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Charter, Private, and Alternative Schools

girl and boy graduating from kindergarten

 

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Articles Related to Charter, Alternative & Private Schools

News About Vouchers

Michigan Charter Schools & Information

Private Schools & Information

Alternative Schools & Information

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This website lets you find free, detailed profiles of private schools and their surrounding communities. Use the tables to browse schools in each state. You can also use the different forms to find nearby private schools, or housing data about areas in your state!

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Private Schools and Home Schools - click here.

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Charter School Information

 

Getting Mad About Schools - I have spent a lot of time in the worst schools. What strikes me is how little anger is ever expressed about the mediocre lessons, low standards and decrepit conditions that characterize such places. When I ask good teachers why more is not being done, it can't be helped, they say. Getting mad won't do any good. But when Mike Feinberg became angry and did something outrageous, it did make a difference and after several other such episodes him -- he and his young and energetic staff had produced the greatest gains for low-income students anywhere in Houston, or the country for that matter.
 

Michigan Alliance for Charter School Reform (MACSR) - MACSR is an alliance of individuals and organizations working to improve public oversight of Michigan charter schools (public school academies), charter school management companies, and authorizing institutions.

 

Assessing the KIPP Schools: A New Perspective - Richard Rothstein has just published with three co-authors a short piece on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), the nation's most interesting and most successful response so far to the problem of low achievement in inner city and rural public schools. What is most important about Rothstein's article is that it leaves intact, and I think in some ways strengthens, KIPP's reputation for significantly raising the reading and math abilities of low-income children. It also makes a good case -- without actually trying to do so -- for introducing into all low-performing schools KIPP's longer school days and year, stronger motivational techniques and better principal and teacher recruitment methods.

 

New Guide! Successful Charter Schools
USDOE, October 15, 2004
Twelve years after the first charter school was launched, nearly 3,000 charter schools nationwide serve as beacons of public school innovation and reform due to an unprecedented combination of freedom and accountability: freedom to lengthen the school day, require dress codes, put teachers on school boards, and adopt any instructional practice that will help achieve the mission of building the skills students need to succeed in today's world. How these schools have boosted student achievement is the focus of a new guide from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement. Successful Charter Schools offers practical advice and concrete examples from eight charter schools, all of which are meeting state standards of accountability for all students under the No Child Left Behind Act. The charter schools range from those educating urban students in largely underserved public schools to those serving parents in more affluent communities who want an alternative to the local public school program. The first of two sections provides an overview of common elements, including organizational structure, leadership and mission, novel curricula and programs, efforts to promote a community of continuous learning, partnerships and accountability for results. It also includes such illustrative samples as one school's list of parent involvement activities for which parents commit to serve 20 hours annually. The second section provides rich descriptions about each of the schools featured, which include The Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School, Washington, D.C.; BASIS School, Inc., Tuscon, Ariz.; Community of Peace Academy, St. Paul, Minn.; KIPP Academy Houston, Houston, Texas; Oglethorpe Charter School, Savannah, Ga.; Ralph A. Gates Elementary School, Lake Forest, Calif.; Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, Boston, Mass.; and The School of Arts and Sciences, Tallahassee, Fla. For a free copy of Successful Charter Schools, while supplies last, contact the Department's publications center at 1-877-4ED-PUBS with identification number EU 0109P.

Articles Related to Charter, Alternative, and Private Schools

MI Charter Schools: 10 Years of Success and Failure - A decade after the first charter schools opened in Michigan, the alternative public schools still inspire the same kind of debate they did in 1994. Charter schools celebrated their 10-year anniversary this week, but even after a decade of operation, there's no consensus on their effectiveness. "We are basically right where we started," said Michigan State University Professor David Plank, co-director of the Education Policy Center.

 

Pioneering Charter School Remains Model for Success - Ten years ago, a group of San Carlos parents and community members took advantage of a new opportunity in public education: They ripped apart California's 7,800-page education rule book and designed a school as they saw fit.

 

MI Report Evaluates University-sponsored Schools; Many CMU Charters Miss Progress Goals - Central Michigan University, which sponsors about a third of Michigan's charter schools, has the state's third-worst record at making "adequate yearly progress" in its elementary charter programs.

 

MI No Child Puts Strain on Charters - A Michigan Department of Education analysis shows charter schools are more likely to face sanctions for failing to meet federal standards than traditional schools and are less likely to have certified teachers.

 

MI State Is Foolish to Turn Down $500 Million Gifts to Education - Inflexible policy blocks new Detroit schools and a college in Washtenaw County.

 

MI Fight for charter schools continues in Michigan - Few issues in education are as controversial as charter schools.

 

Court Case Involving Unilateral Placement: Florence County Sch. Dist. IV v. Shannon Carter (510 U. S. 7) - Shannon’s parents filed this suit in July 1986, claiming that the school district had breached its duty under IDEA to provide Shannon with a “free appropriate public education,” § 1401(a)(18), and seeking reimbursement for tuition and other costs incurred at Trident. After a bench trial, the District Court ruled in the parents’ favor. The court held that the school district’s proposed educational program and the achievement goals of the IEP “were wholly inadequate” and failed to satisfy the requirements of the Act. App. to Pet. for Cert 27a. The court further held that “[a]lthough [Trident Academy] did not comply with all the procedures outlined in [IDEA],” the school “provided Shannon an excellent education in substantial compliance with all the substantive requirements” of the statute. Id. at 37a.
 

MI Gongwer 12-14-02 Charter Bill Felled by Impatient Senate, Plodding House

 

MI Charter school study finds support is solid - MSU report may play role in effort to lift current cap.

 

Gongwer 11-27-02 Federal Regulations Could Push Up Charter Schools

  

Read the article from MIRS 7/31/02 - Cyber' Schools — Only A Matter Of Time?

 

Private Schools and Information (A - Z)

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers on Obligations of Public Agencies in Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents at Private Schools

Looking for a school with a certain disability in mind?

You can now search for schools by disability population at:  http://www.spedschools.com.

Resource: The National Association of Private Special Education Centers (NAPSEC)

A non-profit association whose mission is to represent private special education programs and affiliated state associations and to ensure access for individuals to appropriate private special education programs and services as vital components of the special education continuum. The association consists of private early intervention services, schools, residential therapeutic centers, and adult living programs that serve both privately and publicly placed individuals with disabilities.

Council for American Private Education
The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national organizations and state affiliates serving private elementary and secondary schools. Founded in 1971 to provide a coherent voice for private education, CAPE is dedicated to fostering communication and cooperation within the private school community and with the public sector to improve the quality of education for all of the nation’s children.

 

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Questions and Answers on Obligations of Public Agencies in Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents at Private Schools
Author: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Year of Publication: 2000, Length: 23 pages, NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM NICHCY

 

Alternative Schools

 

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News About Vouchers

 

D.C. Holders of Vouchers Go Shopping for Schools - More than 500 families in the District's school voucher program packed a Monday night school fair staffed by representatives of 44 D.C. private schools.

 

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NOTE: (ALL RESOURCES PRE-IDEA 2004 ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL/HISTORICAL RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY)