Word: chartered
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...turnaround model could be a road to greater growth for the charter-school movement which, after 16 years, comprises 1.4 million students in 4,600 schools - still only about 4% of all public schools. Charters, which are funded with public dollars but are typically free of school-district and teacher-union restrictions, have typically been regarded as labs of innovation (though a recent Stanford University study makes the case that charter-school quality can range greatly, from great to not so great). Many charter principals have full control over the hiring and firing of teachers, full control of what curriculum...
That freedom from bureaucracy is exactly why people go into the charter-school business in the first place, says Nelson Smith, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. And it's exactly what would need to stay in place if school districts are serious about having charter operators come in and take over parts of, or entire, failing schools. "It shouldn't be thought of as trying to change the ocean liner's course," says Smith, but rather, to carry out his metaphor, rebuilding the entire ship. "It would have to be really starting...
Zitzner, for one, is at least pleased by Duncan's overture, indicative as it is of possible ways that the charter industry could more closely work with school districts. "A lot of us feel that we're the redheaded stepchildren of the education industry, and only recently are some of us starting to get embraced by traditional educators," says Zitzner. "So if they want to work with us, if they want to give us facilities, and renovate those facilities, and give us full funding, and full autonomy, I would love to help do some turnarounds...
Added to that is the fact that turnarounds are essentially the complete opposite of the prototypical charter-school mission. "It's fundamentally different from what charters are good at," says Petrilli. "What charter people know how to do is create a school from scratch, which is a very different animal from going into an existing school and fixing it." Looks like they'll be charting new territory...
...TIME Archive: "Do Charter Schools Pass the Test...