


SINCE “ COMMON SCHOOLS” BECAME THE NORM FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO

TRANSPORTATION

TELEPHONE

DISEASES

LIFE EXPECTANCY

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The fact that more innovation has not taken off

among charter schools is not terribly surprising,

given that U.S. schools as a whole have not

changed dramatically for more than a century.


The sector is trying hard but limiting its gains

because it is working within the premises,

assumptions, and limitations of the existing

educational model when it could be innovating

more truly new educational models.

Raising the Bar

SCHOOL OPERATORSPo

licym

akers

Funders

City-Based Educa tion

Organizations


Focal points of innovat ion.

Rather than say “these are the innovations you

should pursue,” this section offers some options

for consideration on two questions:

Operators can both develop brand-new models

of schooling...and make major improvements to

their current approaches.

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USE TIME CREATIVELY

USE SPACE CREATIVELY

REVAMP ADULT ROLES

RETHINK THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE


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The key question is how to unleash the creativity

of school operators to act on these possibilities.

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Three likely pathways.


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Existing school operators also can help new

entrants get started by enabling innovators to

use their classrooms, teachers, and students

for pilots.

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Use and fund facil it ies more ef�cient ly.

Schools can use facilities more ef�ciently in a

variety of ways without sacri�cing the quality of

student and staff experience.

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SAME SPACE, TWICE AS MANY STUDENTS

SAME BUILDING AND STUDENTS, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS NEW

OPEN MORE THAN ONE GRADE AT A TIME

“ BACKFILL” TO SERVE MORE STUDENTS

WHAT DO YOU DO BEST?

grade a year

grades in 1 year


Start new schools by taking over fai l ing schools.

Rethink start -up economics.

An operator can “restart” a school by taking over

either an entire failing district school or a failing

charter school, replacing the school’s existing

leadership team or school operator organization.

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Phasing in one or two grades at a time

has a real cost.


Back�l l .

Back�lling serves more students and reduces the

need for philanthropic support.

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Share funct ions across schools and networks.

Charters cannot be 100 percent good at

everything. They should purchase more services

from those with special expertise.


Policymakers have a critical role to play in tipping

the scales of the charter sector toward innovation,

including the creation of entirely new models. As a

baseline, policymakers need to create a good basic

climate for high-quality chartering. The outlines of

such policies have been well-explained elsewhere:94

funding charter schools equitably, including for

facilities; providing charter schools with expansive

autonomy, including the ability of successful charter

schools to expand and serve as many students

as possible; and setting and acting on clear

performance expectations.

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Invest public dollars

in innovat ion-seeking

ent repreneurs and

schools

Deliberately

authorize for

innovat ion

Enable more rapid

innovat ion via

“ micro-charters”


For policymakers, making the case that they

currently “tolerate failure” routinely in existing

schools should help take a potentially sharp

political edge off the concept of innovation.

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City-based organizations build and coordinate efforts

from a variety of stakeholders — including district

leaders, school teachers and leaders, funders,

education support organizations, and policymakers

— to improve education in their cities.107

Wilmington

Baton Rouge

New Orleans

Boston

Chicago

Denver

Detroit

IndianapolisCincinnati

Kansas CityLas Vegas

Memphis

Nashville

Milwaukee

Minneapolis

OaklandRichmond

Philadelphia

Phoenix

Providence

Rochester

San Antonio

San Jose

Tulsa

Washington

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Develop a network of administ rat ive

service providers.


Create st ructures to encourage bet ter �nancial

benchmarking.

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Risk-taking.

Philanthropic funders have critical roles to play in

sparking more charter school innovation as well.

Research for this report identi�ed two ways in which

funders sometimes work against innovation.

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Managing risk.

Philanthropy can focus where it is needed the

most: at the creation and early development

stage, all the while encouraging schools to move

toward sustainability as rapidly as possible.


Invest in ent irely new models

Manage risk by using intermediaries

Create an innovat ion division

Conduct market research

to pinpoint needs

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Funders also have opportunities to invest

in other efforts that can help tip the scales

toward innovation and improvements in existing

models, especially those that foster less

reliance on philanthropy in the long term.


As the charter sector enters its second quarter-

century, it would be easy for it to rest on its past

successes, primarily in raising the bar for core

academic performance and college-going in high-

poverty, urban neighborhoods. But resting would

mean squandering an enormous opportunity facing

the charter sector: the chance to make the next

25 years an era of unprecedented innovation in the

basic design of U.S. schooling.

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The good news is that break-the-mold innovation

is within the sector’s reach. We can already see

glimpses of it in some pioneering new schools.

And we live in a nation of entrepreneurs and

inventors. What’s needed is to harness this

innate innovative power for the creation of school

models with unparalleled potential to transform

the life prospects of young Americans.


Raising the Bar