new orleans-style education reform · 2013-08-02 · new orleans-style education reform: a guide...
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NEW ORLEANS-STYLEEDUCATION REFORM:A Guide for CitiesLESSONS LEARNED 2004–2010
Dana Brinson, Lyria Boast, and Bryan C. Hassel, Public Impact Neerav Kingsland, New Schools for New Orleans
January 2012
23
DAN
A BR
INSO
N is
a se
nior
cons
ulta
nt w
ith P
ublic
Impa
ct.
She h
as co
nduc
ted
rese
arch
and
anal
ysis
on a
wid
e var
iety
of
educ
atio
n iss
ues,
inclu
ding
educ
atio
nal p
hila
nthr
opy,
scho
ol
impr
ovem
ent a
nd tu
rnar
ound
s, di
scon
nect
ed yo
uth,
talen
t as
sess
men
t and
selec
tion,
and
char
ter s
choo
ls. M
s. Br
inso
n lea
ds p
rojec
t tea
ms a
nd co
nduc
ts cr
itica
l fac
t-find
ing
thro
ugh
inte
rvie
ws,
liter
atur
e rev
iew
s, sit
e visi
ts, a
nd o
ther
qua
litat
ive
met
hods
. Ms.
Brin
son
prev
ious
ly w
orke
d as
a sp
ecia
l edu
cato
r at
a Bo
ston-
area
pub
lic sc
hool
for t
eens
with
beh
avio
ral a
nd
emot
iona
l cha
lleng
es an
d lea
rnin
g di
sabi
litie
s. Sh
e is a
sum
ma
cum
laud
e gra
duat
e of W
est V
irgin
ia U
nive
rsity
and
hold
s a
mas
ter's
deg
ree i
n hi
story
from
the U
nive
rsity
of N
orth
Ca
rolin
a at C
hape
l Hill
.
BRYA
N C
. HAS
SEL
is Co
-Dire
ctor
of P
ublic
Impa
ct. H
e co
nsul
ts na
tiona
lly w
ith le
adin
g pu
blic
agen
cies
, non
profi
t or
gani
zatio
ns, a
nd fo
unda
tions
wor
king
for d
ram
atic
impr
ove-
men
ts in
K–1
2 ed
ucat
ion.
He i
s a re
cogn
ized
expe
rt o
n ch
arte
r sc
hool
s, sc
hool
turn
arou
nds,
educ
atio
n en
trepr
eneu
rshi
p, an
d te
ache
r and
lead
er p
olic
y. H
is wo
rk h
as ap
pear
ed in
Edu
catio
n N
ext,
Educ
atio
n W
eek,
and
num
erou
s oth
er p
ublic
atio
ns. D
r. H
asse
l rec
eive
d hi
s Ph.
D. i
n pu
blic
polic
y fro
m H
arva
rd
Uni
vers
ity an
d hi
s mas
ter’s
deg
ree i
n po
litic
s fro
m O
xfor
d U
nive
rsity
, whi
ch h
e atte
nded
as a
Rhod
es S
chol
ar. H
e ear
ned
his B
.A. a
t the
Uni
vers
ity o
f Nor
th C
arol
ina a
t Cha
pel H
ill,
whi
ch h
e atte
nded
as a
Mor
ehea
d Sc
hola
r.
Jay A
ltman
, Co-
Foun
der a
nd C
EO, F
irstL
ine S
choo
lsA
my A
nder
son,
form
er D
irect
or o
f Str
ateg
ic Pa
rtne
rshi
ps, D
onne
ll-K
ay F
ound
atio
n, D
enve
r, Co
lora
doM
ashe
a Ash
ton,
CEO
, New
ark
Char
ter S
choo
l Fun
dCh
ris B
arbi
c, Su
perin
tend
ent,
Tenn
esse
e Ach
ieve
men
t Sch
ool D
istric
tH
al B
row
n, B
oard
Cha
ir, N
ew O
rlean
s Col
lege P
rep
Ken
Cam
pbel
l, Pr
esid
ent,
Blac
k A
llian
ce fo
r Edu
catio
nal O
ptio
nsSh
aron
Cla
rk, P
rincip
al, S
ophi
e B. W
right
Cha
rter
Sch
ool
Jenn
ifer C
onwa
y, D
irect
or o
f Com
mun
icat
ions
and
Publ
ic A
ffairs
, New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
sSe
an G
alla
gher
, Exe
cutiv
e Dire
ctor
, Aki
li Ac
adem
y of N
ew O
rlean
sBe
th G
iova
nnet
ti, C
onsu
ltant
, Lou
isian
a Spe
cial
Edu
catio
n Co
oper
ativ
e Ke
vin
Gut
ierr
ez, P
resid
ent,
ReN
EW C
hart
er M
anag
emen
t Org
aniz
atio
nFr
eder
ick
M. H
ess,
Dire
ctor
of E
duca
tion
Polic
y Stu
dies
, Am
eric
an E
nter
prise
Inst
itute
for P
ublic
Pol
icy R
esea
rch
Paul
Hill
, Dire
ctor
of t
he C
ente
r on
Rein
vent
ing
Publ
ic Ed
ucat
ion
at th
e Uni
vers
ity o
f Was
hing
ton
Jed
Hor
ne, I
nves
tigat
ive J
ourn
alist
Lesli
e Jac
obs,
Foun
der,
Educ
ateN
ow!
Rhon
da K
alife
y-A
luise
, Exe
cutiv
e Dire
ctor
, KIP
P N
ew O
rlean
s Sch
ools
Nee
rav K
ings
land
, Chi
ef S
trat
egy O
ffice
r, N
ew S
choo
ls fo
r New
Orle
ans
Tony
Lew
is, E
xecu
tive D
irect
or, D
onne
ll-K
ay F
ound
atio
n, D
enve
r, Co
lora
doBe
n M
arco
vitz
, Fou
nder
, Col
legia
te A
cade
mie
s and
Prin
cipal
, Sci
Aca
dem
yEr
ika M
cCon
duit,
Exe
cutiv
e Vice
Pre
siden
t, U
rban
Lea
gue o
f Gre
ater
New
Orle
ans
Beth
Opa
luk,
Con
sulta
nt, L
ouisi
ana S
peci
al E
duca
tion
Coop
erat
ive
Paul
Pas
tore
k, F
orm
er L
ouisi
ana S
tate
Sup
erin
tend
ent o
f Edu
catio
nJim
Pey
ser,
Part
ner,
New
Sch
ools
Vent
ure F
und
Mag
gie R
unya
n-Sh
efa,
Sch
ools
Part
ner,
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
sCa
rolin
e Roe
mer
Shi
rley,
Exec
utiv
e Dire
ctor
, Lou
isian
a Ass
ocia
tion
of P
ublic
Cha
rter
Sch
ools
Mich
ael S
tone
, Ext
erna
l Rela
tions
Par
tner
, New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
sJu
stin
Tes
term
an, C
hief
Ope
ratin
g O
ffice
r, Te
nnes
see C
hart
er S
choo
l Inc
ubat
orA
ndre
a Thom
as-R
eyno
lds,
CEO
, Alg
iers C
hart
er A
ssoc
iatio
nG
reg Th
omps
on, C
EO, T
enne
ssee
Cha
rter
Sch
ool I
ncub
ator
Vera
Trip
lett,
CEO
, Cap
ital O
ne N
ew B
egin
ning
s Cha
rter
Sch
ool N
etwo
rkSa
rah
New
ell U
sdin
, Fou
nder
and
CEO
, New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s Jo
hn W
hite
, Sup
erin
tend
ent,
Loui
siana
Rec
over
y Sch
ool D
istric
t
The a
utho
rs w
ould
like
to th
ank
Jenn
ifer C
onw
ay o
f New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s for
her
gui
danc
e and
exte
nsiv
e fee
dbac
k on
va
rious
dra
fts o
f thi
s rep
ort.
We a
re a
lso th
ankf
ul to
our
exte
rnal
revi
ewer
s: M
att C
andl
er, F
ound
er an
d CE
O, 4
.0 S
choo
ls; K
ate
Alco
rn, P
rogr
am O
ffice
r, Ro
bert
son
Foun
datio
n; Ju
lie W
right
, Chi
ef P
rogr
am O
ffice
r, D
oris
and
Don
ald
Fish
er F
und;
Mar
y Wel
ls,
Co-F
ound
er an
d Pa
rtne
r, Be
llwet
her E
duca
tion
Part
ners
; Nad
ya C
hino
y Dab
by, D
irect
or, Th
e Bro
ad F
ound
atio
n; M
acke
Ray
-m
ond,
Dire
ctor
, CRE
DO
at S
tanf
ord
Uni
vers
ity; a
nd S
teph
en R
osen
thal
, CEO
, Str
ateg
ic Co
mp,
and
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s Bo
ard
Chai
r. Th
anks
to S
haro
n Ke
bsch
ull B
arre
tt of
Pub
lic Im
pact
for c
opye
ditin
g th
is wo
rk.
LYRI
A BO
AST
is a r
esea
rch
cons
ulta
nt w
ith P
ublic
Impa
ct.
She s
peci
aliz
es in
surv
ey d
esig
n an
d da
ta m
anag
emen
t and
an
alys
is, an
d ha
s wor
ked
with
Pub
lic Im
pact
on
char
ter s
choo
l au
thor
izin
g, sc
hool
out
com
es, a
nd sc
hool
turn
arou
nd ev
alua
-tio
n. M
s. Bo
ast h
as b
een
a res
earc
h as
sista
nt in
epid
emio
logy
at
the U
nive
rsity
of N
orth
Car
olin
a at C
hape
l Hill
, and
a re
sear
ch
anal
yst a
t Abt
Ass
ocia
tes,
whe
re sh
e con
duct
ed la
rge s
urve
y re
sear
ch p
rojec
ts un
der c
ontr
act f
or th
e fed
eral
gove
rnm
ent.
She h
olds
a B.
A. i
n En
glish
and
econ
omic
s fro
m W
elles
ley
Colle
ge.
NEE
RAV
KIN
GSLA
ND
is Ch
ief S
trat
egy O
ffice
r of N
ew
Scho
ols f
or N
ew O
rlean
s. H
e joi
ned
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew
Orle
ans a
t its
ince
ptio
n aft
er g
radu
atin
g fro
m Y
ale L
aw S
choo
l. A
s a la
w st
uden
t, he
co-w
rote
an am
icus
brie
f to
the U
.S.
Supr
eme C
ourt
, was
dire
ctor
of t
he E
duca
tion
Adeq
uacy
Pr
ojec
t leg
al cl
inic
, wor
ked
as a
legal
assis
tant
at a
war
crim
es
trib
unal
in S
ierra
Leo
ne, a
nd d
rafte
d a h
uman
righ
ts re
port
on
the s
tate
of d
emoc
racy
in th
e Tib
etan
Gov
ernm
ent-i
n-Ex
ile. M
r. K
ings
land
was
firs
t dra
wn
to ed
ucat
ion
refo
rm as
an u
nder
-gr
adua
te at
Tul
ane U
nive
rsity
, whe
re h
e tut
ored
stud
ents
at
Woo
dson
Mid
dle S
choo
l and
taug
ht cr
eativ
e writ
ing
to
illite
rate
adul
ts at
the Y
.M.C
.A. A
fter H
urric
ane K
atrin
a de
vast
ated
the c
ity, M
r. K
ings
land
and
two
othe
r law
stud
ents
fo
rmed
the H
urric
ane K
atrin
a Leg
al C
linic
, whi
ch as
siste
d in
th
e cre
atio
n of
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s.
TH
E A
UT
HO
RS
WO
ULD
LIK
E T
O T
HA
NK
TH
E F
OLL
OW
ING
PEO
PLE
FO
R S
HA
RIN
G T
HE
IR T
IME
AN
D I
NSI
GH
TS:
Publ
ic Im
pact
is a
natio
nal e
duca
tion
polic
y and
man
agem
ent c
onsu
lting
firm
bas
ed in
Cha
pel H
ill, N
C. P
ublic
Impa
ct is
a te
am
of re
sear
cher
s, th
ough
t lea
ders
, too
l-bui
lder
s, an
d on
-the-
grou
nd co
nsul
tant
s who
help
educ
atio
n lea
ders
and
polic
ymak
ers
impr
ove s
tude
nt le
arni
ng in
K–1
2 ed
ucat
ion.
For
mor
e on
Publ
ic Im
pact
’s wo
rk, p
lease
visi
t: w
ww.
publ
icim
pact
.com
.
Au
tho
rs A
nd
Ack
no
wle
dge
men
ts
AB
OU
T T
HE
AU
TH
OR
S
Plea
se ci
te th
is re
port
as:
Brin
son,
D., B
oast
, L., H
asse
l, B.
C., &
Kin
gsla
nd, N
. (20
11).
New
Orle
ans-s
tyle
educ
atio
n re
form
: A gu
ide f
or ci
ties:
Less
ons l
earn
ed, 2
004–
2010
. N
ew O
rlean
s, LA
: New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s. Re
trie
ved
from
ww
w.ne
wsc
hool
sforn
ewor
lean
s.org
/gui
de.
45
Co
nte
nts
Tim
elin
e, N
um
ber
, an
d T
yp
es o
f Sc
ho
ols
in N
ew O
rlea
ns
Th
is g
uid
e’s
pu
rpo
se
Fore
wo
rd
Th
e N
ew O
rlea
ns
syst
em: p
rin
cip
les,
res
ult
s, a
nd
his
tory
Pri
nci
ple
s o
f th
e sy
ste
mR
esu
lts
thro
ug
h 2
011
His
tory
: Pre
-Kat
rin
a N
ew O
rle
ans
His
tory
: Em
erg
ing
ch
arte
r se
cto
r (2
00
5–
20
09
)H
isto
ry: M
atu
re m
arke
t (2
00
9–
pre
sen
t)T
he
Ro
le o
f N
ew S
cho
ols
fo
r N
ew O
rle
ans
Key
ste
ps
to b
uild
ing
a c
ho
ice-
bas
ed, p
red
om
inan
tly
char
ter
syst
emK
ey s
trat
eg
y #
1: G
ove
rnan
ce a
nd
acc
ou
nta
bili
ty+
Crea
te tr
ansp
aren
t sys
tem
s for
acc
ount
abili
ty w
ith a
clea
r bar
for t
akeo
ver o
f fai
ling s
choo
ls+
Esta
blish
the m
echa
nism
for r
epla
cing l
ow-p
erfo
rmin
g sch
ools
with
hig
h-po
tent
ial c
harte
rs+
Esta
blish
and
pro
tect
a st
rong
stat
e cha
rter l
aw+
Impl
emen
t hig
h ch
arte
r aut
horiz
ing s
tand
ards
and
ove
rsig
ht
Key
str
ate
gy
#2:
Hu
man
cap
ital
+
Mak
e you
r city
a m
agne
t for
inno
vativ
e tal
ent
+ E
mpo
wer e
xisti
ng ta
lent
+Re
crui
t new
teac
hers
and
lead
ers
+Pr
ovid
e ong
oing
oppo
rtun
ities
for t
rain
ing a
nd d
evelo
pmen
t+
Cha
rter s
choo
l sta
ffing
: em
powe
r exi
sting
talen
t and
hire
for p
oten
tial
+ B
uild
stro
ng ch
arte
r boa
rds
Key
str
ate
gy
#3:
Ch
arte
r sc
ho
ol d
eve
lop
me
nt
+ C
onve
rt ex
istin
g tra
ditio
nal s
choo
ls+
Incu
bate
new
char
ter s
choo
ls+
Enco
urag
e and
supp
ort g
rowt
h of
hig
h-qu
ality
CM
Os
+ Sc
alin
g up
high
-per
form
ing c
harte
rs in
to h
omeg
rown
CM
Os
6 9 10 12 12 13 15 15 17 19 20
21 21 22
22
22
24
24
24
25
25
26
27 28
28
29
31 32
33 33 34 35 35 35 35 35 36 36 36 37 38 38 38 38 39 40
41 43
Ad
dit
ion
al c
om
po
nen
ts f
or
bu
ildin
g a
ch
oic
e-b
ased
, pre
do
min
antl
y ch
arte
r sy
stem
Bu
ild c
om
mu
nit
y d
em
and
fo
r d
ram
atic
ref
orm
s+
Rai
se ex
pect
atio
ns a
nd em
powe
r par
ents
+Ed
ucat
e the
pub
lic a
bout
char
ter s
choo
ls
Est
ablis
h f
un
din
g f
or
lon
g-t
erm
su
stai
nab
ility
of
char
ter
sch
oo
ls+
Gua
rant
ee eq
uita
ble f
undi
ng fo
r cha
rter s
choo
ls+
Prov
ide s
tart-
up fu
nds f
or n
ew ch
arte
r sch
ools
+Gi
ve a
cces
s to f
acili
ties
+A
ttrac
t phi
lant
hrop
ic fu
ndin
g
Pla
n a
he
ad f
or
the
issu
es
of
a d
ece
ntr
aliz
ed
dis
tric
t+
Dev
elop
an on
goin
g gov
erna
nce p
lan
for s
choo
ls+
Prov
ide a
ssista
nce f
or sp
ecia
l edu
catio
n se
rvice
s+
Crea
te ce
ntra
lized
enro
llmen
t sys
tem
s+
Coo
rdin
ate t
rans
port
atio
n+
Esta
blish
an
ombu
dsm
an+
Dev
elop
a m
arke
t of s
ervi
ces f
or ch
arte
r sch
ools
+Ta
ke a
30,
000-
foot
view
of th
e city
wide
sect
or
Co
ncl
usi
on
Res
ou
rces
fo
r im
ple
men
tin
g k
ey c
om
po
nen
ts o
f th
e N
ew O
rlea
ns
syst
em
Ap
pen
dix
A: P
rep
ared
nes
s C
hec
klis
t
67
TIM
ELIN
E O
F EV
ENT
S
Mil
esto
nes
In
E
du
cati
on
Ref
orm
New
Orl
ean
s, L
A
‘05
‘09
‘10 ‘11
July
: KIP
P N
ew O
rlean
s S
choo
ls (K
IPP
scho
ol
Sch
ool o
pene
d
New
Orle
ans
scho
ols
in N
ew O
rlean
s
Orle
ans
-
expa
nsio
n
‘07
prog
ram
in
New
Orle
ans
(NO
CP)
Yea
rs 1
99
1 to
20
04
(pre
-Kat
rin
a)
Yea
rs 2
00
7 &
20
08
Yea
rs 2
00
5 &
20
06
Yea
rs 2
00
9 t
o 2
011
‘08
scho
ol (S
ci A
cade
my)
‘06
N
ew O
rlean
s
plac
ed
98
Yea
rR
SD
C
har
ter
Sch
oo
ls
RS
D
Dir
ect-
Ru
n
Sch
oo
ls
OP
SB
C
har
ter
Sch
oo
ls
OP
SB
D
irec
t-R
un
S
cho
ols
BE
SE
C
har
ter
Sch
oo
ls
To
tal
Ch
arte
r S
cho
ols
To
tal
Sch
oo
ls
20
04
-20
05
1n/a
2122
25
127
20
05
-20
06
43
12
42
18
25
20
06
-20
07
17
24
12
52
31
60
20
07-2
008
28
34
12
52
42
81
20
08
-20
09
33
33
12
52
47
85
20
09
-2010
37
33
12
42
51
88
2010
-2011
46
23
11
63
60
89
2011-2
012
49
16
11
65
65
87
Nu
mb
er a
nd
Ty
pes
of
New
Orl
ean
s S
cho
ols
To
tal C
har
ter
Sch
oo
ls—
Gro
wth
Ov
er T
ime
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
200
4–2
005
2005
–200
620
06–2
007
2007
–200
820
08–2
009
2009
–200
020
10–2
011
2011
–201
2
Tota
l Ch
arte
r Sc
ho
ols
RSD
=Lo
uis
ian
a R
eco
very
Sch
oo
l Dis
tric
t, O
PSB
=O
rlea
ns
Par
ish
Sch
oo
l Bo
ard
, BE
SE=
Bo
ard
of
Ele
men
tary
an
d S
eco
nd
ary
Ed
uca
tio
n
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s (N
SNO
) com
miss
ione
d th
is gu
ide,
in co
llabo
ratio
n w
ith th
e Lou
isian
a Rec
over
y Sc
hool
Dist
rict a
nd th
e Ten
ness
ee A
chie
vem
ent S
choo
l Dist
rict,
to m
eet t
he In
vest
ing i
n In
nova
tion
(i3) r
equi
rem
ent
that
gra
ntee
s diss
emin
ate t
he le
sson
s of t
heir
work
. To
crea
te th
is gu
ide,
NSN
O w
orke
d w
ith P
ublic
Impa
ct to
bui
ld
on p
rior r
esea
rch
and
cond
uct i
nter
view
s with
peo
ple a
cros
s the
New
Orle
ans e
duca
tion
sect
or: s
choo
l lea
ders
, sta
te
and
dist
rict o
ffici
als,
char
ter l
eade
rs, s
uppo
rt o
rgan
izat
ion
leade
rs, e
duca
tion
refo
rmer
s and
expe
rts,
repo
rter
s, co
mm
unity
-bas
ed o
rgan
izat
ion
leade
rs, a
nd p
hila
nthr
opist
s.
Spec
ifica
lly, t
he g
uide
has
two
over
arch
ing
purp
oses
:
To ca
ptur
e the
insig
hts a
nd le
sson
s lea
rned
from
the c
ity’s
effor
t to
deve
lop
a c
hoice
-bas
ed, p
redo
min
antly
char
ter s
yste
m;
To ai
d ot
her c
ities
’ effo
rts t
o bu
ild o
n N
ew O
rlean
s’ su
cces
s by p
rovi
ding
tool
s and
re
sour
ces t
o gu
ide t
heir
initi
al th
inki
ng, e
arly
wor
k, an
d lo
nger
-term
pla
nnin
g.
Man
y urb
an ce
nter
s in
the U
nite
d St
ates
face
sim
ilar a
cade
mic
crise
s to
the o
ne N
ew O
rlean
s exp
erien
ced
befo
re
Kat
rina:
dism
al ac
adem
ic re
sults
, ent
renc
hed
dist
rict p
ract
ices
lim
iting
opp
ortu
nitie
s for
refo
rm an
d in
nova
tion,
an
d ge
nera
tions
of s
tude
nts l
eavi
ng sc
hool
ill-p
repa
red
for c
olleg
e and
care
er. N
ew O
rlean
s’ cu
rren
t sys
tem
of
scho
ols—
uniq
ue in
the c
ount
ry—
has a
chie
ved
stro
ng ac
adem
ic ga
ins a
nd w
arra
nts a
dee
per l
ook
at w
hat N
ew
Orle
ans-
styl
e ref
orm
s can
teac
h ot
her d
istric
ts st
rugg
ling
to re
med
y wid
espr
ead
scho
ol sy
stem
failu
re.
This
guid
e is i
nten
ded
for a
div
erse
audi
ence
, inc
ludi
ng st
ate,
dist
rict,
and
city l
eade
rs, p
olic
ymak
ers,
and
advi
sors
in
citie
s con
sider
ing
dram
atic
char
ter-
base
d re
form
s. It
will
also
be u
sefu
l for
citie
s con
sider
ing
mor
e mod
est
char
ter-
base
d sc
hool
refo
rms f
ocus
ed o
n ste
adily
gro
win
g th
e hig
h-qu
ality
char
ter m
arke
t sha
re b
y rep
laci
ng
low-
perfo
rmin
g sc
hool
s.
1 2Th
is g
uid
e’s
purp
ose
Not
e: Th
ese n
umbe
rs, e
xcep
t for
201
1–12
, rep
rese
nt th
e num
ber o
f sch
ools
open
at t
he E
ND
of e
ach
scho
ol ye
ar.
Sour
ce: T
ulan
e Uni
vers
ity C
owen
Insti
tute
for P
ublic
Edu
catio
n In
itiat
ives
10
11
In 2
005,
less
than
5 p
erce
nt o
f New
Orle
ans p
ublic
scho
ol st
uden
ts at
tend
ed ch
arte
r sch
ools;
by 2
011,
that
fig
ure r
ose t
o ne
arly
80
perc
ent.
In si
x ye
ars,
New
Orle
ans t
rans
form
ed th
e rol
e of g
over
nmen
t in
scho
olin
g.
This
stru
ctur
al sh
ift—
from
gove
rnm
ent a
s sch
ool o
pera
tor t
o sc
hool
regu
lator
—em
powe
red
thou
sand
s of
exce
llent
educ
ator
s. It
gave
fam
ilies
choi
ces.
And
it d
ram
atic
ally
incr
ease
d st
uden
t lea
rnin
g.
Befo
re H
urric
ane K
atrin
a, 62
per
cent
of p
ublic
scho
ol st
uden
ts in
New
Orle
ans a
ttend
ed a
scho
ol d
esig
-na
ted
as “f
ailin
g” b
y sta
te p
erfo
rman
ce st
anda
rds.
In co
ntra
st, i
n th
e 201
1–12
scho
ol ye
ar, 1
3 pe
rcen
t of
stud
ents
atte
nd a
faili
ng sc
hool
bas
ed o
n th
e 200
5 de
finiti
on o
f fai
ling
scho
ols.
In 2
011,
Loui
siana
raise
d its
sta
ndar
ds. U
nder
this
new
mea
sure
, 40
perc
ent o
f stu
dent
s atte
nd fa
iling
scho
ols.
Even
with
thes
e hig
her
expe
ctat
ions
(whi
ch w
e app
laud)
we e
xpec
t the
per
cent
age o
f stu
dent
s atte
ndin
g fa
iling
scho
ols t
o be
re
duce
d to
less
than
5 p
erce
nt b
y 201
6.
New
Orle
ans h
as a
lso d
ecre
ased
its p
erfo
rman
ce g
aps a
gain
st st
ate a
vera
ges b
y mor
e tha
n ha
lf—clo
sing
the
profi
cien
cy p
erfo
rman
ce g
ap b
y 13
perc
enta
ge p
oint
s fro
m 2
005
to 2
011.
In 2
011,
the c
ity’s
scho
ols p
oste
d th
e hig
hest
stud
ent p
erfo
rman
ce sc
ores
to d
ate—
mai
ntai
ning
its n
umbe
r 1 ra
nkin
g in
gro
wth
acro
ss th
e sta
te. A
rigo
rous
eval
uatio
n by
CRE
DO
(the
Cen
ter f
or R
esea
rch
on E
duca
tion
Out
com
es at
Sta
nfor
d U
nive
rsity
) det
erm
ined
that
the p
erce
ntag
e of e
ffect
ive o
pen-
enro
llmen
t cha
rter
scho
ols i
n N
ew O
rlean
s is
mor
e tha
n th
ree t
imes
the n
atio
nal a
vera
ge.
New
Orle
ans o
verh
auled
its s
choo
l sys
tem
und
er u
niqu
e circ
umsta
nces
. A h
urric
ane a
nd th
e res
ultin
g lev
ee
failu
res r
avag
ed th
e city
. Sch
ools
were
clos
ed fo
r mor
e tha
n six
mon
ths.
The d
istric
t lai
d off
ever
y tea
cher
, w
hich
led
to a
lawsu
it th
at re
mai
ns in
cour
t. H
urric
ane K
atrin
a also
caus
ed m
ore t
han
a tho
usan
d de
aths
, de
stro
yed
peop
le’s h
omes
, infl
icte
d la
stin
g ps
ycho
logi
cal t
raum
a on
fam
ilies
, and
caus
ed th
ousa
nds o
f ch
ildre
n to
miss
a ye
ar o
f sch
ool.
Yet,
in th
e afte
rmat
h of
the n
atio
n’s w
orst
natu
ral d
isaste
r, st
uden
ts
incr
ease
d th
eir a
cade
mic
perfo
rman
ce fo
r five
year
s in
a row
. This
is a t
esta
men
t to
hum
an re
silien
cy.
One
hur
rican
e sho
uld
be en
ough
. The N
ew O
rlean
s edu
catio
nal s
yste
m th
at n
ow ex
ists s
houl
d be
eval
uate
d on
its m
erits
. If o
ther
s bel
ieve
wha
t we b
elie
ve—
that
this
new
syste
m o
f sch
ools
will
lead
to co
ntin
ual
achi
evem
ent g
ains
—th
en ad
ults
in o
ther
educ
atio
nal s
ettin
gs sh
ould
repl
icat
e the
se re
form
s. W
e do
not
unde
rest
imat
e the
diffi
culty
of t
rans
form
atio
nal c
hang
e. Bu
t suc
h ch
ange
has
occ
urre
d in
our
coun
try
befo
re, a
nd it
can
occu
r aga
in.
The N
ew O
rlean
s sys
tem
is im
perfe
ct. Th
ousa
nds o
f chi
ldre
n gr
adua
te fr
om h
igh
scho
ol u
npre
pare
d fo
r col
lege a
nd ca
reer
s. G
over
nmen
t has
yet t
o fu
lly ex
ecut
e on
its re
gulat
ory r
espo
nsib
ilitie
s. To
o m
any s
tude
nts a
re p
oorly
serv
ed. B
ut it
is o
ur co
llect
ive b
elief
th
at sc
hool
s will
cont
inue
to ge
t bet
ter.
We b
elie
ve th
is be
caus
e we
are c
omm
itted
to an
extre
mely
pow
erfu
l ide
a: Em
powe
red
educ
ator
s ca
n tr
ansfo
rm st
uden
ts’ li
ves.
This
core
idea
circ
umve
nts m
any
curr
ent d
ebat
es, s
uch
as th
e use
of v
alue
-add
per
form
ance
eval
ua-
tions
, the
com
posit
ion
of co
llect
ive b
arga
inin
g co
ntra
cts,
or th
e op
timal
leng
th o
f the
scho
ol d
ay. O
ur an
swer
to th
ese q
uest
ions
is to
let e
duca
tors
dec
ide a
nd h
old
them
acco
unta
ble
for r
esul
ts. I
f you
take
anyt
hing
away
from
this
guid
e, th
is sh
ould
be i
t.
It is
wort
h re
peat
ing:
Edu
cato
rs, n
ot b
urea
ucra
ts, a
re b
est p
ositi
oned
to fi
nd th
e ans
wers
to o
ur n
atio
n’s m
ost c
ompl
i-ca
ted
educ
atio
nal p
robl
ems.
This
is w
hy w
e bel
ieve
in au
tono
my a
nd ac
coun
tabi
lity g
ener
ally,
and
char
ter s
choo
ls sp
ecifi
cally
. Rig
ht n
ow, c
hart
er sc
hool
s are
the m
ost p
oliti
cally
and
finan
cial
ly v
iabl
e str
uctu
re fo
r ens
urin
g ed
ucat
or
empo
werm
ent.
We b
elie
ve th
at m
any u
rban
dist
ricts
in th
e nat
ion
coul
d de
velo
p hi
gh-p
erfo
rmin
g ch
arte
r sch
ools
to an
nual
ly
tran
sform
the b
otto
m 5
per
cent
of s
choo
ls in
thei
r sys
tem
. In
10 ye
ars,
this
stra
tegy
wou
ld le
ad to
a m
ajorit
y cha
rter
se
ctor
in a
city,
as w
ell a
s to
subs
eque
nt d
ram
atic
incr
ease
s in
stud
ent a
chie
vem
ent.
If nu
mer
ous c
ities
und
erto
ok th
is co
urse
, our
urb
an ed
ucat
ion
land
scap
e cou
ld b
e tra
nsfo
rmed
ove
r the
nex
t dec
ade.
Of c
ours
e, po
litic
al re
aliti
es m
ake
the m
ath
mor
e com
plic
ated
. But
we h
ope t
his g
uide
will
serv
e citi
es w
ho w
ish to
beg
in th
is di
fficu
lt wo
rk.
Tens
of t
hous
ands
of s
tude
nts,
fam
ilies
, tea
cher
s, an
d lea
ders
mak
e up
the N
ew O
rlean
s sys
tem
, and
we a
re in
no
posit
ion
to sp
eak
for a
ll of
them
. How
ever
, par
t of o
ur In
vest
ing
in In
nova
tion
(i3) f
eder
al g
rant
requ
ires u
s to
docu
-m
ent t
he re
cent
tran
sform
atio
n of
the N
ew O
rlean
s sch
ool s
yste
m. A
s suc
h, w
e hav
e wor
ked
to g
lean
the r
eal l
esso
ns
from
this
colle
ctiv
e effo
rt so
that
oth
er ci
ties c
an le
arn
from
New
Orle
ans’
succ
esse
s and
failu
res.
We h
ope t
his g
uide
se
rves
as a
trib
ute t
o th
e im
men
se w
ork
of N
ew O
rlean
s’ st
uden
ts an
d ed
ucat
ors.
Nee
rav K
ings
land
, Chi
ef S
trat
egy O
ffice
rN
ew S
choo
ls fo
r New
Orle
ans
Janu
ary 2
012
If o
ther
s b
elie
ve w
hat
we
bel
ieve
—th
at t
his
new
sy
stem
o
f sc
ho
ols
wil
l lea
d t
o
con
tin
ual
ach
ieve
men
t
gai
ns—
then
ad
ult
s in
oth
er
edu
cati
on
al s
etti
ng
s sh
ou
ld
rep
lica
te t
hes
e re
form
s.
Fore
wo
rd
Sara
h N
ewel
l Uds
in, F
ound
er an
d CE
ON
ew S
choo
ls fo
r New
Orle
ans
12
13
PR
INC
IPLE
S O
F T
HE
SY
STE
MN
ew O
rlean
s is f
unct
iona
lly th
e nat
ion’s
firs
t cha
rter
scho
ol d
istric
t, w
ith n
early
80
perc
ent o
f pub
lic sc
hool
stud
ents
atte
ndin
g ch
arte
r sch
ools
in th
e 201
1–12
scho
ol ye
ar. Th
is nu
mbe
r is e
xpec
ted
to ri
se to
mor
e tha
n 90
per
cent
in th
e com
ing
year
s. Th
e de
velo
pmen
t of t
he N
ew O
rlean
s sys
tem
invo
lved
a ra
dica
l res
truc
turin
g of
the r
oles
and
resp
onsib
ilitie
s of n
early
all
stake
hold
ers.
NSN
O id
entifi
es fi
ve o
vera
rchi
ng p
rincip
les th
at d
efine
the N
ew O
rlean
s dec
entr
aliz
ed sy
stem
of a
uton
omou
s sch
ools:
Th
e Rol
e of G
over
nmen
t: G
over
nmen
t sho
uld
regu
late a
nd m
onito
r, an
d ra
rely
dire
ctly
run,
scho
ols.
M
ost s
igni
fican
tly, g
over
nmen
t mus
t ens
ure e
quity
acro
ss th
e sys
tem
.
The E
xpan
sion
of G
reat
Sch
ools:
Gre
at sc
hool
s sho
uld
be g
iven
the o
ppor
tuni
ty to
repl
icat
e a n
d se
rve m
ore s
tude
nts.
Th
e Tra
nsfo
rmat
ion
of F
ailin
g Sc
hool
s: Ac
adem
ical
ly u
nacc
epta
ble s
choo
ls sh
ould
clos
e or b
e tr
ansfo
rmed
by n
ew o
pera
tors
.
Fam
ily C
hoic
e: Fa
mili
es sh
ould
hav
e cho
ices a
mon
g sc
hool
s for
thei
r chi
ldre
n. D
iffer
ent c
hild
ren
will
thriv
e i n
diff
eren
t edu
catio
n en
viro
nmen
ts, a
nd ch
ildre
n sh
ould
not
be a
ssig
ned
to sc
hool
s with
out c
onsid
erat
ion
of
thei
r ow
n fa
mily
’s de
sires
.
Educ
ator
Cho
ice:
Educ
ator
s sho
uld
have
choi
ces i
n em
ploy
men
t, so
each
educ
ator
can
work
in a
scho
ol th
at a
ligns
w
ith h
is or
her
educ
atio
nal a
nd o
rgan
izat
iona
l phi
loso
phie
s—an
d so
that
scho
ols m
ust c
ompe
te fo
r the
bes
t edu
cato
rs.
Und
erpi
nnin
g th
e ent
ire sy
stem
is th
e not
ion
that
empo
werin
g gr
eat e
duca
tors
with
in an
effec
tive g
over
nmen
tal a
ccou
ntab
ility
re
gim
e can
lead
to tr
ansfo
rmat
iona
l res
ults
. New
Orle
ans i
s not
a co
mm
and-
and-
cont
rol d
istric
t mod
el. M
oreo
ver,
the N
ew
Orle
ans s
yste
m h
as a
lso ev
olve
d aw
ay fr
om th
e dist
rict-r
un sc
hool
auto
nom
y mod
el—a s
trat
egy t
hat r
uns t
he ri
sk o
f sig
nific
ant
cent
ral o
ffice
inte
rfere
nce a
nd re
duce
s ent
repr
eneu
rial a
ctiv
ity b
y kee
ping
all
activ
ity u
nder
gove
rnm
ent m
anag
emen
t. G
reat
en
trepr
eneu
rs d
o no
t lau
nch
orga
niza
tions
that
are d
irect
ly m
anag
ed b
y the
gove
rnm
ent.
If di
stric
ts tr
uly b
elie
ve in
auto
nom
y, th
ey sh
ould
gra
nt re
al au
tono
my.
Giv
en th
is st
ruct
ure,
the N
ew O
rlean
s sys
tem
no
long
er re
lies o
n th
e stre
ngth
of a
n in
divi
dual
supe
rinte
nden
t. Ra
ther
, it r
elie
s on
entre
pren
eurs
hip,
inno
vatio
n, ac
coun
tabi
lity,
and
empo
werm
ent t
o dr
ive c
ontin
ual p
rogr
ess.
In m
akin
g th
is sh
ift, N
ew O
rlean
s ha
s mov
ed it
s edu
catio
n sy
stem
clos
er to
the m
ore d
ynam
ic se
ctor
s of o
ur ec
onom
y. Eq
ually
as im
port
ant,
the c
ity h
as g
iven
po
wer b
ack
to it
s edu
cato
rs an
d fa
mili
es.
1 2 3 4 5Th
e N
ew O
rlean
s sy
stem
: pri
nci
ples
, re
sults
, an
d h
isto
ry
1. Lo
uisia
na D
epar
tmen
t of E
duca
tion.
(201
1). Th
e Rec
over
y Sch
ool D
istric
t, Lo
uisia
na’s
turn
arou
nd zo
ne: A
nswe
ring t
he u
rgen
cy o
f now
. Re
trie
ved
from
http
://w
ww.
loui
siana
scho
ols.n
et/ld
e/up
load
s/180
99.p
df
Sour
ces:
* Jac
obs,
L. (2
011,
Nov
embe
r 1).
It’s O
ffici
al—
The D
PS fo
r New
Orle
ans i
s 83.
2. E
duca
te N
ow! R
etrie
ved
from
: http
://ed
ucat
enow
.net
/201
1/11
/01/
its-o
ffici
al-th
e-dp
s-fo
r-ne
w-or
lean
s-is-
83-2
/ **
Jaco
bs, L
. (20
11, A
pril
3). N
ew O
rlean
s Dro
pout
Rat
e Plu
mm
ets 3
1%. E
duca
te N
ow! R
etrie
ved
from
: http
://ed
ucat
enow
.net
/201
1/04
/03/
new-
orle
ans-
drop
out-r
ate-
plum
met
s-31/
† Van
acor
e, A
. (20
11, A
ugus
t 7).
New
Orle
ans p
ublic
scho
ol a
chie
vem
ent g
ap is
nar
row
ing.
The T
imes
-Pic
ayun
e. Re
trie
ved
from
: http
://w
ww.
nola
.com
/edu
catio
n/in
dex.
ssf/2
011/
08/
new_
orle
ans_
publ
ic_s
choo
l_ac
hi.h
tml
70 60 50 40 30 20 0
2000
20
05
2011
66%
56%
35%
58%
51%
25%
-10
PTS
-23
PTS
-26
PTS
Stat
eN
ew O
rlea
ns
Fig
ure
1: N
ew O
rlea
ns
Clo
ses
Cit
y vs
. Sta
te P
rofi
cien
cy G
ap b
y 5
6% in
5 Y
ears
BASE
D ON
PER
CEN
T OF
ALL
STU
DEN
TS B
ASIC
OR
ABOV
E (P
ROFI
CIEN
CY G
OAL)
ALL
GR
ADES
, ALL
TES
TS
Not
e: Ba
sed
on A
ll G
rade
s, Al
l Tes
ts (E
, M, S
, SS)
,20
05-1
1 is
a fiv
e-ye
ar w
indo
w du
e to l
ost s
choo
l yea
r of 2
005-
06So
urce
: LA
Dep
artm
ent o
f Edu
catio
n D
ata/
Anal
ysis
by E
duca
teN
ow!
Res
ult
s T
hro
ug
h 2
011
NEW
ORL
EAN
S CH
ARTE
R SC
HOO
LS H
AVE
ACH
IEVE
D IM
PRES
SIVE
GRO
WTH
IN S
TUDE
NT
AND
SCH
OOL
PERF
ORM
ANCE
:
+ N
ew O
rlean
s dec
reas
ed th
e city
-sta
te ac
hiev
emen
t gap
by m
ore t
han
half—
from
23
perc
enta
ge p
oint
s in
2005
to
10 p
erce
ntag
e poi
nts i
n 20
11 (s
ee F
igur
e 1).
+ Th
e Dist
rict P
erfo
rman
ce S
core
(DPS
), a m
easu
re b
ased
on
stud
ent p
rofic
iency
, atte
ndan
ce, d
ropo
ut ra
tes,
and
grad
uatio
n ra
tes i
n al
l New
Orle
ans s
choo
ls, in
crea
sed
49
perc
ent s
ince
the s
torm
.* +
Bet
ween
200
5 an
d 20
10, t
he d
ropo
ut ra
te fo
r all
New
Orle
ans s
choo
ls w
as cu
t in
half.
**+
The p
erfo
rman
ce g
ap b
etwe
en A
fric
an-A
mer
ican
stud
ents
in N
ew O
rlean
s and
all
of L
ouisi
ana w
as re
duce
d by
10
0 pe
rcen
t.†
+ Th
e rat
e of g
row
th, p
artic
ular
ly in
Rec
over
y Sch
ool D
istric
t (RS
D) s
choo
ls, fa
r out
pace
d sta
te g
row
th av
erag
es; t
he
perc
enta
ge o
f stu
dent
s at g
rade
leve
l in
the R
SD in
crea
sed
by 2
5 pe
rcen
t bet
ween
200
7 an
d 20
11, c
ompa
red
with
a 7
perc
ent a
vera
ge st
ate i
ncre
ase d
urin
g th
e sam
e per
iod.
1
+ Th
e per
cent
age o
f New
Orle
ans s
tude
nts a
ttend
ing
scho
ols i
dent
ified
by t
he st
ate a
s “Ac
adem
ical
ly U
nacc
epta
ble”
re
duce
d fro
m 62
per
cent
in 2
005
to 10
per
cent
in 2
011
base
d on
the 2
005
defin
ition
. If t
he 2
011
stand
ard
is us
ed,
the p
erce
ntag
e of s
tude
nts a
ttend
ing
acad
emic
ally
una
ccep
tabl
e sch
ools
redu
ces f
rom
78 p
erce
nt in
200
5 to
40
perc
ent i
n 20
11 (s
ee F
igur
e 2).
14
15
The i
mpr
ovem
ent i
n N
ew O
rlean
s sch
ools
has b
een
rem
arka
ble,
but t
he w
ork
is fa
r fro
m d
one.
Mor
e tha
n ha
lf (5
6 pe
rcen
t) of
New
O
rlean
s stu
dent
s per
form
ed p
rofic
iently
or b
ette
r in
the 2
010–
11 sc
hool
year
. Com
pare
d w
ith 35
per
cent
of s
tude
nts a
t gra
de le
vel
befo
re th
e sto
rm, t
his i
s a st
rong
impr
ovem
ent,
but f
ew sh
ould
be s
atisfi
ed w
ith n
early
hal
f of t
he st
uden
t pop
ulat
ion
still
stru
g-gl
ing t
o m
eet b
asic
profi
cien
cy st
anda
rds.2
2. L
ouisi
ana D
epar
tmen
t of E
duca
tion.
(201
1). Th
e Rec
over
y Sch
ool D
istric
t, Lo
uisia
na’s
turn
arou
nd zo
ne: A
nswe
ring t
he u
rgen
cy o
f now
. Ret
rieve
d fr
om
http
://w
ww.
loui
siana
scho
ols.n
et/ld
e/up
load
s/180
99.p
df
3. H
orne
, J. (
2011
, spr
ing)
. New
Sch
ools
in N
ew O
rlean
s. Ed
ucat
ion
Nex
t. 11
(2).
Retr
ieve
d fr
om h
ttp://
educ
atio
nnex
t.org
/new
-sch
ools-
in-n
ew-o
rlean
s/
Not
e: 20
05-1
1 no
ted
as a
five
-yea
r win
dow
due t
o los
t sch
ool y
ear i
n 20
05-2
006.
201
6 pr
ojec
ted
base
d on
pro
ject
ed im
pact
from
i3 fu
nds a
nd h
istor
ical
grow
th tr
ends
. Not
all
scho
ols w
ere r
ated
200
5-11
.So
urce
: LA
Dep
artm
ent o
f Edu
catio
n En
rollm
ent a
nd S
PS D
ata
2005
-201
1.
RSD
and
OPS
B co
mbi
ned.
All
year
s are
bas
ed o
n th
e 200
5 de
finiti
on o
f “fa
iling
” of S
PS 6
0.
RSD
and
OPS
B co
mbi
ned.
All
year
s are
bas
ed o
n th
e 201
1 de
finiti
on o
f “fa
iling
” of S
PS 7
5.
2005
2005
2010
2010
2013
2013
2016
2016
70%
70%
50%
50%
30%
30%
10%
10%
30%
30%
10%
10%
50%
50%
70%
70%
80%
80%
90%
90%
100%
100%
Aca
dem
ical
ly
Un
acce
pta
ble
Aca
dem
ical
ly
Un
acce
pta
ble
Aca
dem
ical
ly
Acc
epta
ble
Aca
dem
ical
ly
Acc
epta
ble
Fig
ure
2:
New
Orl
ean
s R
edu
ces
the
Per
cen
tag
e o
f St
ud
ents
Att
end
ing
Aca
dem
ical
ly U
nac
cep
tab
le S
cho
ols
38%
22%
62%
78%
81%
51%
10%
40%
95%
92%
2%5%
PR
OJ
EC
TE
DP
RO
JE
CT
ED
BY 4
9% IN
5 Y
EARS
– B
ASED
ON
TH
E 20
11 D
EFIN
ITIO
N O
F “F
AILI
NG”
HIS
TO
RY:
PR
E-K
AT
RIN
A N
EW
OR
LEA
NS
In 2
005,
the N
ew O
rlean
s pub
lic sc
hool
syste
m, g
over
ned
by th
e loc
al O
rlean
s Par
ish S
choo
l Boa
rd (O
PSB)
, was
the l
owes
t pe
rform
ing s
choo
l dist
rict i
n Lo
uisia
na. A
lmos
t two
-third
s of N
ew O
rlean
s pub
lic sc
hool
stud
ents
atte
nded
faili
ng sc
hool
s. Pa
rent
al ch
oice
was
lim
ited.
The d
istric
t wen
t thr
ough
eigh
t sup
erin
tend
ents
in ei
ght y
ears
and
was
nea
rly b
ankr
upt.
Scho
ols w
ere
in p
oor p
hysic
al co
nditi
on d
ue to
lack
of p
rope
r mai
nten
ance
. The F
BI h
ad se
t up
an o
ffice
insid
e the
OPS
B’s b
uild
ing
to in
vest
i-ga
te m
ultip
le ca
ses o
f fra
ud.3
Whi
le de
dica
ted
educ
ator
s wor
ked
to so
w se
eds o
f cha
nge,
the c
ity d
id n
ot em
powe
r and
supp
ort r
efor
m-m
inde
d ed
ucat
iona
l en
trepr
eneu
rs an
d ch
arte
r ope
rato
rs. A
dea
rth
of p
rivat
e-se
ctor
indu
strie
s and
lim
ited
loca
l phi
lant
hrop
y fur
ther
hin
dere
d re
form
eff
orts
. The s
mal
l num
ber o
f cha
rter
scho
ols t
hat e
xiste
d be
fore
Kat
rina d
rew
on
talen
t fro
m w
ithin
Lou
isian
a and
a fle
dglin
g re
latio
nshi
p w
ith T
each
For
Am
eric
a (TF
A), b
ut d
ram
atic
grow
th se
emed
unl
ikely
. The l
egisl
atio
n th
at cr
eate
d th
e RSD
, how
ever
, w
as en
acte
d be
fore
Hur
rican
e Kat
rina i
n 20
03, a
nd it
was
this
legisl
atio
n th
at a
llowe
d fo
r the
stat
e tak
eove
r of N
ew O
rlean
s sc
hool
s afte
r the
stor
m.
HIS
TO
RY:
EM
ERG
ING
CH
AR
TER
SEC
TO
R (
200
5–20
09)
Hur
rican
e Kat
rina h
it N
ew O
rlean
s sho
rtly
afte
r sch
ools
open
ed fo
r the
200
5–06
scho
ol ye
ar, a
nd th
e sto
rm w
iped
out
the N
ew
Orle
ans s
choo
l sys
tem
—10
0 of
its 1
27 sc
hool
bui
ldin
gs w
ere d
estr
oyed
, and
stud
ents
and
teac
hers
evac
uate
d to
oth
er ci
ties a
nd
state
s. A
lread
y str
appe
d fo
r cas
h, an
d w
ithou
t a st
uden
t bod
y to
serv
e, O
PSB
was
forc
ed to
term
inat
e its
cont
ract
s with
all
teac
hers
, eff
ectiv
ely d
isban
ding
the t
each
ers’
unio
n. In
Nov
embe
r 200
5, th
e RSD
’s sc
ope w
as ex
pand
ed, a
nd it
took
ove
r nea
rly a
ll sc
hool
s in
New
Orle
ans t
o m
eet t
he n
eeds
of t
he re
turn
ing
stud
ent p
opul
atio
n.
The R
SD’s
prim
ary a
im w
as to
char
ter a
s man
y of t
hese
scho
ols a
s pos
sible.
In th
e ini
tial c
hart
erin
g pr
oces
s, ho
weve
r, th
e Lou
isi-
ana B
oard
of E
lemen
tary
and
Seco
ndar
y Edu
catio
n (B
ESE)
appr
oved
onl
y six
ope
rato
rs o
ut o
f 44
appl
ican
ts to
ope
n RS
D ch
arte
r sc
hool
s. Th
e rem
aind
er o
f the
scho
ols o
pene
d in
the 2
005–
06 sc
hool
year
wer
e “di
rect
-run
scho
ols”
ope
rate
d by
the R
SD. O
f the
sc
hool
s rem
aini
ng u
nder
OPS
B’s c
ontr
ol, t
he m
ajorit
y cho
se to
conv
ert t
o ch
arte
r sch
ools,
ulti
mat
ely re
duci
ng th
e num
ber o
f sc
hool
s dire
ctly
ope
rate
d by
OPS
B to
onl
y five
. Acr
oss t
he ci
ty, n
eighb
orho
od at
tend
ance
zone
s wer
e abo
lishe
d, an
d pa
rent
s beg
an
to ch
oose
whi
ch sc
hool
s the
ir ch
ildre
n at
tend
ed.
Qui
ckly,
the N
ew O
rlean
s edu
catio
nal s
yste
m b
ecam
e a m
agne
t for
educ
atio
nal e
ntre
pren
eurs
, bot
h lo
cally
and
natio
nally
. Ve
tera
n N
ew O
rlean
s edu
cato
rs le
d th
e firs
t wav
e of t
urna
roun
d ch
arte
r sch
ools.
Tod
ay, m
any o
f the
city
’s be
st ch
arte
r sch
ools
boas
t exp
erien
ced
leade
rshi
p, an
d th
e city
’s ea
rly g
ains
wer
e driv
en in
larg
e par
t by t
heir
work
, as w
ell a
s by t
he o
ther
vete
ran
educ
ator
s the
y attr
acte
d ba
ck to
the c
ity. A
s the
refo
rm w
ork
prog
ress
ed, a
dditi
onal
scho
ol le
ader
s, te
ache
rs, a
nd en
trep
rene
urs
mov
ed to
the c
ity. I
n N
ew O
rlean
s, ed
ucat
ors h
ad ch
oice
s abo
ut w
here
to w
ork.
Mos
t im
port
ant,
they
had
cont
rol o
ver h
ow to
wo
rk. S
uch
tota
l fre
edom
exist
ed in
no
othe
r pub
lic ed
ucat
ion
syste
m in
the U
nite
d St
ates
.
BY 8
4% IN
5 Y
EARS
– B
ASED
ON
200
5 DE
FIN
ITIO
N O
F “F
AILI
NG”
16
17
%
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
2007
20
08
2009
2
010
2
011
20
12
201
3
2
014
56%
57%
61%
71%
78%
82%
89%
93%
Act
ual
En
rollm
ent
Pro
ject
ed E
nro
llmen
tN
ote:
Proj
ecte
d en
rollm
ent i
s bas
ed o
n al
read
y app
rove
d an
d i3
fund
ed gr
owth
.So
urce
: LA
Dep
artm
ent o
f Edu
catio
n En
rollm
ent D
ata
2007
-201
1
Sour
ce: “
Amer
ica’s
Bes
t (an
d W
orst)
Citi
es fo
r Sch
ool R
efor
m: A
ttrac
ting E
ntre
pren
eurs
and
Cha
nge A
gent
s” o
n w
ww.
edex
celle
nce.n
et
HIS
TO
RY:
MA
TU
RE
MA
RK
ET
(20
09
–P
RE
SEN
T)
In 2
010,
the Th
omas
B. F
ordh
am In
stitu
te ra
nked
New
Orle
ans a
s the
mos
t ref
orm
-frien
dly c
ity in
the c
ount
ry.
Cit
yFi
nal
R
ank
1 2 3 4 5
New
Orl
eans,
LA
Wash
ingto
n, D
.C.
New
York
City,
NY
Denve
r, C
O
Jackso
nvi
lle,
FL
Hu
man
C
apit
alFi
nan
cial
C
apit
alC
har
ter
En
viro
nm
ent
Qu
alit
y C
on
tro
lD
istr
ict
E
nvi
ron
men
tM
un
icip
al
En
viro
nm
ent
21
12
38
57
1421
1 2 10 8 11
8 5 2 14 1
2 5 8 10 3
18 19 13 4 8
4. Th
e Cow
en In
stitu
te fo
r Pub
lic E
duca
tion
Initi
ativ
es at
Tul
ane U
nive
rsity
. (20
08).
The s
tate
of p
ublic
educ
atio
n in
New
Orle
ans:
2008
repo
rt ex
ecut
ive
sum
mar
y. N
ew O
rlean
s: Au
thor
. Ret
rieve
d fr
om h
ttp://
ww
w.co
weni
nstit
ute.c
om/w
p-co
nten
t/upl
oads
/200
9/08
/200
8Sta
te-o
f-Pub
lic-E
d-Ex
ecSu
mm
ary.p
df4.
Fig
ure
3: N
earl
y 8
0%
of
Stu
den
ts in
New
Orl
ean
s A
tten
d C
har
ter
Sch
oo
ls
AVER
AGE
YEAR
LY C
HAR
TER
MAR
KET
GROW
TH O
F 5.
6 PE
RCEN
TAGE
POI
NTS
SIN
CE 2
007
Fig
ure
4: T
ho
mas
B. F
ord
ham
In
stit
ute
Ran
ked
New
Orl
ean
s #
1 o
f 30
Maj
or
Cit
ies
BASE
D ON
6 C
RITI
CAL
REFO
RM C
ATEG
ORIE
S
The n
umbe
r of c
hart
er sc
hool
s gre
w st
eadi
ly o
ver t
he n
ext f
our y
ears
. By t
he 2
008–
09 sc
hool
year
, just
thre
e yea
rs a
fter t
he st
orm
, 61
per
cent
of t
he ci
ty’s
publ
ic sc
hool
stud
ents
atte
nded
char
ter s
choo
ls. C
erta
in ch
arte
r sch
ools,
such
as th
ose o
pera
ted
by th
e K
IPP
netw
ork,
achi
eved
bre
akth
roug
h re
sults
and
raise
d th
e sta
ndar
d fo
r all
scho
ols.
Thou
gh th
e ear
ly ye
ars w
ere c
haot
ic—w
ith
fam
ilies
still
reco
verin
g fro
m th
e sto
rm, a
nd sc
hool
reso
urce
s and
staff
in sh
ort s
uppl
y—ea
rly g
ains
in st
uden
t ach
ieve
men
t bo
lster
ed eff
orts
to co
ntin
ue th
e cha
rter
ing
of R
SD sc
hool
s.4
Sara
h U
sdin
, the
foun
der a
nd C
EO o
f NSN
O, d
escr
ibed
the e
arly
refo
rm eff
ort a
fter t
he st
orm
: “Th
ere w
as a
broa
d sp
ectr
um o
f de
ep co
mm
itmen
t to
ensu
ring
publ
ic ed
ucat
ion
woul
d be
don
e diff
eren
tly. Th
ere w
as n
o on
e per
son
who
dro
ve w
hat h
appe
ned
here
, the
re w
ere m
any p
eopl
e tak
ing
roles
in se
tting
hig
h sta
ndar
ds.”
Perh
aps m
ost s
trik
ing
was
the p
oliti
cal a
lignm
ent m
ain-
tain
ed th
roug
h th
e effo
rts:
Both
Dem
ocra
tic an
d Re
publ
ican
offi
cial
s cha
mpi
oned
the n
eed
for r
efor
ms.
Alte
rnat
ive c
ertifi
catio
n or
gani
zatio
ns su
ch as
TFA
and
The N
ew T
each
er P
rojec
t (TN
TP) r
ecru
ited
annu
al co
hort
s of h
ighl
y m
otiv
ated
teac
hers
. TFA
was
fund
amen
tal i
n su
ppor
ting N
ew O
rlean
s’ lea
ders
hip
need
s. To
day,
num
erou
s sch
ools,
non
profi
ts,
and
gove
rnm
enta
l offi
ces a
re le
d by
TFA
alu
mni
, inc
ludi
ng Jo
hn W
hite
, RSD
Sup
erin
tend
ent.
Indi
vidu
al sc
hool
s and
net
work
s bec
ame m
agne
ts fo
r lea
ders
and
teac
hers
as w
ell.
Wel
l-run
char
ter s
choo
l ope
rato
rs at
trac
ted
talen
t due
to m
issio
n-dr
iven
lead
ersh
ip, a
nd th
ey re
tain
ed ta
lent t
hrou
gh so
und
man
agem
ent.
“In
2011
, now
that
we’v
e had
su
cces
s, th
e tal
ent c
omes
to u
s,” o
ne ch
arte
r sch
ool l
eade
r not
ed. “
They
self-
iden
tify.
It ge
ts ea
sier e
very
year
.”
The i
nnov
atio
ns in
gove
rnm
ent,
hum
an ca
pita
l, an
d ch
arte
r sch
ools
work
ed, a
lbeit
impe
rfect
ly. In
a na
tion
that
suffe
rs fr
om
mix
ed ch
arte
r sch
ool q
ualit
y, re
lativ
e cha
rter
scho
ol q
ualit
y in
New
Orle
ans i
s str
ong,
as m
easu
red
by a
rigor
ous e
valu
atio
n by
CR
EDO
(the
Cen
ter f
or R
esea
rch
on E
duca
tion
Out
com
es at
Sta
nfor
d U
nive
rsity
).
18
19
Yet t
he sy
stem
s to
supp
ort q
ualit
y sch
ools
are i
ncom
plet
e. N
ew O
rlean
s pol
icym
aker
s are
now
, and
per
haps
bela
tedl
y, bu
ildin
g co
mpr
ehen
sive c
ityw
ide s
yste
ms t
o eff
ectiv
ely go
vern
scho
ols.
Furt
herm
ore,
the c
hart
er se
ctor
as a
who
le ha
s yet
to b
uild
the
hum
an ca
pita
l and
inst
ruct
iona
l cap
acity
to ac
hiev
e city
wid
e col
lege a
nd ca
reer
read
ines
s for
all
stud
ents
. Alth
ough
the s
truc
-tu
ral r
efor
m is
nea
rly fu
lly d
evelo
ped,
neit
her e
xcel
lence
nor
equi
ty h
as b
een
achi
eved
.
Spec
ifica
lly, N
ew O
rlean
s fac
es th
e fol
low
ing s
igni
fican
t cha
lleng
es:
H
uman
Cap
ital:
New
Orle
ans m
ust m
aint
ain
a sus
tain
able
supp
ly of
hig
h-qu
ality
educ
ator
s whi
le in
crea
sing i
ts fo
cus o
n e d
ucat
or d
evelo
pmen
t. Ac
hiev
emen
t gai
ns w
ill p
latea
u if
educ
ator
skill
doe
s not
incr
ease
. Edu
catio
n lea
ders
at th
e city
, ch
arte
r man
agem
ent o
rgan
izat
ion,
and
scho
ol le
vels
mus
t ret
hink
educ
ator
roles
, car
eer p
aths
, and
dev
elopm
ent t
o pr
omot
e bo
th re
tent
ion
and
grow
th.
Sc
hool
Dev
elopm
ent:
New
Orle
ans m
ust b
oth
tran
sform
the r
emai
ning
low-
perfo
rmin
g di
rect
-run
and
char
ter s
choo
ls,
a nd
incr
ease
the n
umbe
r of c
olleg
e and
care
er p
repa
rato
ry o
pera
tors
. Ove
rall
char
ter s
ecto
r qua
lity i
s rela
tively
stro
ng
com
pare
d w
ith tr
aditi
onal
pub
lic sc
hool
per
form
ance
, but
abso
lute
stud
ent a
chie
vem
ent r
emai
ns lo
w. A
dditi
onal
ly, th
e cit
y nee
ds d
iver
se sc
hool
opt
ions
—in
cludi
ng ca
reer
and
tech
nica
l opp
ortu
nitie
s with
hig
h ac
adem
ic sta
ndar
ds—
to m
eet
the n
eeds
of a
ll st
uden
ts.
Ci
tyw
ide S
truc
ture
s: N
ew O
rlean
s mus
t esta
blish
a lo
ng-te
rm go
vern
ance
mod
el to
effec
tively
supp
ort a
dec
entr
aliz
ed
syste
m, w
ith a
grea
ter f
ocus
on
char
ter o
vers
ight
and
equi
ty as
sura
nce.
All
stud
ents
mus
t be s
erve
d at
the h
ighe
st lev
els
to en
sure
equi
ty an
d ac
cess
. Fam
ilies
nee
d su
ppor
t to
navi
gate
the d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m, a
nd co
mm
uniti
es m
ust b
e en
gage
d to
bui
ld ci
tyw
ide s
uppo
rt fo
r con
tinue
d gr
owth
of h
igh-
qual
ity ch
arte
rs.
Th
e R
ole
of
New
Sch
oo
ls f
or
New
Orl
ean
s
In a
dece
ntra
lized
syste
m, n
ongo
vern
men
tal e
ntiti
es se
rve a
criti
cal r
ole.
New
Sch
ools
for N
ew O
rlean
s (N
SNO
) for
med
aft
er th
e sto
rm to
acce
lerat
e and
supp
ort t
he ci
ty’s
educ
atio
nal r
efor
ms.
NSN
O—
with
oth
er ci
tyw
ide a
nd st
atew
ide
orga
niza
tions
, suc
h as
the L
ouisi
ana A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Pub
lic C
hart
er S
choo
ls, E
duca
te N
ow, t
he C
owen
Inst
itute
, and
the
Urb
an L
eagu
e—ha
s ass
umed
man
y gov
ernm
ent-r
elate
d fu
nctio
ns, i
nclu
ding
reso
urce
coor
dina
tion,
pol
icy d
evelo
pmen
t,
and
syste
m-le
vel s
trat
egic
visio
ning
.
NSN
O w
orks
acro
ss th
ree a
reas
: str
ateg
ic lea
ders
hip,
scho
ol d
evelo
pmen
t, an
d hu
man
capi
tal s
uppo
rt o
rgan
izat
ions
. The
Inve
stin
g in
Inno
vatio
n (i3
) aw
ard,
whi
ch b
roug
ht $
33.6
mill
ion
($28
mill
ion
in fe
dera
l fun
ds an
d $5
.6 m
illio
n in
priv
ate
mat
chin
g fu
nds)
to N
ew O
rlean
s and
Ten
ness
ee, p
rovi
des a
stro
ng ex
ampl
e of h
ow N
SNO
has
influ
ence
d th
e ref
orm
effor
ts.
The N
ew O
rlean
s i3
Proj
ect,
whi
ch w
as d
evelo
ped
with
the R
SD, l
ays o
ut a
char
ter s
trat
egy i
n w
hich
the l
owes
t per
form
ing
5
perc
ent o
f sch
ools
will
be t
rans
form
ed ea
ch ye
ar b
y cha
rter
ope
rato
rs. A
ll to
ld, t
he b
otto
m q
uart
er o
f New
Orle
ans s
choo
ls w
ill b
e tur
ned
arou
nd o
ver t
he co
urse
of t
he fi
ve-y
ear g
rant
. The i
3 m
odel
alig
ns go
vern
men
t, th
e non
profi
t sec
tor,
and
char
ter
scho
ols t
o ex
ecut
e an
aggr
essiv
e str
ateg
y to
serv
e the
city
’s m
ost a
t-risk
stud
ents
.
NSN
O’s
stra
tegy
, whi
le re
mai
ning
bro
adly
cons
isten
t sin
ce it
s inc
eptio
n, h
as ch
ange
d as
the c
ity’s
cont
ext h
as ev
olve
d an
d is
deta
iled
belo
w:
Key
Str
ateg
y
STRA
TEGI
C LE
ADER
SHIP
+ S
upport
ed a
hig
h b
ar
for
chart
er
auth
ori
zati
on, in
clu
din
g f
ailin
g
school clo
sure
+ P
rom
ote
d c
hart
er
school
deve
lopm
ent
as
a k
ey
stra
tegy
+ S
upport
RS
D in b
uildin
g s
yste
m-
wid
e p
rocess
es
to e
nsu
re e
quit
y
+ P
rom
ote
cit
ywid
e f
ocus
on
academ
ic e
xcellence t
o p
reve
nt
sett
ling f
or
“bett
er
than b
efo
re”
+ I
ncubate
d 1
0 s
tand-a
lone s
chools
to incre
ase
num
ber
of
quality
opera
tors
in t
he c
ity
+ P
rim
ari
ly inve
st in e
xist
ing
opera
tors
wit
h a
pro
ven t
rack
record
to e
xpand t
heir
reach
+ I
ncubate
lim
ited n
um
ber
of
new
opera
tors
to c
onti
nue innova
tion
+ S
upport
the c
om
munit
y engage-
ment
pro
cess
for
transf
orm
ing
underp
erf
orm
ing s
chools
+ I
nve
sted p
rim
ari
ly in t
eacher
and
leader
recru
itm
ent
org
aniz
ati
ons
+ I
ncre
ase
inve
stm
ent
in e
ducato
r
deve
lopm
ent
org
aniz
ati
ons
+ M
ain
tain
reduced leve
ls o
f
recru
itm
ent
inve
stm
ent
support
Ph
ase
1 (2
00
6–
20
10)
Ph
ase
2 (2
010
–p
rese
nt)
SCH
OOL
DEVE
LOPM
ENT
HU
MAN
CAP
ITAL
SU
PPOR
T OR
GAN
IZAT
ION
S
As p
olic
ymak
ers c
onsid
er ad
optin
g N
ew O
rlean
s-st
yle r
efor
ms,
they
shou
ld d
evot
e sig
nific
ant a
ttent
ion
to b
uild
ing
a com
pre-
hens
ive,
nong
over
nmen
tal s
yste
m o
f org
aniz
atio
ns th
at su
ppor
t cha
rter
scho
ol q
ualit
y and
gro
wth
. Gov
ernm
ent s
houl
d no
t ha
ve so
le re
spon
sibili
ty fo
r all
polic
y, in
vest
men
t, an
d st
rate
gy fu
nctio
ns.
%
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
17%
48%
37%
26%
46%
26%
CR
ED
O 2
00
9 N
AT
ION
AL
Ch
arte
r Sc
ho
ol S
tud
yC
RE
DO
20
09
–2
011
NE
W O
RLE
AN
S C
har
ter
Sch
oo
l Ass
essm
ent
Res
ult
s Su
per
ior
to S
tate
wid
e
Trad
itio
nal
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Res
ult
s Sa
me
as
Stat
ewid
e
Trad
itio
nal
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Res
ult
s W
ors
e th
an S
tate
wid
e
Trad
itio
nal
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Fig
ure
5:
CR
EDO
Ass
essm
ent
of
New
Orl
ean
s O
pen
-En
rollm
ent
Ch
arte
rs D
emo
nst
rate
s Si
gn
ifica
nt
Res
ult
s
2009
–201
1 AS
SESS
MEN
T CO
MPA
RED
TO N
ATIO
NAL
AVE
RAG
ES IN
200
9 ST
UDY
Alm
ost
3x
as M
any
New
Orl
ean
s
Ch
arte
rs A
chie
ve S
up
erio
r R
esu
lts
Com
pare
d to N
ational Ave
rages
Not
e: N
ew O
rlean
s dat
a ba
sed
on o
pen-
enro
llmen
t cha
rter
scho
ol
achi
evem
ent d
ata
only.
Sour
ce: L
A D
epar
tmen
t of E
duca
tion
Dat
a/An
alys
is by
Cen
ter f
or
Educ
atio
n O
utco
mes
at S
tanf
ord
Uni
vers
ity (C
RED
O)
1 2 3
20
21
The r
emai
nder
of t
his r
epor
t will
focu
s on
how
city
pol
icym
aker
s can
bui
ld a
choi
ce-b
ased
, pr
edom
inan
tly ch
arte
r sys
tem
. Not
e tha
t exe
cutio
n oft
en tr
umps
stra
tegy
whe
n m
akin
g sig
nific
ant
chan
ge to
majo
r city
stru
ctur
es; t
hus,
this
guid
e sho
uld
not b
e int
erpr
eted
as a
simpl
e che
cklis
t. Ra
ther
, it d
etai
ls ov
erar
chin
g pr
incip
les an
d st
rate
gies
. Im
plem
enta
tion
will
driv
e the
resu
lts. Th
e im
port
ance
of s
tron
g lea
ders
hip
at a
ll lev
els sh
ould
not
be u
nder
estim
ated
: Thes
e effo
rts r
equi
re
deep
educ
atio
nal a
nd m
anag
emen
t exp
ertis
e, pl
us si
gnifi
cant
dos
es o
f grit
and
dete
rmin
atio
n.
Dev
elopi
ng an
d m
aint
aini
ng a
high
-per
form
ing
char
ter s
ecto
r dem
ands
thre
e crit
ical
com
pone
nts.
Oth
er co
mpo
nent
s fol
low
lat
er in
this
guid
e, bu
t a ch
arte
r-ba
sed
stra
tegy
mus
t hav
e the
se th
ree,
deta
iled
belo
w:
G
over
nanc
e and
acco
unta
bilit
y: G
over
nmen
tal o
vers
ight
, str
ict a
ccou
ntab
ility
syste
ms,
and
soun
d ch
arte
r aut
horiz
a-tio
n fo
rm th
e fou
ndat
ion
of th
e New
Orle
ans s
yste
m.
H
uman
capi
tal:
Edu
cato
rs’ s
kill
will
det
erm
ine h
ow m
uch
stud
ents
learn
. Sch
ool s
yste
ms m
ust b
uild
and
sust
ain
a co
nsist
ent s
uppl
y of h
igh-
qual
ity te
ache
rs, le
ader
s, bo
ard
mem
bers
, and
entre
pren
eurs
.
Char
ter s
choo
l dev
elop
men
t: G
reat
educ
ator
s will
thriv
e in
well-
man
aged
and
inno
vativ
e ins
titut
ions
. The
deve
lopm
ent o
f effe
ctiv
e cha
rter
ope
rato
rs w
ill im
pact
the l
ong-
term
per
form
ance
gai
ns o
f the
syste
m.
1 2 3
KE
Y S
TR
AT
EGY
#1:
GO
VER
NA
NC
E A
ND
AC
CO
UN
TAB
ILIT
Y
Char
ter d
istric
ts m
ust h
ave e
ffect
ive g
over
nanc
e. A
char
ter d
istric
t is a
hi
ghly
regu
lated
mar
ket i
n w
hich
gove
rnm
ents
appr
ove n
ew en
tran
ts’
busin
ess p
lans
and
set p
erfo
rman
ce m
etric
s for
thos
e new
entr
ants
to
cont
inue
ope
ratin
g. W
ell-d
esig
ned
char
ter s
choo
l mar
kets
are b
uilt
upon
soun
d au
thor
izin
g, go
vern
ance
, and
acco
unta
bilit
y sys
tem
s. Re
form
advo
cate
s mus
t ens
ure t
hat t
hese
syste
ms h
ave h
igh
stand
ards
fo
r sch
ool q
ualit
y and
inco
rpor
ate m
echa
nism
s tha
t allo
w fo
r fai
ling
scho
ols t
o be
turn
ed o
ver t
o hi
gh-q
ualit
y cha
rter
ope
rato
rs.
The r
emai
nder
of t
his s
ectio
n, w
hile
deta
iling
gove
rnm
enta
l str
ateg
ies,
does
not
pro
vide
sign
ifica
nt g
uida
nce o
n ho
w to
bui
ld in
itial
pol
itica
l su
ppor
t for
char
ter r
efor
ms.
Such
supp
ort i
s vita
l, bu
t bec
ause
the
polit
ics o
f sch
ool r
efor
m v
ary a
cros
s the
nat
ion,
this
guid
e pro
vide
s lit
tle ad
vice
on
navi
gatin
g lo
cal p
oliti
cs. Th
at sa
id, t
he g
row
th o
f cha
rter
sc
hool
s is p
erha
ps th
e onl
y sig
nific
ant e
duca
tiona
l ref
orm
stra
tegy
that
ga
rner
s bip
artis
an su
ppor
t. A
rece
nt fe
dera
l cha
rter
scho
ol b
ill p
asse
d th
e Hou
se o
f Rep
rese
ntat
ives
by a
365
-to-5
4 vo
te. Th
e pow
erfu
l ide
a of
educ
ator
empo
werm
ent,
it se
ems,
can
gain
supp
ort f
rom
bot
h m
ajor
polit
ical
par
ties.
To
date
, New
Orle
ans r
efor
ms h
ave r
eceiv
ed st
rong
bac
king
from
a Re
publ
ican
and
a Dem
ocra
tic p
resid
ent,
a Rep
ublic
an an
d a D
emoc
ratic
gove
rnor
, and
Lou
isian
a Rep
ublic
an an
d D
emoc
ratic
U.S
. sen
ator
s. W
hile
num
erou
s pol
itica
l thr
eats
rem
ain
at
both
the s
tate
and
loca
l lev
el, b
oth
supp
orte
rs an
d sk
eptic
s of t
he re
form
s hav
e em
brac
ed th
e gen
eral
idea
of e
duca
tor e
mpo
w-er
men
t. Fe
w p
oliti
cian
s pub
licly
call
for a
com
plet
e ret
urn
to th
e for
mer
syste
m. H
owev
er, t
he ed
ucat
ion
refo
rms h
ave n
ot
deve
lope
d in
to a
full-
fledg
ed p
oliti
cal m
ovem
ent,
and
the r
efor
ms w
ould
be o
n a s
turd
ier fo
unda
tion
had
polit
ical
org
aniz
ing
take
n pl
ace a
t the
out
set.
CREA
TE T
RAN
SPAR
ENT
SYST
EMS
FOR
ACCO
UNTA
BILI
TY W
ITH
A C
LEAR
BAR
FO
R TA
KEOV
ER O
F FA
ILIN
G SC
HOO
LSA
stat
ewid
e acc
ount
abili
ty sy
stem
with
clea
r per
form
ance
ben
chm
arks
shou
ld se
t the
rules
for a
ll sc
hool
ope
rato
rs, d
istric
t and
ch
arte
r alik
e. W
ith cl
early
com
mun
icat
ed st
anda
rds,
com
mun
ities
and
pare
nts c
an as
sess
scho
ols b
ased
on
stud
ent a
chie
vem
ent.
Lette
r gra
des a
nd o
ther
easil
y und
ersta
ndab
le la
bels
can
info
rm p
aren
t cho
ice. W
hen
mea
sure
s of s
choo
l qua
lity a
re cl
early
pu
blic
ized
, the
y bec
ome t
he b
asis
for a
ll sc
hool
impr
ovem
ent.
Syste
ms m
ust a
lso b
e bui
lt to
trac
k in
divi
dual
stud
ent g
row
th, w
hich
pro
vide
s add
ition
al in
form
atio
n to
scho
ols a
nd
polic
ymak
ers.
Gov
ernm
ent,
rath
er th
an in
divi
dual
scho
ols,
is in
the b
est p
ositi
on to
colle
ct, a
ggre
gate
, and
repo
rt o
n sc
hool
sy
stem
-wid
e dat
a.
No
mat
ter t
he ac
coun
tabi
lity s
yste
m, t
his e
ffort
requ
ires a
clea
r bar
to m
easu
re ac
cept
able
perfo
rman
ce an
d to
com
mun
icat
e tha
t sc
hool
s tha
t fai
l to
mee
t the
bar
in a
reas
onab
le pe
riod
will
be t
aken
ove
r, clo
sed,
or t
urne
d ov
er to
a ch
arte
r ope
rato
r.
Cre
ate
tran
spar
ent
syst
ems
for
acco
un
tab
ilit
y w
ith
a c
lear
th
resh
old
fo
r th
e ta
keo
ver
of
fail
ing
sch
oo
ls;
Pu
bli
cize
th
ese
syst
ems
in a
m
ann
er b
y w
hic
h f
amil
ies
can
eas
ily
u
nd
erst
and
sch
oo
l qu
alit
y;
Est
abli
sh t
he
mec
han
ism
(an
RSD
o
r o
ther
rec
ov
ery-
like
str
uct
ure
) fo
r
rep
laci
ng
low
-per
form
ing
sch
oo
ls
wit
h h
igh
-po
ten
tial
ch
arte
rs;
Est
abli
sh a
nd
pro
tect
a s
tro
ng
sta
te
char
ter
law
; an
d
Use
ob
ject
ive
and
in
dep
end
ent
au
tho
rizi
ng
sta
nd
ard
s an
d p
roce
sses
to
en
sure
qu
alit
y c
on
tro
l.
Go
vern
ance
an
d A
cco
un
tab
ilit
y:
Act
ion
Ste
ps
Key
lesso
ns
from
New
Orleans
will be
hig
hlighte
d thro
ughout
with a
fleur-
de-lis
sym
bol (
).
Key
step
s to
bu
ildin
g
a ch
oic
e-ba
sed
, pr
edo
min
antly
ch
arte
r
syst
em
22
23
ESTA
BLIS
H T
HE
MEC
HAN
ISM
FOR
REP
LACI
NG
LOW
-PER
FORM
ING
SC
HOO
LS W
ITH
HIG
H-P
OTEN
TIAL
CH
ARTE
RSPo
litic
al an
d co
nstit
uent
pre
ssur
es m
ake t
urni
ng ar
ound
faili
ng sc
hool
s diffi
cult.
A su
perin
tend
ent r
epor
ting
to an
elec
ted
boar
d w
ill ge
nera
lly b
e in
the w
eake
st po
sitio
n to
forc
e cha
nge a
nd m
ay p
resid
e ove
r a le
thar
gic b
urea
ucra
cy. I
nste
ad, a
n ou
tside
entit
y au
thor
ized
by t
he st
ate t
o ta
ke o
ver s
choo
ls ha
s the
bes
t pos
ition
to b
reak
long
-sta
ndin
g pa
ttern
s of f
ailu
re,5 es
peci
ally
giv
en th
at
this
entit
y can
bui
ld a
new
gove
rnm
enta
l cul
ture
.
RSD
-type
entit
ies a
re cr
ucia
l, bu
t the
se st
ate-
run
turn
arou
nd en
titie
s are
still
new
—es
peci
ally
thos
e tha
t tak
e ove
r ind
ivid
ual
scho
ols r
athe
r tha
n w
hole
dist
ricts
. In
Loui
siana
, the
RSD
was
esta
blish
ed in
200
3 to
take
ove
r or “
reco
ver”
faili
ng sc
hool
s acr
oss
the s
tate
. Ent
ities
mod
eled
off th
e RSD
exist
in M
ichig
an an
d Te
nnes
see,
but n
umer
ous d
esig
n qu
estio
ns re
mai
n. R
egar
dles
s of
the l
ocal
appr
oach
, the
crea
tion
of an
entit
y to
take
ove
r fai
ling
scho
ols a
cros
s the
stat
e is a
n ex
trem
ely im
port
ant s
truc
tura
l in
nova
tion
that
shou
ld b
e rep
licat
ed in
som
e fas
hion
.
Whe
n de
velo
ping
an R
SD-li
ke st
ruct
ure,
Loui
siana
’s ex
perie
nce s
ugge
sts se
vera
l que
stio
ns to
cons
ider
(see
box
“Que
stio
ns to
Co
nsid
er W
hen
Crea
ting
An
RSD
-like
Ent
ity”)
.
Ano
ther
opt
ion
for c
ities
or s
tate
s con
sider
ing
an R
SD-li
ke en
tity i
s to
crea
te th
e RSD
as an
entit
y und
er ex
ecut
ive c
ontr
ol.
Exec
utiv
e con
trol
, und
er a
may
or’s
office
or g
over
nor’s
offi
ce, m
ay p
rovi
de m
ore a
uton
omy a
nd fl
exib
ility
to th
e age
ncy,
but a
lso
leave
s it m
ore v
ulne
rabl
e to
polit
ical
shift
s and
dep
ende
nt o
n a s
uppo
rtiv
e elec
ted
offici
al.
N
umer
ous i
nter
view
ees n
oted
that
in h
inds
ight
they
wou
ld n
ot h
ave h
ad th
e RSD
dire
ct-r
un an
y sch
ools,
but
wou
ld in
stead
ha
ve h
ad th
e RSD
focu
s exc
lusiv
ely o
n ch
arte
rs. Th
ey q
uest
ione
d th
e ass
umpt
ion
that
a sta
te ta
keov
er en
tity w
ill ev
er b
e a
bette
r ope
rato
r of s
choo
ls th
an an
y oth
er b
urea
ucra
cy, e
spec
ially
giv
en th
e diff
eren
ce in
per
form
ance
bet
ween
RSD
char
ter
and
dire
ct-r
un sc
hool
s. H
owev
er, o
ther
s not
ed th
at th
e RSD
’s w
illin
gnes
s to
dire
ctly
ope
rate
scho
ols i
n th
e ear
ly st
age o
f the
re
form
s gav
e tim
e for
the c
hart
er m
arke
t to
deve
lop.
Lea
ders
in M
ichig
an an
d Te
nnes
see a
re g
rapp
ling
with
this
ques
tion
now
; the
ir di
rect
-run
stra
tegi
es w
ill p
rovi
de m
ore i
nsig
hts.
ESTA
BLIS
H A
ND
PROT
ECT
A ST
RON
G ST
ATE
CHAR
TER
LAW
A st
rong
char
ter l
aw m
ust b
e a to
p pr
iorit
y in
any c
hart
er st
rate
gy. Th
e law
shou
ld in
clude
pro
visio
ns fo
r cha
rter
auto
nom
y and
set
prov
ision
s for
stro
ng au
thor
izin
g pr
actic
es; s
houl
d no
t est
ablis
h ca
ps o
n hi
gh-q
ualit
y cha
rter
gro
wth
; and
shou
ld p
rovi
de
equi
tabl
e fun
ding
, inc
ludi
ng fa
cilit
ies f
or ch
arte
r sch
ools.
Stat
e cha
rter
asso
ciat
ions
can
supp
ort a
pro
activ
e leg
islat
ive a
gend
a to
stre
ngth
en ex
istin
g ch
arte
r law
s and
pro
tect
them
from
eff
orts
to ch
ip aw
ay at
char
ter a
uton
omie
s. A
ssoc
iatio
ns ca
n su
cces
sful
ly ad
voca
te fo
r rem
oval
of c
hart
er ca
ps, d
efen
d ch
arte
r sc
hool
auto
nom
ies,
and
incr
ease
awar
enes
s and
supp
ort o
f cha
rter
scho
ols a
mon
g leg
islat
ors a
nd o
ther
influ
ence
rs.
The L
ouisi
ana A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Pub
lic C
hart
er S
choo
ls, le
d by
Car
olin
e Roe
mer
Shi
rley,
has b
een
a key
advo
cate
for c
hart
ers.
The a
ssoc
iatio
n’s ed
ucat
ion
and
outre
ach
effor
ts ha
ve b
een
inst
rum
enta
l in
elim
inat
ing
the c
hart
er ca
p, m
aint
aini
ng su
ppor
t-iv
e fina
nce l
aws,
and
gene
rally
pro
tect
ing
char
ter a
uton
omie
s.
IMPL
EMEN
T HI
GH C
HAR
TER
AUTH
ORIZ
ING
STAN
DARD
S AN
D OV
ERSI
GHT
Subs
tand
ard
auth
oriz
ing
will
rend
er ch
arte
r ref
orm
s ine
ffect
ual.
Auth
oriz
ing
agen
cies
mus
t set
hig
h st
anda
rds a
t all
stag
es, f
rom
th
e ini
tial g
rant
ing
of a
char
ter,
to m
onito
ring
and
rene
wal
pro
cedu
res,
to th
e clo
sing
of ch
arte
r sch
ools
that
fail
to p
erfo
rm to
hi
gh st
anda
rds.
Low-
qual
ity ch
arte
rs ca
n sc
uttle
effor
ts to
bui
ld d
eman
d fo
r new
char
ter s
choo
ls. A
utho
rizer
s ben
efit b
y
deve
lopi
ng a
com
mitt
ed st
aff a
ligne
d w
ith th
e prin
ciples
of h
avin
g st
rong
auth
oriz
ing
prac
tices
, com
mun
icat
ing
a clea
r miss
ion,
co
llabo
ratin
g w
ith o
ther
auth
oriz
ers,
and
havi
ng th
e will
ingn
ess t
o clo
se fa
iling
char
ter s
choo
ls6 (see
“Rec
omm
ende
d pr
actic
es fo
r ch
arte
r ove
rsig
ht”)
.
In
Loui
siana
, the
stat
e boa
rd o
f edu
catio
n co
ntra
cted
with
the N
atio
nal A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Cha
rter
Sch
ool A
utho
rizer
s (N
ACSA
) to
help
des
ign
and
cond
uct t
he ch
arte
r app
licat
ion
revi
ew p
roce
ss im
med
iate
ly a
fter H
urric
ane K
atrin
a. A
s evi
denc
e of t
he
stro
ng au
thor
izin
g sta
ndar
ds p
ut in
pla
ce, i
n th
e firs
t yea
r afte
r Hur
rican
e Kat
rina,
only
six
of 4
4 ch
arte
r app
licat
ions
wer
e ap
prov
ed.7 S
ince
Kat
rina,
five l
ow-p
erfo
rmin
g ch
arte
r sch
ools
have
clos
ed an
d be
en tu
rned
ove
r to
new
ope
rato
rs.
Wh
at i
s th
e lo
ng
-ter
m g
ov
ern
ance
pla
n f
or
sch
oo
ls u
nd
er t
he
RSD
? S
ho
uld
sch
oo
ls
retu
rn t
o t
he
loca
l dis
tric
t?
Sh
ou
ld t
he
RSD
be
un
der
leg
isla
tiv
e o
r ex
ecu
tiv
e co
ntr
ol,
or
un
der
a n
on
go
ver
nm
enta
l o
rgan
izat
ion
or
oth
er t
hir
d p
arty
?
Wil
l th
e R
SD d
irec
tly
au
tho
rize
ch
arte
r sc
ho
ols
? I
f n
ot,
wh
o w
ill?
Wil
l th
e R
SD c
har
ter
all s
cho
ols
, or
wil
l so
me
be
dir
ect-
run
?
Do
es t
he
RSD
hav
e th
e re
sou
rces
to
dir
ectl
y o
per
ate
sch
oo
ls, e
spec
ially
if
they
are
sp
read
o
ut
acro
ss a
larg
e g
eog
rap
hic
are
a?
Ho
w w
ill r
eso
urc
es s
uch
as
faci
liti
es b
e al
loca
ted
to
sch
oo
ls?
Qu
esti
on
s to
Co
nsi
der
Wh
en C
reat
ing
An
RSD
-lik
e E
nti
ty:
6. S
uppo
rtin
g ch
arte
r sch
ool e
xcel
lence
thro
ugh
qual
ity au
thor
izin
g. (2
007)
. Was
hing
ton,
D.C
.: U.S
. Dep
artm
ent o
f Edu
catio
n, O
ffice
of I
nnov
atio
n an
d Im
prov
emen
t. Re
trie
ved
from
http
://w
ww
2.ed
.gov
/ncl
b/ch
oice
/cha
rter
/aut
horiz
ing/
auth
oriz
ing.
7. V
alla
s, P.
G.,
& Ja
cobs
, L. R
. (20
09, S
epte
mbe
r 2).”
Race
to th
e Top
” les
sons
from
New
Orle
ans.
Educ
atio
n W
eek.
Ret
rieve
d fr
om h
ttp://
ww
w.ed
wee
k.or
g/ew
/ar
ticle
s/20
09/0
9/02
/02v
alla
s_ep
.h29
.htm
l
5. F
or m
ore o
n Lo
uisia
na’s
RSD
stru
ctur
e and
less
ons f
or o
ther
stat
es, s
ee: H
ill, P
., & M
urph
y, P.
(201
1). O
n re
cove
ry sc
hool
dist
ricts
and
stron
ger s
tate
educ
atio
n ag
encie
s: Le
sson
s fro
m L
ouisi
ana.
Sea
ttle:
Cen
ter o
n Re
inve
ntin
g Pu
blic
Educ
atio
n, U
nive
rsity
of W
ashi
ngto
n, B
othe
ll. R
etrie
ved
from
http
://w
ww.
crpe
.org
/cs
/crp
e/do
wnl
oad/
csr_
files
/WP_
Stat
es_R
ecov
ery_
Jun1
1.pd
f
Cre
ate
a cl
ear
and
hig
h b
ar f
or
eval
uat
ing
a c
har
ter
app
lica
tio
n. P
erfo
rm r
igo
rou
s ev
alu
atio
ns
of
char
ter
app
lica
tio
ns:
Ap
pli
can
ts s
ho
uld
pro
ve
them
selv
es b
efo
re r
ecei
vin
g a
ch
arte
r, n
ot
afte
r.
Est
abli
sh c
lear
per
form
ance
req
uir
emen
ts a
nd
in
clu
de
them
in
ch
arte
r co
ntr
acts
.
Per
form
reg
ula
r as
sess
men
ts o
f sc
ho
ol p
erfo
rman
ce, g
ov
ern
ance
, an
d fi
nan
ce; e
mp
loy
a
var
iety
of
rev
iew
met
ho
ds
incl
ud
ing
str
ess
test
s, s
po
t ch
eck
s, i
nte
rnal
an
d e
xte
rnal
rev
iew
s,
and
sp
ecifi
c m
on
ito
rin
g o
f sp
ecia
l ed
uca
tio
n.
Est
abli
sh t
ran
spar
ent
pro
ced
ure
s fo
r id
enti
fyin
g lo
w-p
erfo
rmin
g s
cho
ols
an
d c
losi
ng
th
ose
sc
ho
ols
th
at f
ail t
o i
mp
rov
e
Sour
ce: N
ACSA
Prin
cipl
es a
nd S
tand
ards
for Q
ualit
y Cha
rter
Sch
ool A
utho
rizin
g
Rec
om
men
ded
Pra
ctic
es f
or
Ch
arte
r O
vers
igh
t:
24
25
KE
Y S
TR
AT
EGY
#2:
HU
MA
N C
AP
ITA
L
Stro
ng ch
arte
r gro
wth
requ
ires h
igh-
qual
ity te
ache
rs an
d lea
ders
. Em
powe
ring
unde
rpre
pare
d ed
ucat
ors i
s a d
ismal
stra
tegy
. Th
e aut
onom
y gra
nted
to ch
arte
r sch
ools
nece
ssita
tes l
eade
rshi
p te
ams t
hat c
an m
ake b
road
dec
ision
s affe
ctin
g fin
ance
, cur
ricu-
lum
, fac
ilitie
s, an
d m
anag
emen
t. To
effec
tively
scal
e up
a cha
rter
sect
or, c
ities
mus
t mak
e the
mse
lves
mag
nets
for i
nnov
ativ
e ta
lent;
empo
wer e
xist
ing
talen
t; at
trac
t ade
quat
e num
bers
of h
igh-
pote
ntia
l or h
igh-
qual
ity te
ache
rs an
d lea
ders
; pro
vide
ong
oing
de
velo
pmen
t opp
ortu
nitie
s; an
d bu
ild st
rong
char
ter b
oard
s.
MAK
E YO
UR
CITY
A M
AGN
ET F
OR IN
NOV
ATIV
E TA
LEN
TTo
hol
d on
to ex
istin
g ta
lent a
nd at
trac
t new
talen
t, a c
ity n
eeds
a “b
uzz”
crea
ted
by a
com
mun
ity o
f com
mitt
ed p
eopl
e wor
king
to
war
d a c
omm
on go
al. A
city
’s re
puta
tion
will
affec
t its
abili
ty to
attr
act n
atio
nal t
alen
t org
aniz
atio
ns, s
uch
as T
each
For
Am
eric
a (T
FA) o
r The N
ew T
each
er P
rojec
t (TN
TP),
so it
shou
ld m
arke
t its
elf a
s one
that
embr
aces
bol
d re
form
s. Re
crui
tmen
t org
aniz
a-tio
ns sh
ould
dev
elop
unifi
ed m
essa
ges,
and
tout
early
succ
esse
s and
opp
ortu
nitie
s.
In
the e
arly
year
s of t
he re
form
effor
ts, N
ew O
rlean
s non
profi
ts sc
oure
d th
e nat
ion
for t
alen
t. O
rgan
izat
ions
such
as N
SNO
co
ntin
ually
sent
lead
ersh
ip to
key
conf
eren
ces p
ut o
n by
lead
ers i
n th
e sec
tor,
inclu
ding
Tea
ch F
or A
mer
ica,
New
Sch
ools
Vent
ure F
und,
and
the N
atio
nal A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Pub
lic C
hart
er S
choo
ls. P
rofe
ssio
nals
and
educ
ator
s with
New
Orle
ans t
ies
were
calle
d to
retu
rn h
ome.
Char
ter s
choo
l lea
ders
tour
ed u
rban
area
s to
recr
uit h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g te
ache
rs an
d lea
ders
who
we
re ea
ger t
o tr
ade o
verly
bur
eauc
ratic
syste
ms f
or th
e aut
onom
ies g
rant
ed to
char
ters
.
EMPO
WER
EXI
STIN
G TA
LEN
TH
ighl
y eff
ectiv
e, ex
perie
nced
lead
ers a
nd te
ache
rs ca
n th
rive i
n ch
arte
r sch
ools.
An
expa
ndin
g ch
arte
r sec
tor w
ill d
o w
ell t
o re
crui
t th
ese t
alen
ted
indi
vidu
als t
o th
eir s
choo
ls, a
s wel
l as e
mpo
wer
them
to
laun
ch a
nd le
ad th
eir o
wn
scho
ols (
see “
Char
ter S
choo
l Sta
ffing
,” pa
ge 2
6).
Effec
tive,
expe
rienc
ed te
ache
rs p
osse
ss th
e kno
wle
dge a
nd ex
pert
ise
hone
d th
roug
h th
eir y
ears
of t
each
ing.
They
bri
ng st
rong
clas
sroo
m
man
agem
ent s
kills
and
dee
p ex
perie
nce i
n in
stru
ctio
n, a
boon
to a
youn
g ch
arte
r sta
ff. A
s one
char
ter a
dvoc
ate s
aid:
“It i
s im
port
ant t
o ha
ve a
scho
ol le
ader
who
can
man
age a
nd in
tegr
ate b
oth
expe
rienc
ed
and
new
teac
hers
. … E
very
city
will
hav
e som
e gre
at sc
hool
lead
ers
who
can
lead
teac
hers
thro
ugh
a cha
nge.”
Find
ing
char
ter s
choo
l pri
ncip
als f
rom
with
in tr
aditi
onal
syst
ems r
equi
res s
igni
fican
t out
reac
h. V
eter
an ed
ucat
ors m
ay b
e sk
eptic
al o
f cha
rter
refo
rms.
But i
n m
ost d
istric
ts, t
he b
est e
duca
tors
form
clos
e soc
ial a
nd p
rofe
ssio
nal n
etw
orks
, and
whe
n ke
y le
ader
s lau
nch
thei
r ow
n sc
hool
s, ta
lent o
ften
follo
ws.
Add
ition
ally,
in d
istric
ts th
at h
ave p
ushe
d m
any
deci
sions
dow
n to
th
e sch
ool l
evel
in a
reas
such
as c
urric
ulum
, bud
get,
and
hiri
ng, h
igh-
perf
orm
ing
prin
cipa
ls in
the e
xist
ing
syst
em w
ill li
kely
be
pre
pare
d fo
r and
mot
ivat
ed b
y th
e ent
repr
eneu
rial r
ole o
f lea
ding
char
ter s
choo
ls. M
oreo
ver,
lead
ers f
unct
ioni
ng w
ithin
CM
O n
etw
orks
nee
d no
t man
age e
very
com
pone
nt o
f the
scho
ol. M
any
of th
e hig
hest
per
form
ing
char
ters
scho
ols i
n N
ew
Orle
ans a
re le
d by
vet
eran
educ
ator
s, an
d th
e res
ults
achi
eved
to d
ate w
ould
not
hav
e bee
n po
ssib
le w
ithou
t the
ir le
ader
ship
.
RECR
UIT
NEW
TEA
CHER
S AN
D LE
ADER
S Ci
ties s
houl
d al
so u
se a
ltern
ativ
e cer
tifica
tion
orga
niza
tions
such
as
TFA
and
TNTP
to st
aff th
eir g
row
ing
char
ter s
ecto
r’s sc
hool
s. TF
A ca
n be
a sig
nific
ant p
ipel
ine f
or le
ader
ship
. TFA
is in
crea
singl
y a m
arke
t re
quire
men
t: M
any h
igh-
qual
ity ch
arte
r ope
rato
rs w
ill n
ot en
ter a
m
arke
t with
out a
TFA
pre
senc
e, m
akin
g cle
ar th
e dee
p co
nnec
tion
betw
een
hum
an ca
pita
l and
char
ter g
row
th.
In
New
Orle
ans,
30 p
erce
nt o
f the
city
’s te
ache
rs co
me f
rom
eith
er
TFA
or T
NTP
, and
TFA
corp
s mem
bers
and
alum
ni cu
rren
tly
reac
h m
ore t
han
50 p
erce
nt o
f the
city
’s st
uden
ts. Th
is st
rate
gy w
ill
likely
disr
upt t
he tr
aditi
onal
educ
ator
care
er
ladd
er, a
nd it
carr
ies s
ome r
isk: I
f New
Orle
ans c
anno
t ret
ain
its
educ
ator
s, pe
rform
ance
will
like
ly st
agna
te. C
hart
er sc
hool
s are
be
ginn
ing
to re
spon
d by
dev
elopi
ng d
iver
se te
ache
r and
lead
er
path
way
s, bu
t man
y org
aniz
atio
n-sp
ecifi
c hum
an ca
pita
l sys
tem
s ar
e in
thei
r ear
ly st
ages
of d
evelo
pmen
t. St
ates
shou
ld a
lso co
nsid
er re
form
ing
thei
r edu
catio
n sc
hool
s, as
thes
e rem
ain
the d
omin
ant s
uppl
ier o
f tea
cher
s. St
ates
shou
ld
eval
uate
thes
e pro
gram
s bas
ed o
n th
e per
form
ance
of t
he te
ache
rs th
ey p
rodu
ce, a
nd ap
ply i
ncen
tives
and
regu
lator
y pen
altie
s. Fu
rthe
r, st
ates
shou
ld en
cour
age e
ntre
pren
eurs
hip
in p
ost-s
econ
dary
pre
para
tion
of te
ache
rs an
d sc
hool
lead
ers a
nd re
duce
ba
rrier
s tha
t lim
it de
velo
pmen
t of n
ew u
nive
rsiti
es. N
ew u
nive
rsity
inst
itutio
ns th
at fo
cus m
ore o
n pr
actic
e tha
n th
eory
—su
ch as
Re
lay G
radu
ate S
choo
l of E
duca
tion—
coul
d be
st dr
ive f
utur
e inn
ovat
ion.
Hig
her e
duca
tion
can
learn
muc
h fro
m th
e ent
repr
e-ne
ursh
ip ev
iden
t in
the c
hart
er se
ctor
, and
stat
es sh
ould
dev
elop
regu
lator
y reg
imes
that
enco
urag
e thi
s dev
elopm
ent.
Lou
isian
a eva
luat
es a
ll te
ache
r cer
tifica
tion
inst
itutio
ns, b
oth
univ
ersit
y and
alte
rnat
ive a
like,
on th
e aca
dem
ic re
sults
of t
heir
grad
uate
s. Th
is ac
coun
tabi
lity s
yste
m p
rovi
des c
lear d
ata o
n th
e per
form
ance
of t
each
er p
repa
ratio
n pr
ogra
ms a
nd a
llow
s for
po
licym
aker
s to
expa
nd o
r clo
se p
rogr
ams b
ased
on
stud
ent a
chie
vem
ent d
ata.
As t
hey m
ust w
ith te
ache
rs, c
ities
and
state
s sho
uld
look
to a
varie
ty o
f sou
rces
for c
hart
er sc
hool
and
CMO
lead
ers—
espe
cial
ly
cons
ider
ing
that
a lea
ders
hip
shor
tage
is th
e prim
ary l
imiti
ng fa
ctor
of c
hart
er sc
hool
gro
wth
. Lea
ders
can
be d
evelo
ped
thro
ugh
loca
l inc
ubat
ion
prog
ram
s, an
d th
roug
h na
tiona
l org
aniz
atio
ns su
ch as
New
Lea
ders
for N
ew S
choo
ls, K
IPP
Fish
er F
ello
wsh
ip,
Build
ing
Exce
llent
Sch
ools,
and
4.0
Scho
ols.
In th
e lon
g te
rm, le
ader
ship
pip
elin
es w
ill li
kely
dev
elop
with
in ch
arte
r org
aniz
atio
ns
them
selv
es. G
reat
talen
t ret
ains
and
deve
lops
gre
at ta
lent:
Hig
h-pe
rform
ing
teac
hers
des
ire to
wor
k w
ith li
ke-m
inde
d an
d sk
illed
co
work
ers a
nd le
ader
s. Th
us, s
uppo
rtin
g CM
O ca
pacit
y-bu
ildin
g w
ill b
e key
to b
uild
ing
leade
rshi
p pi
pelin
es (s
ee “S
calin
g U
p H
igh-
Perfo
rmin
g Ch
arte
rs In
to H
omeg
row
n CM
Os”
on
page
32).
Giv
en th
e con
stan
t and
hig
h de
man
d fo
r new
char
ter l
eade
rs,
howe
ver,
addi
tiona
l lea
der r
ecru
itmen
t fro
m o
utsid
e of c
hart
er sc
hool
s is n
eces
sary
, esp
ecia
lly ea
rly in
a cit
y’s p
roce
ss o
f bui
ldin
g a c
hart
er m
arke
t.
PROV
IDE
ONGO
ING
OPPO
RTUN
ITIE
S FO
R TR
AINI
NG
AND
DEVE
LOPM
ENT
Recr
uitm
ent s
trat
egie
s hit
a per
form
ance
ceili
ng: S
choo
ls ca
n ac
hiev
e onl
y so
muc
h w
ithou
t dev
elopi
ng te
ache
rs an
d lea
ders
. D
istric
ts tr
aditi
onal
ly fa
il in
pro
vidi
ng p
rofe
ssio
nal d
evelo
pmen
t tha
t dra
mat
ical
ly im
prov
es te
achi
ng an
d lea
rnin
g ou
tcom
es. I
n a d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m, c
hart
er sc
hool
s and
exte
rnal
supp
ort o
rgan
izat
ions
mus
t lea
d in
bui
ldin
g th
e ski
lls o
f tea
cher
s and
lead
ers
and
in le
vera
ging
the t
alen
ts of
exce
llent
teac
hers
.8
Ma
ke y
ou
r ci
ty a
mag
net
fo
r
inn
ov
ativ
e ta
len
t
Em
po
wer
ex
isti
ng
tal
ent
Rec
ruit
new
tea
cher
s an
d le
ader
s
Pro
vid
e o
ng
oin
g o
pp
ort
un
itie
s fo
r tr
ain
ing
an
d d
evel
op
men
t
Bu
ild
str
on
g c
har
ter
bo
ard
s
Hu
man
Cap
ital
: Act
ion
Ste
ps
Min
e ex
isti
ng
tal
ent
in lo
cal
sch
oo
l dis
tric
t
Rec
ruit
th
rou
gh
ch
arte
r sc
ho
ol
incu
bat
ion
pro
gra
ms
Co
ntr
act
wit
h o
rgan
izat
ion
s su
ch
as B
uil
din
g E
xcel
len
t S
cho
ols
an
d
4.0
Sch
oo
ls
Lo
ok
wit
hin
ex
pan
din
g C
MO
s an
d
hig
h-p
erfo
rmin
g c
har
ter
sch
oo
ls
So
urc
es f
or
New
Ch
arte
r L
ead
ers:
26
27
Nat
iona
lly, a
s CM
Os g
row
they
tend
to p
ull m
ore o
f the
ir de
velo
pmen
t in-
hous
e. H
owev
er, s
tand
-alo
ne sc
hool
s ofte
n ca
nnot
aff
ord
to d
evelo
p an
d ad
min
ister
inte
nsiv
e tra
inin
g pr
ogra
ms o
n th
eir o
wn.
Cha
rter
supp
ort o
rgan
izat
ions
shou
ld cr
eate
pro
-gr
ams t
o tr
ain
leade
rs an
d te
ache
rs, o
r brin
g in
nat
iona
l org
aniz
atio
ns to
pro
vide
this
deve
lopm
ent.
The n
atio
n is
in a
nasc
ent p
hase
of e
ffect
ive a
nd re
sults
-driv
en ed
ucat
or d
evelo
pmen
t. O
nly i
ncre
ased
entre
pren
eurs
hip
and
grea
ter a
ccou
ntab
ility
of e
xist
ing
inst
itutio
ns w
ill im
prov
e the
situ
atio
n. Th
ere i
s muc
h ro
om fo
r inn
ovat
ion,
whi
ch w
ill li
kely
oc
cur i
n m
ore d
ecen
tral
ized
educ
atio
nal s
yste
ms,
whe
re p
rovi
ders
can
work
out
side o
f exi
stin
g sy
stem
s tha
t hav
e hist
oric
ally
ac
hiev
ed li
mite
d re
sults
.
NSN
O p
rovi
des d
irect
serv
ices a
nd in
vests
in o
rgan
izat
ions
such
as th
e Ach
ieve
men
t Net
work
, Lea
ding
Edu
cato
rs, a
nd
MAT
CH to
pro
vide
exte
rnal
trai
ning
to te
ache
rs an
d lea
ders
. It a
lso co
ntra
cts w
ith N
ancy
Eus
ke, a
n or
gani
zatio
nal b
ehav
ior
prof
esso
r at t
he U
nive
rsity
of C
alifo
rnia
at B
erke
ley’s
Haa
s Sch
ool o
f Bus
ines
s, to
pro
vide
ong
oing
lead
ersh
ip an
d CM
O-le
vel
trai
ning
. NSN
O is
cons
ider
ing
addi
tiona
l inv
estm
ents
aim
ed at
help
ing
New
Orle
ans t
rans
form
educ
ator
dev
elopm
ent j
ust a
s it
has t
rans
form
ed ci
ty-b
ased
char
ter s
trat
egie
s.
BUIL
D ST
RON
G CH
ARTE
R BO
ARDS
Char
ter b
oard
s mus
t effe
ctiv
ely go
vern
char
ter l
eade
rs. W
ithou
t effe
ctiv
e sch
ool s
ite go
vern
ance
, qua
lity w
ill n
ot b
e sus
tain
ed,
and
mal
feas
ance
may
occ
ur. C
hart
er n
etwo
rks a
nd su
ppor
t org
aniz
atio
ns m
ust p
ay at
tent
ion
to th
e qua
lity a
nd q
uant
ity o
f ch
arte
r boa
rd m
embe
rs.
A st
rong
boa
rd in
clude
s mem
bers
with
a va
riety
of s
kills
and
back
grou
nds.
Boar
ds w
ith o
nly s
choo
l lea
ders
and
teac
hers
will
not
be
equi
pped
to m
eet t
heir
scho
ols’
dive
rse c
halle
nges
. Ins
tead
, boa
rd m
embe
rs sh
ould
be r
ecru
ited
with
a bl
end
of ed
ucat
iona
l, fin
anci
al, le
gal,
man
agem
ent,
and
publ
ic re
latio
ns ex
pert
ise. I
n ad
ditio
n, a
stro
ng b
oard
inclu
des c
omm
unity
mem
bers
to k
eep
the
scho
ol co
nnec
ted
to th
e rea
litie
s and
nee
ds o
f its
stud
ents
.
To st
reng
then
boa
rds,
char
ter n
etwo
rks a
nd su
ppor
t org
aniz
atio
ns ca
n in
crea
se aw
aren
ess o
f cha
rter s
choo
ls, ex
pand
the s
earc
h fo
r qu
alifi
ed b
oard
mem
bers
, and
pro
vide
boa
rd o
rient
atio
n an
d tra
inin
g. Tr
aini
ng ca
n pr
oper
ly or
ient b
oard
mem
bers
and
clarif
y the
ir ro
le of
ove
rsig
ht an
d go
vern
ance
, as o
ppos
ed to
dire
ct o
pera
tiona
l man
agem
ent.9 T
rain
ing s
houl
d ad
dres
s the
lega
l com
plia
nce
issue
s rela
ted
to ch
arte
r sch
ools,
as w
ell as
gui
danc
e on
how
to eff
ectiv
ely m
onito
r stu
dent
achi
evem
ent w
ith d
ata-
driv
en m
etho
ds.
Supp
ort o
rgan
izat
ions
such
as Th
e Hig
h Ba
r can
be b
roug
ht in
to p
rovi
de re
sour
ces a
nd tr
aini
ng to
char
ter s
choo
l boa
rds.
Addi
tiona
lly, r
egul
atio
ns w
ill aff
ect t
he n
umbe
r of p
eopl
e nee
ded
to sp
ur ch
arte
r sch
ool g
row
th. S
tate
s or c
ities
that
requ
ire a
n in
divi
dual
boa
rd fo
r eac
h sc
hool
will
be a
t a d
isadv
anta
ge in
recr
uitin
g an
d de
velo
ping
mul
tiple-
site s
choo
l ope
rato
rs. M
oreo
ver,
as th
e nat
iona
l ope
rato
rs ex
pand
acro
ss st
ate l
ines
, sta
tes t
hat d
o no
t req
uire
loca
l boa
rds a
t all
will
like
ly at
trac
t mor
e nat
iona
l op
erat
ors.
In th
is en
viro
nmen
t, sta
tes t
hat s
till p
rovi
de ro
bust
loca
l aut
horiz
atio
n an
d pu
blic
tran
spar
ency
will
be b
est s
ituat
ed to
en
sure
that
thes
e nat
iona
l ope
rato
rs se
rve t
heir
stud
ents
well.
Ch
arte
r Sc
ho
ol S
taffi
ng
: Em
po
wer
Exi
stin
g T
alen
t an
d H
ire
for
Po
ten
tial
Afte
r Hur
rican
e Kat
rina h
it N
ew O
rlean
s, pe
ople
scat
tere
d to
citie
s acr
oss t
he so
uth.
With
few
stud
ents
to te
ach
and
build
ings
un
safe
to te
ach
in, t
he O
rlean
s Par
ish S
choo
l Boa
rd la
id o
ff al
l of i
ts te
ache
rs, a
nd th
e uni
on w
as es
sent
ially
disb
ande
d. S
choo
ls op
ened
one
by o
ne to
acco
mm
odat
e fam
ilies
as th
ey re
turn
ed to
the c
ity to
rebu
ild. G
iven
the p
ower
vac
uum
at th
e dist
rict l
evel,
an
d th
e org
aniz
atio
nal fl
exib
ility
of c
hart
er sc
hool
s, ch
arte
rs p
rovi
ded
a veh
icle f
or co
mm
itted
educ
ator
s to
get a
scho
ol u
p an
d ru
nnin
g re
lativ
ely q
uick
ly. T
wo ch
arte
r sch
ools,
Sop
hie B
. Wrig
ht an
d A
kili
Acad
emy o
f New
Orle
ans,
open
ed u
p aft
er th
e sto
rm
and
used
diff
eren
t app
roac
hes t
o bu
ildin
g sta
ffs th
at co
uld
brin
g be
tter e
duca
tiona
l opt
ions
to ch
ildre
n th
an th
e dist
rict p
rovi
ded
befo
re th
e sto
rm.
Em
po
wer
exi
stin
g t
alen
tSo
phie
B. W
right
Cha
rter
Sch
ool c
onve
rted
to ch
arte
r sta
tus
and
open
ed it
s doo
rs ju
st be
fore
Kat
rina h
it in
Aug
ust 2
005.
Pr
incip
al S
haro
n Cl
ark—
a vet
eran
of t
he O
rlean
s Par
ish sc
hool
di
stric
t who
led
Wrig
ht as
a di
stric
t sch
ool a
nd ap
plie
d fo
r the
ch
arte
r—sta
ffed
the s
choo
l with
teac
hers
who
had
wor
ked
for t
he d
istric
t. W
right
cont
inue
s to
fill o
peni
ngs w
ith n
ew o
r ex
perie
nced
teac
hers
from
the l
ocal
ly av
aila
ble p
ool.
“I d
on’t
use p
rogr
ams l
ike T
each
For
Am
eric
a. I d
on’t
have
anyt
hing
ag
ains
t the
m, b
ut if
I’m
goin
g to
put
in th
e effo
rt o
f find
ing
and
deve
lopi
ng te
ache
rs, I
wan
t the
m to
stay
long
er th
an tw
o ye
ars,”
sh
e say
s.
Gre
ater
cont
rol o
ver s
taffi
ng h
as h
elped
Cla
rk b
uild
a te
am o
f ed
ucat
ors a
nd su
ppor
t sta
ff w
ho u
nder
stand
and
supp
ort t
he
scho
ol’s
miss
ion.
“With
a di
stric
t and
a un
ion,
ther
e is a
leve
l of
prot
ectio
n th
at d
oesn
’t he
lp st
uden
ts. A
t a ch
arte
r, we
all
have
to
perfo
rm to
kee
p ou
r job
s. If
teac
hers
at W
right
do
not p
erfo
rm,
I can
free
up
thei
r fut
ure t
o do
som
ethi
ng el
se,”
Clar
k sa
ys.
Des
pite
gre
ater
free
dom
to re
mov
e non
-per
form
ing
teac
hers
, Cl
ark
boas
ts lo
w te
ache
r tur
nove
r. “I
hav
e tea
cher
s on
staff
who
ha
ve b
een
here
sinc
e I ar
rived
in 2
001.
We h
ave v
ery l
ow te
ache
r tu
rnov
er b
ecau
se te
ache
rs w
ant t
o wo
rk h
ere,”
she s
ays.
Hir
e fo
r P
ote
nti
al
Sean
Gal
lagh
er, o
f Aki
li Ac
adem
y of N
ew O
rlean
s, we
nt
anot
her r
oute
in h
is st
affing
. Whe
n G
alla
gher
ope
ned
Aki
li in
th
e fal
l of 2
008,
he i
nten
ded
to h
ire a
dive
rse t
each
ing
staff.
He
soug
ht lo
cal t
each
ers w
ho h
ad w
orke
d in
Orle
ans P
arish
bef
ore
the s
torm
, tea
cher
s fro
m el
sew
here
in th
e cou
ntry
, a m
ix o
f ne
w an
d ex
perie
nced
teac
hers
, and
peo
ple f
rom
div
erse
bac
k-gr
ound
s. Th
e majo
rity o
f tea
cher
s he u
ltim
ately
hire
d, th
ough
, we
re in
expe
rienc
ed, n
early
all
from
bey
ond
New
Orle
ans,
and
from
Tea
ch F
or A
mer
ica o
r oth
er a
ltern
ativ
e rou
tes.
Gal
lagh
er h
as h
ired
mos
tly fi
rst-y
ear T
FA te
ache
rs b
ecau
se
othe
r sch
ools
did
not h
ave t
he sa
me w
ork
and
time d
eman
ds
on te
ache
rs. “
I rea
lly d
o be
lieve
ther
e are
expe
rienc
ed te
ache
rs
in th
e city
who
wou
ld b
e suc
cess
ful i
n ou
r sch
ool,
but w
e jus
t ha
ven’
t fou
nd th
em ye
t,” G
alla
gher
not
es. “
Conv
ersa
tions
with
pr
ospe
ctiv
e app
lican
ts w
ho h
ad w
orke
d in
the p
arish
bef
ore
typi
cally
laste
d les
s tha
n a m
inut
e whe
n th
ey fo
und
out w
e had
a 7
a.m
. to
5 p.
m. c
ontr
acte
d wo
rk d
ay. W
e nee
d fo
lks t
o wo
rk
wha
teve
r hou
rs it
take
s, an
d th
at h
as te
nded
to b
e you
ng te
ach-
ers e
arly
in th
eir c
aree
rs.”
Des
pite
his
teac
hers
’ lim
ited
expe
rienc
e, G
alla
gher
has
bee
n ab
le to
put
toge
ther
a st
aff th
at ge
ts ac
adem
ic re
sults
for s
tu-
dent
s. To
do
so, G
alla
gher
hire
s peo
ple w
ith th
e nec
essa
ry m
is-sio
n al
ignm
ent a
nd w
ork
ethi
c, fo
lks w
ho b
elie
ve in
the w
ork.
To
capi
taliz
e on
thes
e qua
litie
s, he
and
his a
dmin
istra
tive t
eam
ha
ve d
evelo
ped
stro
ng su
mm
er tr
aini
ng an
d pr
ogra
mm
atic
co
mpo
nent
s tha
t sup
port
firs
t-yea
r tea
cher
s.
“We h
ave b
uilt
an in
tent
iona
l foc
us o
n les
son
plan
ning
, a re
ally
sp
ecifi
c sco
pe an
d se
quen
ce, a
nd d
etai
led co
urse
pla
ns,”
Gal
-la
gher
says
. “O
ur te
ache
rs w
rite l
esso
n pl
ans t
hat a
re 5
0 tim
es
bette
r tha
n th
e one
s I w
rote
in m
y ten
th ye
ar o
f tea
chin
g. S
o ev
en if
they
are n
ot ye
t exc
ellen
t at t
he ex
ecut
ion
of th
ose p
lans
be
caus
e the
y’re n
ew to
teac
hing
, the
ir les
sons
are s
till g
oing
so
mew
here
, and
stud
ents
are l
earn
ing.”
As G
alla
gher
’s sc
hool
cont
inue
s to
rank
as th
e hig
hest
perfo
rm-
ing
open
-enr
ollm
ent c
hart
er sc
hool
in th
e city
, he i
s pla
nnin
g to
expa
nd h
is sc
hool
into
a ch
arte
r net
work
. He i
s dev
elop-
ing
som
e of h
is ex
istin
g sta
ff to
bec
ome l
eade
rs o
f the
new
sc
hool
s, th
e firs
t of w
hich
he p
lans
to o
pen
in fa
ll 20
13. “
If yo
u lea
rn fr
om o
ther
org
aniz
atio
ns th
at h
ave s
caled
—pr
etty
muc
h un
iver
sally
, the
y say
that
whe
ther
you’r
e ope
ning
your
seco
nd,
third
, or fi
fteen
th sc
hool
, the
lead
ers n
eed
to h
ave t
augh
t in
the
netw
ork
and
know
the c
ultu
re in
side o
ut.”
8. F
or m
ore o
n w
hy st
reng
then
ed re
crui
tmen
t, de
velo
pmen
t, an
d re
tent
ion
are n
ot en
ough
, and
why
educ
atio
n sy
stem
s mus
t lev
erag
e the
coun
try’s
stro
nges
t te
ache
rs to
reac
h m
ore s
tude
nts,
see:
Has
sel,
E. A
., & H
asse
l B. C
. (20
10).
3X fo
r all:
Ext
endi
ng th
e rea
ch o
f edu
catio
n’s b
est.
Chap
el H
ill, N
C: A
utho
r. Re
trie
ved
from
http
://op
port
unity
cultu
re.o
rg/im
ages
/stor
ies/
3x_f
or_a
ll-pu
blic
_im
pact
. For
the p
olic
y and
pra
ctic
e im
plic
atio
ns o
f ext
endi
ng th
e rea
ch
of A
mer
ica’s
bes
t tea
cher
s, se
e: H
asse
l, B.
C., &
Has
sel,
E. A
. (20
11).
Seiz
ing o
ppor
tuni
ty a
t the
top:
How
the U
.S. c
an re
ach
ever
y stu
dent
with
an
exce
llent
te
ache
r. Ch
apel
Hill
, NC:
Aut
hor.
Retr
ieve
d fr
om h
ttp://
oppo
rtun
itycu
lture
.org
/seiz
ing_
oppo
rtun
ity_f
ullre
port-
publ
ic_i
mpa
ct.p
df
9. D
evelo
ping
trai
ning
pro
gram
s for
char
ter s
choo
l gov
erni
ng b
oard
mem
bers
. Nat
iona
l Res
ourc
e Cen
ter o
n Ch
arte
r Sch
ool F
inan
ce a
nd G
over
nanc
e. Re
trie
ved
from
http
://w
ww.
char
terr
esou
rce.o
rg/fi
les/
Dev
elopi
ng_T
rain
ing_
Prog
ram
s-Ch
arte
rSTA
R.pd
f
28
29
early
in th
e pro
cess
can
quick
ly o
pen
the l
ocal
mar
ket a
nd in
crea
se th
e per
form
ance
of a
lread
y-su
cces
sful
educ
ator
s. In
cert
ain
case
s, op
erat
ors m
ay n
eed
finan
cial
and
oper
atio
nal s
uppo
rt to
acce
lerat
e the
se co
nver
sions
.
INCU
BATE
NEW
CH
ARTE
R SC
HOO
LSA
succ
essf
ul ch
arte
r sch
ool i
ncub
atio
n in
itiat
ive c
an p
rovi
de re
sour
ces f
or en
trepr
eneu
rs to
dev
elop
the c
apac
ity to
ope
n a
high
-qua
lity c
hart
er sc
hool
. Inc
ubat
ion
prog
ram
s pro
vide
a ra
nge o
f sup
port
serv
ices,
inclu
ding
recr
uitin
g an
d tr
aini
ng sc
hool
lea
ders
and
staff;
bui
ldin
g co
mm
unity
supp
ort f
or n
ew sc
hool
s; an
d pr
ovid
ing
tech
nica
l and
fina
ncia
l sup
port
dur
ing
the y
ears
su
rrou
ndin
g th
e sch
ool’s
ope
ning
. Inc
ubat
ion
is es
peci
ally
criti
cal i
n ea
rly-s
tage
char
ter m
arke
ts, w
hen
CMO
s are
less
esta
blish
ed.
Recr
uit a
nd d
evelo
p sc
hool
lead
ers f
or in
cuba
tion.
Incu
batio
n pr
ogra
ms l
ive a
nd d
ie by
thei
r abi
lity t
o re
crui
t and
selec
t hig
h-qu
ality
foun
ders
. Unf
ortu
nate
ly, n
ot en
ough
rese
arch
exist
s on
wha
t mak
es an
exce
llent
char
ter f
ound
er. A
lthou
gh K
IPP
and
othe
rs h
ave h
oned
thei
r sele
ctio
n m
odels
to m
eet t
heir
own
orga
niza
tiona
l nee
ds, t
he la
ck o
f num
erou
s lon
g-sta
ndin
g na
tiona
l ch
arte
r inc
ubat
ors h
as h
ampe
red
learn
ing
in th
is ar
ea. B
uild
ing
Exce
llent
Sch
ools
(BES
) is t
he la
rges
t nat
iona
l inc
ubat
or, a
nd it
us
ually
laun
ches
fewe
r tha
n 10
scho
ols a
year
. Ide
ally,
with
the c
ontin
uatio
n of
BES
and
the a
dven
t of 4
.0 S
choo
ls an
d ot
her
regi
onal
incu
bato
rs, m
ore i
ncub
atio
n re
sear
ch w
ill co
me—
and
mor
e inc
ubat
ors c
an d
evelo
p in
to lo
ng-s
tand
ing
succ
essf
ul
inst
itutio
ns. Th
e lac
k of
hig
h-qu
ality
incu
bato
rs li
mits
regi
onal
char
ter g
row
th. P
hila
nthr
opist
s wou
ld d
o we
ll to
inve
st m
ore i
n th
is ar
ea, e
spec
ially
whi
le th
e CM
O se
ctor
rem
ains
lim
ited.
Afte
r sele
ctin
g lea
ders
, inc
ubat
ors o
ften
run
fello
wsh
ip p
rogr
ams,
prov
idin
g a s
alar
y for
a ye
ar o
r mor
e whi
le off
erin
g in
tens
ive
trai
ning
in le
ader
ship
, man
agem
ent,
and
finan
ce. S
choo
l lea
ders
dev
elop
scho
ol p
lans
and
rece
ive f
eedb
ack
as p
art o
f the
pla
nnin
g pr
oces
s. Th
ey le
arn
wha
t wor
ks, a
nd v
isit o
r wor
k in
succ
essf
ul sc
hool
s. In
the y
ear b
efor
e the
scho
ol o
pens
, lead
ers i
dent
ify an
d hi
re m
anag
emen
t tea
ms t
hat c
an p
lan
toge
ther
. Inc
ubat
ors m
ay h
elp fi
nd le
ader
s and
teac
hers
, bec
ause
they
are u
sual
ly w
ell-c
on-
nect
ed w
ith h
uman
capi
tal p
ipel
ines
. Afte
r thi
s hiri
ng, t
rain
ing
prog
ram
s can
shift
to a
team
-bas
ed ap
proa
ch. F
eedb
ack
and
eval
uatio
n id
eally
cont
inue
thro
ugh
the o
peni
ng o
f the
lead
ers’
char
ter s
choo
ls.
Conn
ect w
ith su
ppor
ts lo
cally
and
natio
nally
. Nat
ionw
ide,
incu
batio
n pr
ogra
ms h
ave t
ypic
ally
bee
n ca
rrie
d ou
t by c
ity-b
ased
ch
a rte
r sup
port
org
aniz
atio
ns. Th
ese w
ork
to es
tabl
ish re
latio
nshi
ps an
d co
llabo
ratio
n w
ith a
broa
d ra
nge o
f ent
ities
to su
ppor
t th
e inc
ubat
ion
of n
ew ch
arte
r sch
ools.
The C
ities
for E
duca
tion
Entre
pren
eurs
hip
Trus
t (CE
E-Tr
ust)
is an
emer
ging
colla
bora
tive
that
supp
orts
city-
base
d ch
arte
r sch
ool i
ncub
atio
n in
itiat
ives
arou
nd th
e cou
ntry
. Dra
win
g on
thes
e typ
es o
f col
labo
ratio
n, an
d de
pend
ing
on th
e int
erna
l res
ourc
es av
aila
ble,
city-
base
d in
cuba
tion
prog
ram
s can
dev
elop
serv
ices “
in-h
ouse
” or c
an co
ntra
ct
with
incu
batio
n se
rvice
pro
vide
rs. I
ncub
atio
n eff
orts
requ
ire si
gnifi
cant
fund
ing
– es
timat
es ra
nge f
rom
$20
0,00
0 to
$50
0,00
0 pe
r sc
hool
, so
conn
ectin
g w
ith fi
nanc
ial s
uppo
rts i
s crit
ical
to fu
nd th
e inc
ubat
ion
proc
ess.
Addi
tiona
lly, s
tron
g in
cuba
tion
effor
ts in
trod
uce a
nd co
nnec
t fut
ure s
choo
l lea
ders
to k
ey co
mm
unity
mem
bers
and
grou
ps
thro
ugh
form
al re
siden
cies
in ex
istin
g sc
hool
s or s
uppo
rt o
rgan
izat
ions
, org
aniz
ed co
mm
unity
enga
gem
ent,
char
ter b
oard
re
crui
tmen
t, an
d in
form
al re
latio
nshi
p-bu
ildin
g. In
itial
char
ter s
choo
l dev
elopm
ent i
s inh
eren
tly a
loca
l effo
rt, a
nd ci
ty-b
ased
or
gani
zatio
ns m
ust a
ssist
char
ter l
eade
rs in
nav
igat
ing
the s
yste
m.
Recr
uit b
oard
mem
bers
. City
-bas
ed o
rgan
izat
ions
can
also
wor
k to
recr
uit b
oard
mem
bers
with
a br
eadt
h of
expe
rienc
e, ex
per-
t ise,
and
influ
ence
, as w
ell a
s a co
mm
itmen
t to
impr
ovin
g sc
hool
s. St
rong
char
ter s
choo
l boa
rds b
ring
acco
unta
bilit
y and
stab
ility
to
fled
glin
g ch
arte
r sch
ools.
This
serv
ice is
espe
cial
ly im
port
ant f
or sc
hool
foun
ders
who
lack
loca
l com
mun
ity co
nnec
tions
.
Secu
re fu
ndin
g and
faci
litie
s. W
ith sc
hool
lead
ersh
ip in
pla
ce, t
he ch
allen
ge o
f nav
igat
ing
the c
hart
er ap
plic
atio
n pr
oces
s and
s e
curin
g fu
ndin
g an
d fa
cilit
ies r
emai
ns. I
ncub
atio
n eff
orts
shou
ld h
elp ap
plic
ants
navi
gate
and
unde
rsta
nd th
e loc
al p
roce
ss fo
r ap
plyi
ng fo
r a ch
arte
r, an
d as
sist i
n se
curin
g fa
cilit
ies o
r fac
ilitie
s fina
ncin
g. F
acili
ties c
onst
rain
ts va
ry g
reat
ly am
ong
citie
s; in
cuba
tion
prog
ram
s can
help
stee
r new
char
ter s
choo
l ope
rato
rs to
war
d ph
ilant
hrop
ic fu
ndin
g or
low-
cost
loan
s if t
he ci
ty d
oes
not o
ffer f
acili
ties.
KE
Y S
TR
AT
EGY
#3:
CH
AR
TER
SC
HO
OL
DE
VEL
OPM
EN
T
Nat
iona
lly, c
hart
er sc
hool
qua
lity i
s mix
ed. H
owev
er, r
esea
rch
confi
rms t
hat N
ew O
rlean
s cha
rter
scho
ols o
utpe
rform
thei
r na
tiona
l cou
nter
part
s in
term
s of t
he p
erce
ntag
es o
f cha
rter
scho
ols o
utpe
rform
ing
state
wid
e tra
ditio
nal s
choo
ls. Y
et am
ong
the
thre
e key
stra
tegi
es fo
r bui
ldin
g a d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m o
f sch
ools,
char
ter s
choo
l dev
elopm
ent i
s the
easie
st to
get w
rong
. Eve
n in
N
ew O
rlean
s, so
me c
hart
er sc
hool
s hav
e fai
led. B
ut w
ithou
t cha
rter
scho
ol d
evelo
pmen
t—pu
rpos
eful
incu
batin
g of
bot
h st
rong
sta
nd-a
lone
scho
ols a
nd n
etwo
rks t
hat s
cale
succ
essf
ul m
odels
—ed
ucat
ors w
ill at
bes
t be l
imite
d an
d at
wor
st be
und
erm
ined
by
dist
rict b
urea
ucra
cies
. Dec
ades
of m
argi
nal a
nd in
terr
upte
d di
stric
t ref
orm
pro
vide
ampl
e evi
denc
e for
the n
eed
for h
igh-
qual
ity
char
ter s
choo
ls. W
areh
ouse
s cou
ld b
e fille
d w
ith th
e rem
ains
of u
nexe
cute
d di
stric
t str
ateg
ic pl
ans.
To ex
ecut
e a su
cces
sful
char
ter s
choo
l str
ateg
y, ev
eryo
ne in
volv
ed m
ust m
aint
ain
a foc
us o
n qu
ality
. Ext
erna
l non
profi
ts an
d ad
voca
cy
grou
ps m
ust p
lay a
pivo
tal r
ole i
n m
onito
ring
char
ter s
choo
l per
form
ance
. Fai
ling
char
ters
m
ust b
e clo
sed
early
on,
pre
fera
bly w
ithin
thre
e to
four
year
s of e
xiste
nce.
Gre
at sc
hool
s mus
t ex
pand
thou
ghtfu
lly, a
nd si
gnifi
cant
reso
urce
s m
ust b
e at t
heir
disp
osal
dur
ing
grow
th.
Exec
utin
g a c
ityw
ide c
hart
er st
rate
gy w
ithou
t a
deep
cultu
re o
f acc
ount
abili
ty is
irre
spon
sible:
Ch
arte
r sch
ools
will
per
form
wor
se th
an
trad
ition
al sc
hool
s, an
d ch
ildre
n w
ill u
nder
go
stru
ctur
al u
phea
val f
or n
othi
ng.
Citie
s can
exec
ute t
hree
key
stra
tegi
es fo
r sca
ling
up ch
arte
r sch
ools:
conv
ertin
g ex
istin
g tr
adi-
tiona
l sch
ools,
incu
batin
g pr
omisi
ng n
ew
char
ter s
choo
ls, an
d su
ppor
ting
the g
row
th o
f pr
oven
char
ter p
rogr
ams i
nto
netw
orks
led
by C
MO
s. A
ll av
enue
s sho
uld
be en
cour
aged
, as n
one a
lone
is li
kely
to en
sure
the
dram
atic
cityw
ide g
row
th o
f a h
igh-
qual
ity se
ctor
. Add
ition
ally,
pur
suin
g al
l opt
ions
can
redu
ce th
e tim
e req
uire
d fo
r a ch
arte
r m
arke
t to
go to
scal
e. W
hile
CMO
s are
easie
st to
scal
e, re
lyin
g so
lely o
n th
is st
rate
gy ca
n lim
it in
nova
tion
and
prog
ram
opt
ions
fo
r fam
ilies
and
stud
ents
. In
addi
tion,
mos
t net
work
s beg
in as
stan
d-al
one s
choo
ls th
at p
rove
thei
r val
ue an
d th
en ex
pand
. If
othe
r ind
ustr
ies a
re in
dica
tive,
howe
ver,
larg
e CM
Os m
ay b
ecom
e the
dom
inan
t ope
rato
r of c
hart
er sc
hool
s. Th
is w
ill es
peci
ally
be
true
if te
chno
logy
brin
gs d
own
labo
r cos
ts an
d cr
eate
s bet
ter o
pera
ting
mar
gins
. As s
uch,
CM
O d
evelo
pmen
t and
supp
ort i
s es
sent
ial.
Last
ly, b
e war
y of o
pera
tors
that
pro
mise
sign
ifica
nt g
row
th w
ithou
t a tr
ack
reco
rd o
f suc
cess
. Lik
e any
indu
stry
, ine
ffect
ive o
pera
-to
rs ex
ist, a
nd th
ey w
ill ta
ke ad
vant
age o
f fav
orab
le m
arke
t con
ditio
ns to
incr
ease
thei
r mar
ket s
hare
with
littl
e atte
ntio
n to
qu
ality
. CO
NVE
RT E
XIST
ING
TRAD
ITIO
NAL
SCH
OOLS
A
city
’s ch
arte
r mar
ket c
an ta
ke ti
me t
o de
velo
p if
char
ter g
row
th re
lies s
olely
on
new-
star
t sch
ools
or fo
cuse
s sol
ely o
n th
e ta
keov
er o
f the
lowe
st pe
rform
ing
scho
ols.
Citie
s typ
ical
ly d
emon
stra
te m
uch
mor
e will
ingn
ess t
o tu
rn o
ver p
ersis
tent
ly lo
w-pe
r-fo
rmin
g sc
hool
s to
char
ter o
pera
tors
than
to co
nver
t exc
ellen
t dist
rict s
choo
ls in
to ch
arte
r sch
ools.
If o
ne b
elie
ves t
hat t
he b
est
educ
ator
s will
incr
ease
thei
r per
form
ance
whe
n em
powe
red,
this
is a p
oor s
trat
egy.
Conv
ertin
g a p
ortio
n of
a cit
y’s b
est s
choo
ls
Co
nv
ert
exis
tin
g t
rad
itio
nal
sch
oo
ls
· I
den
tify
hig
h-p
erfo
rmin
g, e
ntr
epre
neu
rial
lead
ers
·
Pro
vid
e su
pp
ort
s to
en
sure
su
cces
sfu
l co
nv
ersi
on
Incu
bat
e n
ew c
har
ter
sch
oo
ls
·
Rec
ruit
an
d d
evel
op
ch
arte
r fo
un
der
s
· C
on
nec
t w
ith
su
pp
ort
s lo
cally
an
d n
atio
nal
ly
· R
ecru
it b
oar
d m
emb
ers
·
Sec
ure
fu
nd
ing
an
d f
acil
itie
s
En
cou
rag
e an
d s
up
po
rt g
row
th o
f h
igh
-qu
alit
y
char
ter
net
wo
rks
(CM
Os)
·
Att
ract
pro
ven
net
wo
rks
fro
m e
lsew
her
e
· S
up
po
rt e
xp
ansi
on
of
hig
h-p
erfo
rmin
g c
har
ters
in
to “
ho
me-
gro
wn
” n
etw
ork
s
Hig
h-Q
ual
ity
Ch
arte
r S
cho
ol a
nd
Net
wo
rk G
row
th:
Act
ion
Ste
ps
30
31
Use
bot
h fr
esh
star
ts an
d tu
rnar
ound
s to
build
the c
hart
er se
ctor
. Nat
ionw
ide,
city-
base
d in
cuba
tion
effor
ts ha
ve te
nded
to fo
cus
on fr
esh
start
s, or
scho
ols t
hat s
tart
with
one
gra
de an
d ad
d an
addi
tiona
l gra
de ea
ch ye
ar.10
An
aggr
essiv
e city
wid
e cha
rter
ing
prog
ram
nee
ds b
oth
fresh
star
ts as
wel
l as f
ull t
urna
roun
ds. H
owev
er, f
ull s
choo
l tur
naro
unds
ofte
n re
quire
mor
e exp
erien
ced
man
agem
ent a
nd th
eref
ore m
ay b
e a le
ss re
adily
avai
labl
e str
ateg
y in
an ea
rly-s
tage
char
ter m
arke
t.
Ho
w Q
uic
kly
Sh
ou
ld Y
ou
Gro
w t
he
Ch
arte
r S
ecto
r?
Th
is i
s p
erh
aps
the
key
qu
esti
on
fac
ing
cit
y le
ader
s, w
ho
hav
e tw
o b
asic
op
tio
ns
for
ac
hie
vin
g d
ram
atic
ch
arte
r g
row
th i
n a
sch
oo
l ref
orm
str
ateg
y. B
oth
op
tio
ns
can
be
ac
com
pli
shed
in
ro
ug
hly
a fi
ve-
yea
r w
ind
ow
, an
d a
chie
ve
eith
er a
15
to 3
0 o
r a
35 t
o
50
per
cen
t m
arke
t sh
are.
ST
AR
T S
MA
LL
AN
D B
UIL
D O
N S
UC
CE
SS
Focu
s re
sou
rces
an
d p
eop
le o
n b
uil
din
g a
n i
nit
ial h
igh
-qu
alit
y c
har
ter
mar
ket
shar
e—p
erh
aps
20
per
cen
t. B
uil
d o
n t
he
succ
esse
s o
f th
e 2
0 p
erce
nt
to s
ecu
re s
up
po
rt f
or
futu
re g
row
th,
and
co
nti
nu
e ch
arte
rin
g a
gg
ress
ivel
y t
o r
epla
ce lo
w-p
erfo
rmin
g d
istr
ict
sch
oo
ls. T
his
wil
l li
kely
in
vo
lve
op
enin
g t
hre
e to
six
sch
oo
ls a
yea
r fo
r a
mid
-siz
e sy
stem
(10
0 t
o 1
50 s
cho
ols
).
Pro
s: L
ess
po
liti
cal p
ush
bac
k; f
ewer
hu
man
cap
ital
dem
and
s in
itia
lly
Co
ns:
May
ta
ke m
ore
tim
e fo
r re
form
s to
ta
ke h
old
; les
s d
isru
pti
ve
to t
he
fail
ing
dis
tric
t sy
stem
Pre
con
dit
ion
s o
r fi
rst
step
s: S
tro
ng
au
tho
rizi
ng
an
d g
ov
ern
ance
co
mp
on
ents
; ex
isti
ng
hu
man
ca
pit
al p
ipel
ines
to
lev
erag
e; s
tart
-up
fu
nd
ing
fro
m p
ub
lic
or
pri
vat
e so
urc
es
GO
BIG
EA
RLY
AN
D B
UIL
D S
YS
TE
M S
UP
PO
RT
S F
OR
LO
NG
-TE
RM
SU
ST
AIN
AB
ILIT
Y
Est
abli
sh t
he
go
al o
f ch
arte
rin
g a
larg
e m
ajo
rity
of
a ci
ty’s
fai
lin
g s
cho
ols
ear
ly i
n t
he
pro
cess
to
sig
nal
bo
ld r
efo
rm a
nd
a w
illi
ng
nes
s to
loo
k b
eyo
nd
th
e sc
ho
ol d
istr
ict
for
a so
luti
on
to
p
ersi
sten
t an
d p
erv
asiv
e lo
w p
erfo
rman
ce. T
his
wil
l lik
ely
in
vo
lve
op
enin
g e
igh
t to
12
sch
oo
ls
a y
ear
for
a m
id-s
ize
syst
em (1
00
to
15
0 s
cho
ols
).
Pro
s: F
ocu
ses
init
ially
on
to
tal s
yst
em t
ran
sfo
rmat
ion
; pro
vid
es i
mp
etu
s to
est
abli
sh s
up
po
rts
for
a sy
stem
of
dec
entr
aliz
ed s
cho
ols
bef
ore
ch
alle
ng
es a
rise
Co
ns:
Gre
ater
po
ten
tial
fo
r p
oli
tica
l bac
klas
h; a
cute
pre
ssu
re o
n b
uil
din
g h
um
an c
apit
al
pip
elin
es e
arly
; gre
ater
diffi
cult
y b
alan
cin
g c
har
teri
ng
a la
rge
nu
mb
er o
f sc
ho
ols
wh
ile
m
ain
tain
ing
a f
ocu
s o
n q
ual
ity
Pre
con
dit
ion
s o
r fi
rst
step
s: S
tro
ng
po
liti
cal w
ill;
str
on
g a
uth
ori
zin
g a
nd
go
ver
nan
ce
com
po
nen
ts; s
ign
ifica
nt
sup
ply
of
hig
h-q
ual
ity
tal
ent
wit
h p
ipel
ine
in p
lace
(in
clu
din
g
mec
han
ism
fo
r b
rin
gin
g t
rad
itio
nal
lead
ers
and
tea
cher
s to
new
sy
stem
); a
nd
mu
ltip
le
fun
din
g s
trea
ms—
pu
bli
c an
d p
riv
ate
10. A
bleid
inge
r, J.,
& St
einer
, L. (
Publ
ic Im
pact)
. (20
11).
Incu
batin
g high
-qua
lity c
harte
r sch
ools:
Inno
vatio
ns in
city
-bas
ed or
gani
zatio
ns. W
ashi
ngto
n, D
.C.: N
atio
nal
Char
ter S
choo
l Res
ourc
e Cen
ter.
Retri
eved
from
http
://w
ww.
char
ters
choo
lcent
er.o
rg/si
tes/d
efau
lt/fil
es/1
043%
20N
CS%
20W
tPap
er_I
ncub
atin
g%20
final
_0.p
df11
. H
asse
l, E. A
., Has
sel, B
. C., &
Abl
eidin
ger,
J. (2
011)
. Goi
ng ex
pone
ntia
l: Gro
wing
the c
harte
r sch
ool s
ecto
r’s be
st. W
ashi
ngto
n, D
.C.: P
rogr
essiv
e Pol
icy In
stitu
te.
Retri
eved
from
http
://w
ww.
prog
ress
ivefi
x.com
/wp-
cont
ent/u
ploa
ds/2
011/
02/2
.201
1_H
asse
l_G
oing
-Exp
onen
tial_
WEB
1.pdf
Inc
ubat
ion
stra
tegi
es ca
n re
sult
in h
igh
varia
tions
in p
erfo
rman
ce. N
SNO
’s in
cuba
tion
prog
ram
laun
ched
bot
h th
e RSD
’s hi
ghes
t per
form
ing
char
ter h
igh
scho
ol an
d ch
arte
r elem
enta
ry sc
hool
, as w
ell a
s its
lowe
st pe
rform
ing
char
ter s
choo
l. Le
ader
in
expe
rienc
e mak
es it
diffi
cult
to p
redi
ct sc
hool
succ
ess,
thou
gh th
ose l
eade
rs w
ith so
me e
xper
ience
in h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g sc
hool
s ofte
n ac
hiev
ed su
perio
r res
ults
. Add
ition
ally,
incu
batio
n al
low
s for
rein
vest
men
t in
the h
ighe
st pe
rform
ing
scho
ols,
whi
ch w
ill le
ad to
the f
orm
atio
n of
loca
lly o
pera
ted
CMO
s.
ENCO
URA
GE A
ND
SUPP
ORT
GROW
TH O
F HI
GH-Q
UAL
ITY
CMOS
Agg
ress
ive c
hart
er g
row
th ca
nnot
be a
chie
ved
solel
y thr
ough
the o
peni
ng o
f sta
nd-a
lone
char
ter s
choo
ls. M
atur
e sch
ool o
pera
tors
ca
n op
en m
ultip
le ne
w sc
hool
s eac
h ye
ar, d
raw
ing
on th
eir e
xper
tise a
nd h
uman
capi
tal t
o se
rve m
ore s
tude
nts.11
A ci
tyw
ide
char
ter s
yste
m ca
n sim
ulta
neou
sly at
trac
t pro
ven
CMO
s fro
m o
ther
citie
s and
pro
vide
supp
orts
and
enco
urag
emen
t for
hig
h-pe
r-fo
rmin
g lo
cal s
choo
l ope
rato
rs to
dev
elop
into
net
work
s. Id
eally
, thi
s str
ateg
y red
uces
long
-term
risk
, bec
ause
a gr
eate
r per
cent
age
of in
vest
men
ts ar
e mad
e in
prov
en m
odels
.
Attr
act h
igh-
perf
orm
ing c
hart
er o
pera
tors
. Ent
icing
pro
ven
oper
ator
s to
a new
area
is d
ifficu
lt. H
igh-
perfo
rmin
g CM
Os h
esita
te
to o
pen
scho
ols i
n cit
ies o
utsid
e of t
heir
esta
blish
ed su
ppor
t net
work
s. In
case
s whe
re p
rove
n op
erat
ors a
re w
illin
g to
expa
nd, t
hey
unde
rsta
ndab
ly d
eman
d id
eal s
ituat
ions
such
as g
uara
ntee
d au
tono
my,
free f
acili
ties,
clear
gove
rnan
ce st
ruct
ures
, str
ong
finan
cial
su
ppor
t for
char
ters
, and
acce
ss to
hig
hly q
ualifi
ed h
uman
capi
tal.
Even
in th
e bes
t of c
ircum
stanc
es, e
stabl
ished
CM
Os e
nter
new
m
arke
ts ca
utio
usly,
so ci
ties c
anno
t rely
too
heav
ily o
n th
is st
rate
gy n
ow. H
owev
er, a
s the
nat
iona
l cha
rter
scho
ol m
ovem
ent
grow
s—an
d if
regu
lator
y env
ironm
ents
are c
ondu
cive
—m
ore r
egio
nal a
nd n
atio
nal C
MO
s will
emer
ge. S
ome C
MO
s, su
ch as
Ro
cket
ship
, hav
e for
med
with
the e
xplic
it in
tent
ion
of o
pera
ting
hund
reds
of s
choo
ls. C
reat
ing
mar
ket c
ondi
tions
that
attr
act
thes
e ope
rato
rs w
ill th
eref
ore b
ecom
e inc
reas
ingl
y im
port
ant.
Gro
w yo
ur o
wn
netw
orks
. As a
loca
l cha
rter
sect
or m
atur
es, f
ocus
atte
ntio
n on
incu
batin
g ne
w C
MO
s and
expa
ndin
g lo
cal
netw
orks
to em
powe
r loc
al ed
ucat
ors.
Char
ter s
uppo
rt o
rgan
izat
ions
can
enco
urag
e CM
O g
row
th b
y rec
ruiti
ng an
d tr
aini
ng
leade
rs, c
reat
ing
a hum
an ca
pita
l pip
elin
e of q
ualit
y tea
cher
s, an
d co
nnec
ting
CMO
foun
ders
with
nec
essa
ry fu
ndin
g (se
e “S
calin
g U
p H
igh-
Perfo
rmin
g Ch
arte
rs in
to H
omeg
row
n CM
Os,”
pag
e 32)
.
Man
y of t
he su
ppor
ts ne
eded
to in
cuba
te a
new
CM
O ar
e sim
ilar t
o th
ose r
equi
red
to st
art a
stan
d-al
one s
choo
l—su
ch as
recr
uit-
ing
leade
rs an
d te
ache
rs, d
evelo
ping
ope
ratio
nal p
lans
, and
secu
ring
finan
cial
fund
ing
and
faci
litie
s. Bu
t sta
rtin
g a C
MO
pos
es
addi
tiona
l cha
lleng
es. A
CM
O re
quire
s a so
und
man
agem
ent s
yste
m fo
r run
ning
a po
rtfo
lio o
f sch
ools.
CM
O le
ader
s man
age
mul
tiple
faci
lity s
ites,
have
expa
nded
bac
k-offi
ce an
d leg
al re
quire
men
ts, a
nd m
ust c
oord
inat
e ins
truc
tiona
l and
hum
an ca
pita
l in
itiat
ives
acro
ss sc
hool
s. If
stand
-alo
ne le
ader
s fac
e all
the p
erils
of s
mal
l bus
ines
s ow
ners
, CM
O le
ader
s mus
t man
age t
he
diffi
culti
es o
f ope
ratin
g a h
igh-
grow
th co
rpor
atio
n.
Giv
en th
e ope
ratio
nal h
urdl
es o
f ope
ratin
g a C
MO
, the
dea
rth
of te
chni
cal a
ssist
ance
avai
labl
e to
emer
ging
CM
Os w
ill h
ampe
r gr
owth
unl
ess c
orre
cted
. Org
aniz
atio
ns su
ch as
Cha
rter
Sch
ool G
row
th F
und
and
New
Sch
ools
Vent
ure F
und
play
lead
ing r
oles
in
CM
O d
evelo
pmen
t, bu
t add
ition
al su
ppor
ters
are n
eede
d to
dev
elop
mor
e CM
Os,
espe
cial
ly in
loca
l mar
kets
. If t
he m
arke
t for
ch
arte
r inc
ubat
ors i
s im
mat
ure,
the m
arke
t for
CM
O d
evelo
pmen
t tec
hnic
al as
sista
nce i
s clo
se to
non
exist
ent.
This
is an
othe
r are
a rip
e for
inno
vatio
n. A
nd w
ithou
t adv
ance
men
t in
this
area
, it w
ill ta
ke m
uch
long
er to
achi
eve s
cale.
Alth
ough
New
Orle
ans h
as d
raw
n hi
gh-c
alib
er, n
atio
nal C
MO
s to
the c
ity, le
ss th
an 10
per
cent
of t
he ch
arte
r sch
ools
are r
un
by n
atio
nal C
MO
s. Th
e city
has
dev
elope
d so
me o
f its
stro
nges
t cha
rter
s and
expe
rienc
ed tu
rnar
ound
org
aniz
atio
ns in
to
burg
eoni
ng n
etwo
rks,
inclu
ding
Col
legia
te A
cade
mic
s, Fi
rstL
ine S
choo
ls, A
lgier
s Cha
rter
Sch
ool A
ssoc
iatio
n, C
apita
l One
/N
ew B
egin
ning
s, Ch
oice
Fou
ndat
ion,
Cre
scen
t City
Sch
ools,
Frie
nds o
f Kin
g, an
d Re
NEW
.
32
33
Sca
lin
g U
p H
igh
-Per
form
ing
Ch
arte
rs I
nto
Ho
meg
row
n C
MO
s
Ben
Mar
covi
tz, a
foun
der o
f Col
legia
te A
cade
mie
s and
prin
cipal
at S
ci A
cade
my,
has d
one w
hat f
ew o
ther
s hav
e. H
e sta
rted
an
open
-adm
issio
ns ch
arte
r hig
h sc
hool
serv
ing
an ec
onom
ical
ly d
isadv
anta
ged
stud
ent p
opul
atio
n, an
d pr
oved
that
it is
pos
sible
to ta
ke in
com
ing
fresh
men
read
ing
at th
e fou
rth-
grad
e lev
el an
d ac
hiev
e thr
ee-a
nd-a
-hal
f gra
de le
vels
of g
row
th in
one
year
. Sci
Ac
adem
y, w
ithou
t hav
ing
a hig
h-pe
rform
ing
feed
er sc
hool
to se
nd in
stud
ents
on g
rade
leve
l, is
one o
f the
hig
hest
perfo
rmin
g,
nons
elect
ive h
igh
scho
ols i
n N
ew O
rlean
s. “I
wan
ted
to cr
eate
a hi
gh sc
hool
mod
el th
at w
as re
lentle
ssly
focu
sed
on cl
osin
g th
e ac
hiev
emen
t gap
for o
ur sc
hola
rs, a
scho
ol th
at fl
ips t
he ac
adem
ic tr
aject
orie
s of o
ur sc
hola
rs fr
om b
eing
four
or fi
ve g
rade
leve
ls be
hind
whe
n th
ey en
tere
d to
bei
ng re
ady f
or co
llege
whe
n th
ey g
radu
ate,”
Mar
covi
tz sa
ys.
Base
d on
the s
ucce
ss o
f Sci
Aca
dem
y, M
arco
vitz
beg
an co
nsid
erin
g sc
alin
g up
the s
choo
l mod
el to
serv
e mor
e stu
dent
s; th
e city
so
rely
nee
ds m
ore h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g hig
h sc
hool
s. W
ith su
ppor
t fro
m N
SNO
and
seve
ral o
ther
nat
iona
l and
com
mun
ity o
rgan
iza-
tions
, Mar
covi
tz p
lans
to o
pen
two
new
char
ter h
igh
scho
ols i
n fa
ll 20
12.
In ad
ditio
n to
NSN
O, M
arco
vitz
has
reac
hed
out t
o ot
her c
omm
unity
org
aniz
atio
ns to
supp
ort t
he sc
ale-
up p
roce
ss. H
e not
ed,
“Ther
e’s a
lot t
o be
said
for b
eing
in a
smal
l tow
n w
ith a
stro
ng sh
ared
com
mun
ity am
ong
char
ter s
choo
ls. Th
ere a
re o
rgan
izat
ions
ou
t the
re—
TFA
, New
Orle
ans O
utre
ach,
and
othe
r non
profi
ts—
that
do
grea
t wor
k to
supp
ort c
hart
er sc
hool
s in
way
s we c
ould
n’t
on o
ur o
wn.
And
I ha
ve d
evelo
ped
relat
ions
hips
with
ever
y [ki
nd o
f] en
tity i
n ou
r com
mun
ity—
chur
ches
, the
par
ks as
soci
atio
n,
the h
ospi
tal,
the c
ity co
unci
l and
oth
ers—
so w
e hav
e a lo
t of s
uppo
rt fo
r our
curr
ent s
choo
l and
our
pla
ns to
gro
w.”
NSN
O h
as p
rov
ided
sev
eral
im
po
rtan
t su
pp
ort
s fo
r th
e sc
ale-
up
pro
cess
, in
clu
din
g:
+ F
undin
g,
inclu
din
g a
federa
l In
vest
ing in I
nnova
tion (
i3)
gra
nt,
to s
upport
leaders
hip
deve
lopm
ent,
CM
O c
entr
al offi
ce s
taff
sala
ries
duri
ng a
pla
nnin
g y
ear, a
nd o
ther
scale
-up c
ost
s
+ A
one-o
n-o
ne leaders
hip
mento
r fo
r M
arc
ovi
tz
+ N
etw
ork
ing o
pport
unit
ies
wit
h o
ther
CM
O leaders
to s
hare
less
ons
learn
ed
+ A
quality
revi
ew
pro
cess
of
the e
nti
re o
rganiz
ati
on t
o e
nsu
re t
hat
the n
etw
ork
sta
rts
out
stro
ng
Gov
erna
nce a
nd ac
coun
tabi
lity,
hum
an ca
pita
l, an
d ch
arte
r sch
ool d
evelo
pmen
t are
the t
hree
prim
ary s
trat
egie
s for
bui
ldin
g a
high
-per
form
ing,
dec
entr
aliz
ed sy
stem
. How
ever
, to
build
a su
stain
able
syste
m o
f sch
ools
othe
r key
stra
tegi
es sh
ould
be e
xecu
ted,
in
cludi
ng: e
ngag
ing
the c
omm
unity
arou
nd ch
arte
r ref
orm
s, ac
cess
ing
shor
t- an
d lo
ng-te
rm so
urce
s of f
undi
ng, a
nd p
lann
ing
to
mee
t the
chal
lenge
s rai
sed
by a
dece
ntra
lized
syste
m o
f sch
ools.
BU
ILD
CO
MM
UN
ITY
DE
MA
ND
FO
R D
RA
MA
TIC
REF
OR
MS
The q
ualit
y of c
omm
unity
enga
gem
ent c
an m
ake o
r bre
ak an
educ
atio
n re
form
effor
t. Co
mm
unity
bac
king
can
build
dem
and
and
supp
ort f
or ch
arte
rs an
d he
lp w
ithsta
nd p
oliti
cal p
ushb
ack
agai
nst c
hart
erin
g. Id
eally
, the
dem
and
for c
hang
e fro
m fa
mili
es
and
com
mun
ities
will
supp
ort e
duca
tion
refo
rm eff
orts
over
tim
e.12
Man
y cha
rter
scho
ols a
void
the d
ifficu
lt ta
sk o
f com
mun
ity en
gage
men
t effo
rts i
n lie
u of
“let
ting
resu
lts sp
eak
for t
hem
selv
es,”
hopi
ng th
at su
ppor
t for
char
ters
will
gro
w as
stud
ent o
utco
mes
impr
ove.
How
ever
, fai
ling
to in
form
and
enga
ge co
mm
uniti
es ca
n ho
bble
the c
ityw
ide e
ffort
to sc
ale c
hart
ers.
Char
ters
mus
t ulti
mat
ely d
emon
stra
te st
rong
per
form
ance
, but
early
com
mun
ity
enga
gem
ent,
inclu
ding
par
ent e
duca
tion,
can
build
an en
viro
nmen
t in
whi
ch th
ey ca
n th
rive.
12.
Stei
ner,
L., &
Bri
nson
, D. (
2011
). Fi
faili
ng sc
hool
s: Bu
ildin
g fam
ily a
nd co
mm
unity
dem
and
for d
ram
atic
chan
ge. C
hape
l Hill
, NC:
Pub
lic Im
pact
. Re
trie
ved
from
http
://pu
blic
impa
ct.co
m/im
ages
/sto
ries/
build
ing_
dem
and_
for_
chan
ge_i
n_fa
iling
_sch
ools-
Publ
ic_I
mpa
ct.p
df
Ad
ditio
nal
co
mp
on
ents
fo
r bu
ildin
g a
ch
oic
e-ba
sed
, pr
edo
min
antly
ch
arte
r
syst
em
34
35
To in
crea
se co
mm
unity
enga
gem
ent a
nd lo
cal s
uppo
rt o
f cha
rter
scho
ols,
educ
atio
nal o
rgan
izat
ions
and
the g
over
nmen
t mus
t im
plem
ent a
pla
n fo
r clo
sing
scho
ols a
nd ch
oosin
g ne
w sc
hool
site
s tha
t inc
lude
s the
co
mm
unity
early
in th
e pro
cess
. Dev
elopi
ng a
tran
spar
ent a
nd co
nsist
ent
annu
al cy
cle o
f sch
ool o
peni
ngs a
nd cl
osur
es ca
n ch
ange
the c
ultu
ral
norm
s and
expe
ctat
ions
of a
ll sta
keho
lder
s—as
wel
l as p
rovi
de fa
mili
es
with
clea
r dat
a and
ratio
nales
for c
hang
e. Th
e sys
tem
mus
t ins
titut
iona
l-iz
e cha
nge w
hile
min
imiz
ing
the i
mpa
ct o
n fa
mili
es an
d co
mm
uniti
es.
The e
arly
stag
es o
f ref
orm
in N
ew O
rlean
s wer
e not
—to
the c
ity’s
detr
imen
t—dr
iven
by g
rass
root
s effo
rts.
This
was
like
ly th
e res
ult o
f ch
aotic
pos
t-Kat
rina c
ondi
tions
and
poor
out
reac
h an
d en
gage
men
t eff
orts
. In
resp
onse
to le
gitim
ate c
once
rns a
bout
a la
ck o
f com
mun
ity
voice
, the
RSD
, num
erou
s com
mun
ity g
roup
s, an
d N
SNO
are t
estin
g a n
ew co
mm
unity
enga
gem
ent p
roce
ss fo
r cha
rter
ope
ning
s in
2011
–12.
The R
SD n
otifi
ed ex
istin
g fa
mili
es, n
eighb
orho
od as
soci
a-tio
ns, s
choo
l alu
mni
asso
ciat
ions
, and
oth
er in
tere
sted
part
ies o
f a
prop
osed
scho
ol tr
ansfo
rmat
ion
at th
e sta
rt o
f the
201
1-12
scho
ol
year
. NSN
O, w
orki
ng w
ith co
mm
unity
faci
litat
ors,
is co
ordi
natin
g m
eetin
gs, t
ours
of h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g sch
ools,
and
trai
ning
s for
sta
keho
lder
s to
deve
lop
a visi
on fo
r wha
t a su
cces
sful
scho
ol w
ill lo
ok
like i
n th
eir n
eigh
borh
ood.
Com
mun
ities
, led
by co
mm
ittee
s of
com
mun
ity m
embe
rs an
d pa
rent
s, w
ill en
gage
with
char
ter o
pera
-to
rs to
neg
otia
te th
e mos
t effe
ctiv
e way
to se
rve t
heir
com
mun
ity.
Afte
r the
scho
ol o
pens
, the
se sa
me s
take
hold
ers w
ill w
ork
with
the
scho
ol to
mai
ntai
n a c
onne
ctio
n to
the c
omm
unity
and
hold
the
scho
ol ac
coun
tabl
e for
resu
lts.
RAIS
E EX
PECT
ATIO
NS
AND
EMPO
WER
PAR
ENTS
Pare
nts a
nd co
mm
uniti
es n
eed
to u
nder
stand
acco
unta
bilit
y mea
sure
s, be
clea
r whe
n sc
hool
s are
faili
ng, a
nd d
eman
d th
at so
met
hing
be d
one t
o dr
amat
ical
ly im
prov
e stu
dent
per
form
ance
. They
shou
ld b
e exp
osed
to
the b
est c
hart
er sc
hool
s in
the c
ity. E
xter
nal o
rgan
izat
ions
such
as th
e U
rban
Lea
gue,
faith
-bas
ed as
soci
atio
ns, a
nd o
ther
s are
nec
essa
ry to
mob
ilize
par
ents
, as m
any f
amili
es h
ave n
eithe
r the
tim
e nor
th
e res
ourc
es to
pla
n an
d de
velo
p ad
voca
cy ca
mpa
igns
. Thes
e can
be e
xist
ing
loca
l gro
ups t
hat t
ake o
n th
e tas
k, o
r new
org
aniz
a-tio
ns la
unch
ed fo
r thi
s pur
pose
. In
addi
tion,
nat
iona
l, pr
o-re
form
advo
cacy
gro
ups s
uch
as S
tand
for C
hild
ren
or 5
0CA
N ca
n br
ing
expe
rienc
e in
orga
nizi
ng p
aren
ts an
d pr
omot
ing
educ
atio
n re
form
. Ins
titut
ions
, sys
tem
s, an
d pr
oces
ses m
ust b
e bui
lt to
en
sure
that
par
ents
can
dem
and
the o
utco
mes
they
des
ire fo
r the
ir ch
ildre
n.
Dr.
And
rea Th
omas
-Rey
nold
s, th
e CEO
of t
he A
lgier
s Cha
rter
Sch
ools
Ass
ocia
tion,
laun
ched
a ca
mpa
ign
targ
eted
at p
aren
ts
and
scho
ol st
aff to
raise
expe
ctat
ions
for s
choo
l per
form
ance
. Man
y had
bel
ieve
d th
an a
stat
e-as
signe
d Sc
hool
Per
form
ance
Sc
ore (
SPS)
of a
t lea
st 60
was
the g
oal f
or th
eir s
choo
ls. B
ut a
60 w
as si
mpl
y the
min
imum
scor
e for
a sc
hool
to av
oid
the l
abel
of
“fai
ling.”
Add
ing
to th
e con
fusio
n, th
e SPS
is ca
lculat
ed o
n a s
cale
of 2
00, n
ot 10
0 as
mos
t ass
umed
. Ove
r sev
eral
mon
ths,
Dr.
Thom
as-R
eyno
lds h
eld co
mm
unity
mee
tings
to ed
ucat
e fam
ilies
abou
t how
Lou
isian
a eva
luat
es sc
hool
per
form
ance
. She
ho
ped
to ra
ise ev
eryo
ne’s
expe
ctat
ions
for t
heir
own
scho
ols b
eyon
d a m
inim
um le
vel a
nd to
war
d a g
oal o
f col
lege r
eadi
ness
fo
r all
stud
ents
.
Mee
t w
ith
co
mm
un
ity
lead
ers,
al
um
ni g
rou
ps,
par
ents
, an
d
teac
her
s b
efo
re s
cho
ol o
pen
ing
s
Est
abli
sh o
ng
oin
g c
om
mu
nic
atio
n
wit
h c
om
mu
nit
y g
rou
ps
and
lead
ers
Rec
ruit
co
mm
un
ity
lead
ers
to s
erve
o
n c
har
ter
sch
oo
l bo
ard
s
Ed
uca
te c
om
mu
nit
ies
abo
ut
wh
at
defi
nes
a g
reat
sch
oo
l an
d w
hat
d
efin
es a
“fa
ilin
g s
cho
ol”
Est
abli
sh t
ran
spa
ren
t p
roce
du
res
for
ho
w, w
hen
, an
d w
hy
a s
ch
oo
l w
ill b
e cl
ose
d
Invo
lve
com
mu
nit
y a
nd
par
ents
in
the
clo
sin
g p
roce
du
res.
Sup
po
rt f
amil
ies
in fi
nd
ing
new
sc
ho
ol p
lace
men
ts w
hen
a s
cho
ol
clo
ses
Pu
bli
cize
pro
gre
ss in
stu
den
t ac
hie
vem
ent
at t
he
new
sch
oo
ls
Mo
bil
ize
char
ter
sch
oo
l par
ents
in
sup
po
rt o
f b
road
er c
har
ter
sch
oo
l re
form
s
Co
mm
un
ity
En
gag
emen
t
Pra
ctic
es:
EDU
CATE
TH
E PU
BLIC
ABO
UT
CHAR
TER
SCH
OOLS
In ad
ditio
n to
raisi
ng co
mm
unity
expe
ctat
ions
of s
choo
ls, th
e pub
lic n
eeds
to le
arn
basic
fact
s abo
ut ch
arte
r sch
ools.
Par
ents
may
no
t kno
w th
at ch
arte
r sch
ools
are t
uitio
n-fre
e pub
lic sc
hool
s ope
n to
all
child
ren.
Com
mun
icat
ions
stra
tegi
es sh
ould
stre
ss th
e be
nefit
s of a
hig
h-qu
ality
pub
lic sc
hool
to th
e com
mun
ity in
term
s of s
afet
y, pr
oper
ty v
alue
s, bu
sines
s gro
wth
, and
qua
lity o
f life
. Co
mm
unity
enga
gem
ent e
ffort
s sho
uld
targ
et a
ll lev
els o
f sta
keho
lder
s: ele
cted
offi
cial
s, co
mm
unity
lead
ers,
busin
ess l
eade
rs,
teac
hers
, and
par
ents
.
Cha
rter
scho
ols i
n N
ew O
rlean
s ser
ving
trad
ition
ally
und
erse
rved
com
mun
ities
hav
e ofte
n fo
und
that
enga
ging
par
ents
in
thei
r chi
ldre
n’s sc
hool
s req
uire
s ove
rcom
ing
the p
aren
ts’ o
wn
nega
tive e
xper
ience
s with
scho
ol. “
The b
est t
hing
we’v
e don
e to
impr
ove p
aren
t eng
agem
ent i
s to
surv
ey p
aren
ts an
d fin
d ou
t wha
t the
y nee
ded
from
us,”
said
Dr.
Vera
Trip
lett,
CEO
of N
ew
Begi
nnin
gs. “
We l
earn
ed th
at th
e vas
t majo
rity o
f our
stud
ents’
par
ents
had
not fi
nish
ed h
igh
scho
ol th
emse
lves.
To h
elp p
aren
ts
reco
gniz
e the
val
ue o
f edu
catio
n an
d be
tter s
uppo
rt th
eir c
hild
rens
’ sch
oolin
g, w
e pro
vide
adul
t edu
catio
n cla
sses
, hol
d m
eetin
gs d
urin
g tim
es th
ey ca
n at
tend
, and
pro
vide
serv
ices l
ike d
ayca
re d
urin
g par
ent e
vent
s to
ensu
re g
reat
er p
artic
ipat
ion.
”
EST
AB
LISH
FU
ND
ING
FO
R L
ON
G-T
ERM
SU
STA
INA
BIL
ITY
OF
CH
AR
TER
SC
HO
OLS
Lead
ers m
ust s
eek
mul
tiple
fund
ing
sour
ces—
fede
ral g
rant
s, eq
uita
ble f
undi
ng fr
om st
ates
, priv
ate p
hila
nthr
opy t
o su
ppor
t in
cuba
tion,
and
eithe
r dire
ct ac
cess
to, o
r sou
rces
of f
undi
ng fo
r, fa
cilit
ies.
Key p
olic
ies a
re n
oted
belo
w.
GUAR
ANTE
E EQ
UITA
BLE
FUN
DIN
G FO
R CH
ARTE
R SC
HOO
LSA
char
ter s
choo
l str
ateg
y mus
t set
equi
tabl
e fun
ding
for c
hart
er sc
hool
s as a
prim
ary g
oal.
Char
ter s
choo
ls sh
ould
be f
unde
d at
th
e sam
e rat
e as t
radi
tiona
l dist
rict s
choo
ls, u
sing
a “fu
ndin
g fo
llow
s the
child
” mod
el. Th
is gu
ide l
acks
the s
pace
to d
etai
l all
the
com
pone
nts o
f effe
ctiv
e fun
ding
stre
ams a
nd fo
rmul
as, b
ut it
is ex
trem
ely im
port
ant t
o en
sure
that
the f
undi
ng m
odel
is st
uden
t-ba
sed.
PROV
IDE
STAR
T-UP
FUN
DS F
OR N
EW C
HAR
TER
SCH
OOLS
In a
well-
desig
ned
syste
m, m
oney
for s
tart
ing
up w
ould
be p
rovi
ded
by p
ublic
dol
lars
as an
assu
med
cost
of o
pera
ting
a cha
rter
di
stric
t. In
mos
t citi
es, h
owev
er, f
eder
al fu
nds a
nd p
hila
nthr
opy h
ave b
een
the p
rimar
y sou
rces
of s
tart-
up ca
pita
l. St
ates
mus
t do
mor
e to
allo
cate
reso
urce
s to
supp
ort r
esul
ts-ba
sed
entre
pren
euria
l act
ivity
. The c
urre
nt fu
ndin
g lev
els fo
r res
earc
h, d
evelo
pmen
t, an
d sta
rt-up
costs
for n
ew ve
ntur
es ar
e min
uscu
le.
Both
turn
arou
nds a
nd fr
esh
star
ts ne
ed su
bsta
ntia
l fun
ding
in th
e firs
t few
year
s. Fr
esh
star
ts gr
ow o
ne g
rade
at a
time,
addi
ng an
ad
ditio
nal g
rade
each
year
unt
il th
ey re
ach
the f
ull s
pan
of g
rade
s ser
ved.
Dur
ing
the fi
rst f
ew ye
ars,
the c
osts
of ru
nnin
g a s
choo
l ca
nnot
alw
ays b
e cov
ered
by t
he p
er-p
upil
fund
ing
gene
rate
d by
the s
mal
ler st
uden
t pop
ulat
ions
. Sta
rt-up
fund
ing
can
supp
le-m
ent s
choo
ls du
ring
this
perio
d. T
urna
roun
d ch
arte
r sch
ools,
whi
ch ta
ke o
ver a
n en
tire a
cade
mic
ally
una
ccep
tabl
e sch
ool a
t onc
e, fa
ce d
iffer
ent c
halle
nges
; the
y may
also
nee
d ad
ditio
nal f
undi
ng to
mee
t gre
ater
staffi
ng n
eeds
in th
e firs
t few
year
s to
impr
ove
stud
ent p
erfo
rman
ce ac
ross
gra
de le
vels.
GIVE
ACC
ESS
TO F
ACIL
ITIE
SCh
arte
r sch
ools
in m
any c
ities
lack
acce
ss to
dist
rict s
choo
l bui
ldin
gs, a
nd th
ey re
ceiv
e no
capi
tal f
undi
ng w
ith w
hich
to p
urch
ase,
reno
vate
, or r
ent f
acili
ties.
Faci
litie
s rem
ain
one o
f the
mos
t diffi
cult
hurd
les fo
r cha
rter
s to
over
com
e.
Idea
lly, d
istric
ts sh
ould
pro
vide
faci
litie
s to
char
ter s
choo
ls as
they
take
ove
r low
-per
form
ing
dist
rict s
choo
ls. F
urth
er, a
ligni
ng
the a
ssig
nmen
t of f
acili
ties w
ith th
e pro
visio
n of
char
ters
for b
oth
turn
arou
nd an
d fre
sh-s
tart
scho
ols c
an sm
ooth
the t
rans
ition
fro
m o
btai
ning
a ch
arte
r to
open
ing
the s
choo
l’s d
oors
to st
uden
ts.
36
37
50 p
erce
nt
of
the
fun
ds
to h
um
an c
apit
al r
ecru
itm
ent
20
per
cen
t to
ch
arte
r in
cub
atio
n
20
per
cen
t to
dev
elo
pin
g a
nd
gro
win
g c
har
ter
net
wo
rks
10 p
erce
nt
to a
dvo
cacy
an
d c
om
mu
nit
y e
ng
agem
ent
Ear
ly-S
tag
e C
har
ter
Mar
ket,
Ro
ug
h A
lloca
tio
n A
mo
un
ts:
If th
e dist
rict d
oes n
ot p
rovi
de fa
cilit
ies,
supp
orte
rs m
ust r
ally
fina
ncia
l sup
port
for c
hart
ers t
hrou
gh su
ch m
echa
nism
s as “
cred
it en
hanc
emen
t,” w
hich
allo
w ch
arte
rs to
obt
ain
faci
litie
s fina
ncin
g at
com
petit
ive r
ates
. Alth
ough
scho
ols c
an ge
t priv
ate fi
nanc
ing
for f
acili
ties,
this
is ty
pica
lly n
ot su
stain
able
as th
e num
ber o
f cha
rter
scho
ols g
row
s.
ATTR
ACT
PHIL
ANTH
ROPI
C FU
NDI
NG
Alth
ough
phi
lant
hrop
ic in
vest
men
t is n
ot a
prec
ondi
tion
to ch
arte
r gro
wth
, it o
ften
is es
sent
ial i
n pu
tting
nec
essa
ry in
fras
truc
-tu
res a
nd su
ppor
ts in
to p
lace
. Pub
lic fu
ndin
g ca
n su
ppor
t the
ong
oing
ope
ratio
n of
scho
ols,
but c
erta
in v
ital a
ctiv
ities
may
not
ha
ppen
with
out o
utsid
e fun
ding
.
Fund
ing
estim
ates
for a
mid
-siz
e city
are $
5 m
illio
n to
$10
mill
ion
per y
ear f
or th
e firs
t five
year
s. O
f cou
rse,
loca
l con
ditio
ns w
ill
dict
ate t
he ac
tual
bes
t allo
catio
n of
dol
lars
, but
thes
e am
ount
s pro
vide
a sta
rtin
g po
int w
hen
decid
ing
how
to a
lloca
te re
sour
ces.
PLA
N A
HE
AD
FO
R T
HE
ISS
UE
S O
F A
DEC
EN
TR
ALI
ZED
DIS
TR
ICT
The r
ules
of t
he sy
stem
mus
t evo
lve a
s cha
rter
s bec
ome a
majo
rity o
f the
scho
ols i
n a c
ity. W
hen
ther
e are
just
a few
char
ters
in a
dist
rict,
the c
hart
er sc
hool
s can
ope
rate
com
plet
ely in
depe
nden
tly o
f the
trad
ition
al sc
hool
s and
do
not a
ffect
, for
the m
ost p
art,
dist
rict f
unct
ions
such
as en
rollm
ent p
olici
es, a
dmin
istra
tion
of sp
ecia
l edu
catio
n se
rvice
s, an
d tr
ansp
orta
tion.
As c
hart
er sc
hool
s bec
ome t
he m
ajorit
y, ho
weve
r, ce
rtai
n se
rvic
es an
d fu
nctio
ns m
ust b
e adm
inist
ered
acro
ss th
e dec
entr
aliz
ed
syste
m o
f sch
ools.
At t
he ti
ppin
g po
int,
char
ter s
choo
ls ne
ed to
shift
from
bei
ng o
utsid
e of t
he sy
stem
to b
eing
an au
tono
mou
s pa
rt o
f a d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m, w
hich
inclu
des a
dded
resp
onsib
ilitie
s. W
hen
resp
ondi
ng to
the c
halle
nges
of a
dec
entr
aliz
ed
syste
m, t
he b
enefi
ts of
crea
ting
shar
ed se
rvic
es m
ay b
e in
tens
ion
with
thei
r pot
entia
l to
limit
char
ter s
choo
l aut
onom
ies.
Focu
s-in
g on
how
dec
ision
s affe
ct st
uden
ts an
d lea
rnin
g m
ay ju
stify
lim
iting
auto
nom
ies i
n ce
rtai
n ca
ses,
such
as a
cent
raliz
ed en
roll-
men
t pro
cess
, but
each
city
—in
conv
ersa
tion
with
scho
ol o
pera
tors
, fam
ilies
, and
oth
er st
akeh
olde
rs—
mus
t find
solu
tions
that
wo
rk w
ithin
thei
r ow
n co
ntex
ts. Th
at sa
id, i
ssue
s suc
h as
enro
llmen
t (in
cludi
ng w
ithdr
awal
and
expu
lsion
s) an
d sp
ecia
l edu
catio
n w
ill p
rese
nt si
gnifi
cant
equi
ty is
sues
if n
ot ad
dres
sed
in a
cityw
ide m
anne
r.
DEVE
LOP
AN O
NGO
ING
GOVE
RNAN
CE P
LAN
FOR
SCH
OOLS
Citie
s con
sider
ing
dece
ntra
lizat
ion
refo
rms s
houl
d ta
ke ti
me t
o ch
art t
he lo
ng-te
rm co
urse
of g
over
nanc
e for
scho
ols t
hat a
re
take
n ov
er b
y an
RSD
-like
entit
y. Th
e crit
ical
feat
ure o
f thi
s gov
erna
nce a
rran
gem
ent m
ust b
e tha
t hig
h-pe
rform
ing
char
ter
scho
ols r
emai
n as
char
ter s
choo
ls, o
pera
ting
auto
nom
ously
and
held
acco
unta
ble f
or st
uden
t res
ults
. Man
y diff
eren
t ins
titut
iona
l st
ruct
ures
coul
d pr
ovid
e for
this.
The R
SD-li
ke en
tity c
ould
be a
per
man
ent,
rath
er th
an ju
st an
emer
genc
y, go
vern
ance
bod
y for
th
e sch
ools.
If p
ract
ical
or p
oliti
cal r
ealit
ies m
ake t
his i
mpo
ssib
le, th
en h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g ch
arte
r sch
ools
need
a w
ay to
tran
sfer
thei
r cha
rter
s to
a new
auth
oriz
er w
hen
thei
r tim
e in
the R
SD-li
ke en
tity h
as ru
n ou
t. W
hile
that
new
auth
oriz
er co
uld,
in
prin
ciple,
be t
he lo
cal s
choo
l boa
rd, h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g ch
arte
rs m
ay b
e und
ersta
ndab
ly re
luct
ant t
o co
me u
nder
scho
ol b
oard
gove
rnan
ce, e
ven
with
the l
egal
pro
tect
ion
of a
char
ter.
Idea
lly, h
igh-
perfo
rmin
g ch
arte
rs w
ould
hav
e the
opt
ion
to tr
ansfe
r the
ir ch
arte
rs to
som
e oth
er en
tity,
such
as a
spec
ial-p
urpo
se ci
ty o
r sta
te ch
arte
r boa
rd o
r sta
te b
oard
of e
duca
tion.
The l
ocal
scho
ol
boar
d co
uld
still
“win
the s
choo
ls ba
ck,”
but o
nly b
y offe
ring
term
s attr
activ
e eno
ugh
to p
ull s
choo
ls aw
ay fr
om o
ther
alte
rnat
ives
.
Rega
rdles
s, ch
arte
r aut
onom
ies t
hat s
uppo
rt st
rong
acad
emic
grow
th m
ust b
e pro
tect
ed to
ensu
re co
ntin
ued
stro
ng p
erfo
rman
ce.
One
char
ter s
choo
l lea
der s
aid,
“As l
ong
as th
e acc
ount
abili
ty st
anda
rds a
re h
igh
and
enfo
rced
fairl
y acr
oss t
he b
oard
, I d
on’t c
are
who
my a
utho
rizer
is.”
How
ever
, the
mor
e aut
horiz
ers t
hat e
xist,
the m
ore d
ifficu
lt it
can
be to
coor
dina
te ci
tyw
ide e
ffort
s. A
s su
ch, m
ultip
le cit
y-ba
sed
auth
oriz
ers s
houl
d be
avoi
ded.
PROV
IDE
ASSI
STAN
CE F
OR S
PECI
AL E
DUCA
TION
SER
VICE
SN
atio
nally
, que
stio
ns h
ave b
een
raise
d ab
out c
hart
er sc
hool
s’ ab
ility
to p
rovi
de ad
equa
te sp
ecia
l edu
catio
n se
rvice
s or,
wors
e,
whe
ther
scho
ols a
ctiv
ely d
iscou
rage
stud
ents
with
disa
bilit
ies f
rom
atte
ndin
g th
eir s
choo
ls. F
or ch
arte
rs to
effec
tively
repl
ace
low-
perfo
rmin
g di
stric
t sch
ools
and
mak
e up
a lar
ge p
ortio
n of
any c
ity’s
publ
ic sc
hool
s, th
ey m
ust c
ollec
tively
pro
vide
appr
opri-
ate s
ervi
ces t
o al
l stu
dent
s, in
cludi
ng st
uden
ts w
ith d
isabi
litie
s.
Spec
ial e
duca
tion
cann
ot b
e an
after
thou
ght w
hen
build
ing
a dec
entr
aliz
ed sy
stem
of s
choo
ls. It
is a
criti
cal c
ompo
nent
for
prov
idin
g al
l stu
dent
s and
fam
ilies
with
scho
ol ch
oice
.
Allo
w c
har
ters
to d
evel
op
sp
ecia
lize
d p
rog
ram
s fo
r ce
rtai
n d
isab
ilit
ies
so t
hat
par
ents
hav
e ch
oic
es t
hat
incl
ud
e p
rog
ram
s ta
ilo
red
to t
hei
r ch
ild
ren
’s n
eed
s—an
d s
o e
con
om
ies
of
scal
e
can
be
cap
ture
d in
pro
gra
m d
eliv
ery
Cre
ate
a co
op
erat
ive
for
char
ter
sch
oo
ls to
dev
elo
p a
ser
vic
e d
eliv
ery
sy
stem
bas
ed o
n t
hei
r n
eed
s
Cre
ate
man
dat
ory
tra
inin
g f
or
char
ter
sch
oo
l lea
der
s, b
oar
d m
emb
ers,
an
d s
pec
ial e
du
cati
on
co
ord
inat
ors
bef
ore
th
e sc
ho
ol o
pen
s
Em
ph
asiz
e fo
cus
on
stu
den
t ac
adem
ic o
utc
om
es, n
ot
sim
ply
co
mp
lian
ce w
ith
sp
ecia
l ed
uca
tio
n r
egu
lati
on
s
Cre
ate
clea
r g
uid
elin
es o
n d
isci
pli
ne
so s
cho
ols
do
no
t im
pin
ge
on
th
e ri
gh
ts o
f ch
ild
ren
w
ith
sp
ecia
l nee
ds
Mo
nit
or
and
pu
bli
sh d
ata
on
sp
ecia
l ed
uca
tio
n e
nro
llmen
t at
ch
arte
r sc
ho
ols
to e
nsu
re t
hat
sc
ho
ols
are
ad
equ
atel
y e
nro
llin
g a
nd
ret
ain
ing
sp
ecia
l ed
uca
tio
n s
tud
ents
Est
abli
sh c
om
mu
nit
y p
artn
ersh
ips
wit
h h
ealt
hca
re p
rov
ider
s th
at c
ove
r a
con
tin
uu
m
of
serv
ices
Cre
ate
risk
po
ols
th
at in
div
idu
al s
cho
ols
can
par
tici
pat
e in
to c
ove
r th
e p
ote
nti
al c
ost
s
of
serv
ing
stu
den
ts w
ith
hig
h n
eed
s
Sp
ecia
l Ed
uca
tio
n S
erv
ices
Rec
om
men
dat
ion
s:
38
39
CREA
TE C
ENTR
ALIZ
ED E
NRO
LLM
ENT
SYST
EMS
Enro
llmen
t iss
ues c
onfro
nt th
e ten
sion
betw
een
allo
win
g ch
arte
r sch
ools
to ac
t aut
onom
ously
and
bala
ncin
g th
e nee
ds o
f the
w
hole
syste
m. H
owev
er, g
iven
the p
oten
tial f
or in
divi
dual
scho
ol en
rollm
ent v
iolat
ions
, as w
ell a
s the
ease
-of-u
se is
sues
for
fam
ilies
, a d
ecen
tral
ized
scho
ol sy
stem
will
like
ly re
quire
a ce
ntra
lized
enro
llmen
t str
uctu
re to
ensu
re eq
uity
—es
peci
ally
if
char
ter s
choo
ls be
com
e dom
inan
t in
a mar
ket.
The N
ew O
rlean
s sch
ools
have
bee
n ha
mpe
red
by th
e lac
k of
a ce
ntra
lized
enro
llmen
t sys
tem
, con
fusin
g pa
rent
s and
lead
ing
to li
mite
d al
legat
ions
of i
mpr
oper
enro
llmen
t pra
ctice
s by c
erta
in ch
arte
r sch
ools.
The R
SD, i
n co
ordi
natio
n w
ith ch
arte
r op
erat
ors a
nd n
onpr
ofits
, is b
uild
ing a
cent
raliz
ed en
rollm
ent p
roce
ss in
New
Orle
ans.
The R
SD is
also
dev
elopi
ng “e
quity
re
port
s” fo
r sch
ools
to p
rovi
de tr
ansp
aren
cy o
n iss
ues s
uch
as sp
ecia
l edu
catio
n en
rollm
ent b
y lev
el of
seve
rity,
with
draw
al
and
expu
lsion
dat
a, an
d ov
eral
l stu
dent
achi
evem
ent d
ata.
COOR
DIN
ATE
TRAN
SPOR
TATI
ON
A ci
tyw
ide s
yste
m o
f cha
rter
scho
ols l
acks
a ce
ntra
l offi
ce to
coor
dina
te an
d ha
ndle
tran
spor
tatio
n—ty
pica
lly th
e sec
ond-
high
est
line i
tem
in a
char
ter s
choo
l bud
get.
Coor
dina
ting
tran
spor
tatio
n m
ore e
ffici
ently
acro
ss sc
hool
s and
the c
ity co
uld
prov
ide
signi
fican
t cos
t sav
ings
, lim
it rid
e tim
e for
stud
ents
, and
redu
ce tr
affic a
nd en
viro
nmen
tal i
mpa
cts.
The b
enefi
ts of
coor
dina
ted
tran
spor
tatio
n m
ust a
lso b
e weig
hed
agai
nst t
he li
mita
tions
on
auto
nom
y tha
t res
ult f
rom
requ
iring
all
scho
ols t
o pa
rtici
pate
. So
me c
hart
ers m
ay w
ant t
o pr
ovid
e tra
nspo
rtat
ion
so th
ey ca
n clo
sely
cont
rol s
choo
l cul
ture
beg
inni
ng o
n th
e bus
ride
, and
re
adily
esta
blish
the l
engt
h of
scho
ol d
ays a
nd ye
ars.
Org
aniz
ed tr
ansp
orta
tion
serv
ices m
ay b
e wor
th th
e tra
de-o
ff fo
r som
e ch
arte
rs.
ESTA
BLIS
H A
N O
MBU
DSM
ANA
dec
entr
aliz
ed sy
stem
nee
ds so
me p
lace
for s
tude
nts a
nd p
aren
ts to
go to
reso
lve c
onfli
ct. I
n a t
radi
tiona
l sys
tem
, the
ulti
mat
e au
thor
ity is
the d
istric
t adm
inist
ratio
n. In
a de
cent
raliz
ed sy
stem
, par
ents
may
stru
ggle
to se
e whe
re th
ey sh
ould
take
com
plai
nts
abou
t the
ir ch
ildre
n’s sc
hool
; the
y nee
d an
auth
ority
to ad
dres
s par
ents’
and
stud
ents’
righ
ts. A
dditi
onal
ly, a
cent
raliz
ed o
mbu
ds-
man
allo
ws t
hem
es o
r pat
tern
s of c
once
rns a
bout
a sc
hool
to b
e tra
cked
and
mad
e visi
ble.
DEVE
LOP
A M
ARKE
T OF
SER
VICE
S FO
R CH
ARTE
R SC
HOO
LSIn
a de
cent
raliz
ed sy
stem
, sch
ools
will
nee
d se
rvice
s tha
t the
scho
ol d
istric
t tra
ditio
nally
pro
vide
s, su
ch as
pub
lic d
ata-
shar
ing,
pr
ofes
siona
l dev
elopm
ent,
acco
untin
g an
d au
ditin
g, cu
rric
ulum
dev
elopm
ent,
and
food
. City
-bas
ed o
rgan
izat
ions
can
fill a
n im
port
ant r
ole b
y ide
ntify
ing
wha
t ser
vice
s cha
rter
scho
ols n
eed
and
eithe
r filli
ng th
ose n
eeds
or b
ringi
ng in
out
side p
rovi
ders
. O
ften
this
invo
lves
an in
itial
fund
ing
com
mitm
ent w
ith th
e int
entio
n th
at th
e ser
vice
will
reac
h fe
e-ba
sed
susta
inab
ility
.
A c
om
mo
n a
pp
lica
tio
n f
or
all c
har
ter
sch
oo
ls
Cre
atio
n o
f sy
stem
-wid
e en
roll
men
t sy
stem
Ev
en d
istr
ibu
tio
n o
f n
ew a
nd
mid
-yea
r en
roll
men
ts a
cro
ss s
cho
ols
Tra
ckin
g a
nd
pu
bli
shin
g a
ll d
ata
for
wit
hd
raw
als
and
ex
pu
lsio
ns
Po
ssib
le E
nro
llmen
t S
olu
tio
ns
for
Cit
ies
Cre
atin
g a
Dec
entr
aliz
ed D
istr
ict:
TAKE
A 3
0,00
0-FO
OT V
IEW
OF
THE
CITY
WID
E SE
CTOR
A d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m o
f sch
ools
can
suffe
r fro
m a
lack
of c
oord
inat
ed v
ision
. This
is no
t a te
rrib
le ou
tcom
e in
and
of it
self.
With
in
divi
dual
scho
ols a
nd n
etwo
rks f
ocus
ed in
tent
ly o
n th
eir o
wn
day-
to-d
ay o
rgan
izat
iona
l cha
lleng
es, c
hart
er le
ader
s and
supp
ort
orga
niza
tions
conc
entr
ate o
n w
hat m
atte
rs m
ost:
stud
ent o
utco
mes
. How
ever
, som
ebod
y sho
uld
focu
s on
the s
trat
egic
issue
s fa
cing
the w
hole
char
ter s
ecto
r (se
e “A
30,
000-
Foot
Vie
w,” b
elow)
. City
-bas
ed o
rgan
izat
ions
can
regu
larly
asse
ss th
e nec
essa
ry
com
pone
nts o
f the
char
ter g
row
th st
rate
gy an
d pr
ovid
e a su
ppor
tive b
lend
of ad
voca
cy, i
nves
tmen
ts, a
nd p
rogr
amm
ing.
This
role
may
resid
e with
an el
ecte
d offi
cial
, a d
ecen
tral
ized
dist
rict b
oard
, sup
port
org
aniz
atio
ns, o
ther
entit
ies,
or a
com
bina
tion.
An
y c
ity
wit
h a
larg
e ch
arte
r m
arke
t sh
ou
ld h
ave
ind
ivid
ual
s o
r o
rgan
izat
ion
s th
at a
re a
ble
to
st
ep b
ack
an
d v
iew
th
e sy
stem
fro
m a
str
ateg
ic v
anta
ge
po
int
to r
egu
larl
y a
sk s
uch
qu
esti
on
s as
:
Are
we
gro
win
g t
oo
qu
ickl
y o
r to
o s
low
ly?
H
ow
wel
l are
we
man
agin
g t
he
ten
sio
n
bet
wee
n g
row
ing
qu
ickl
y a
nd
kee
pin
g a
n
eye
on
qu
alit
y? D
o w
e h
ave
an e
mer
gin
g
hig
h-p
erfo
rmin
g C
MO
sec
tor?
Are
ou
r q
ual
ity
sta
nd
ard
s h
igh
en
ou
gh
?
Ho
w c
an w
e st
ren
gth
en t
he
edu
cato
r q
ual
ity
in
th
e ci
ty a
nd
sec
tor?
Is
it b
alan
ced
wit
h
teac
her
s an
d le
ader
s, e
xp
erie
nce
d a
nd
fre
sh
per
spec
tiv
es?
Wh
at s
up
po
rts—
inst
ruct
ion
al, p
rofe
ssio
nal
d
evel
op
men
t, e
tc.—
can
be
coo
rdin
ated
ac
ross
ch
arte
rs?
Do
fam
ilie
s k
no
w h
ow
to
acc
ess
and
n
avig
ate
the
cho
ice-
bas
ed e
du
cati
on
sy
stem
?
Are
all
sch
oo
ls s
erv
ing
stu
den
ts i
n s
pec
ial
edu
cati
on
eff
ecti
vel
y?
Is t
he
larg
er c
om
mu
nit
y f
amil
iar
wit
h t
he
fa
ct t
hat
ch
arte
rs a
re t
uit
ion
-fre
e, p
ub
lic
sch
oo
ls?
Wh
at c
om
mu
nit
y m
essa
gin
g i
s
nec
essa
ry t
o b
uil
d lo
ng
-ter
m s
up
po
rt f
or
th
is s
yst
em o
f sc
ho
ols
?
Is t
her
e su
ffici
ent
fin
anci
al f
un
din
g f
or
ch
arte
rs?
Are
th
ere
un
tap
ped
res
ou
rces
?
Wil
l ex
isti
ng
res
ou
rces
wan
e?
Ho
w m
igh
t th
e p
oli
tica
l lan
dsc
ape
chan
ge
o
ver
th
e n
ext
few
yea
rs?
Ho
w c
an w
e re
spo
nd
as
a s
ecto
r?
Are
th
ere
any
nat
ion
al s
up
po
rt o
rgan
izat
ion
s
or
net
wo
rks
we
can
att
ract
to
ou
r ci
ty?
Wh
ich
op
erat
ors
nee
d s
trat
egic
su
pp
ort
to
th
riv
e, a
nd
wh
ich
are
rea
dy
to
sca
le u
p?
Ho
w c
an c
har
ter
sch
oo
ls t
ake
ad
van
tag
e
of
coo
rdin
ated
ser
vic
es s
uch
as
leg
al s
up
po
rt
or
tran
spo
rtat
ion
?
A 3
0,0
00
-Fo
ot
Vie
w: Q
ues
tio
ns
to C
on
sid
er
40
41
This
guid
e is o
nly a
star
ting
poin
t for
any c
ity co
nsid
erin
g a c
hart
er-b
ased
appr
oach
to ed
ucat
ion
refo
rm. I
t sha
res t
he k
ey
com
pone
nts o
f New
Orle
ans’
syste
m an
d les
sons
lear
ned
since
200
5, as
the c
ity re
built
its s
tagn
ant p
ublic
educ
atio
n sy
stem
into
a pe
rform
ance
-driv
en d
ecen
tral
ized
syste
m o
f sch
ools.
App
endi
x A
pro
vide
s a “P
repa
redn
ess C
heck
list”
to h
elp o
ther
citie
s’ ed
ucat
ion,
pol
itica
l, an
d no
npro
fit le
ader
s ide
ntify
area
s of s
tren
gth,
area
s for
gro
wth
, and
any c
halle
nges
that
coul
d ha
mpe
r the
de
velo
pmen
t of a
hig
h-qu
ality
char
ter s
ecto
r. Th
is ch
eckl
ist is
also
onl
y a to
ol to
supp
ort i
nitia
l pla
nnin
g of
the m
ultip
le co
mpo
-ne
nts o
f city
wid
e cha
rter
supp
orts
. Eac
h co
mpo
nent
will
requ
ire si
gnifi
cant
pla
nnin
g, co
ordi
natio
n, fu
ndin
g, an
d pe
rsist
ence
to
impl
emen
t effe
ctiv
ely. Th
e con
cept
s, to
ols,
and
reso
urce
s pro
vide
d in
this
guid
e offe
r a p
lace
to st
art.
Wha
t has
occ
urre
d in
New
Orle
ans m
ay o
r may
not
tran
sform
how
our
coun
try s
erve
s its
mos
t at-r
isk ch
ildre
n. B
ut w
e bel
ieve
the
prin
ciples
of t
he N
ew O
rlean
s sys
tem
are s
ound
: Gov
ernm
ent s
houl
d de
legat
e sch
ool o
pera
tions
to n
onpr
ofits
, the
n ho
ld th
ese
orga
niza
tions
acco
unta
ble.
Gre
at sc
hool
s sho
uld
expa
nd. F
ailin
g sc
hool
s sho
uld
close
. Par
ents
shou
ld h
ave c
hoice
s in
whe
re to
se
nd th
eir c
hild
ren
to sc
hool
. Edu
cato
rs sh
ould
hav
e cho
ices
in w
here
they
wor
k. B
y the
mse
lves
, non
e of t
hese
prin
ciples
are
part
icul
arly
radi
cal.
Toge
ther
, how
ever
, the
y pro
vide
a po
tent
ial r
oadm
ap to
tran
sform
urb
an ed
ucat
ion
syste
ms a
cros
s our
nat
ion.
HU
MA
N C
AP
ITA
L P
IPEL
INE:
+ St
eine
r, L.
, Has
sel E
. A., &
Has
sel,
B. C
. (20
08).
Scho
ol tu
rnar
ound
lead
ers:
Com
pete
ncies
for s
ucce
ss. C
hica
go, I
L: Th
e Chi
cago
Pu
blic
Educ
atio
n Fu
nd. A
vaila
ble:
http
://pu
blic
impa
ct.co
m/im
ages
/stor
ies/p
ublic
impa
ct/d
ocum
ents/
Turn
arou
nd_L
eade
r_Co
mpe
tenc
ies.p
df
+ Au
guste
, B., K
ihn,
P., &
Mill
er, M
. (20
10).
Clos
ing t
he ta
lent g
ap: A
ttrac
ting a
nd re
tain
ing t
op-th
ird gr
adua
tes t
o a ca
reer
in
teac
hing
. McK
inse
y & C
ompa
ny. A
vaila
ble:
http
://m
ckin
seyo
nsoc
iety
.com
/dow
nloa
ds/re
port
s/Ed
ucat
ion/
Clos
ing_
the_
talen
t_ga
p.pd
f
+ Th
e New
Tea
cher
Pro
ject.
(200
6). I
mpr
oved
prin
cipal
hiri
ng: Th
e New
Tea
cher
Pro
ject’s
find
ings
and
reco
mm
enda
tions
for u
rban
sc
hool
s. Av
aila
ble:
http
://w
ww.
50ca
n.or
g/50
can-
univ
ersit
y/ar
ticle/
impr
oved
-prin
cipal
-hiri
ng-th
e-ne
w-te
ache
r-pr
ojec
t%E2
%80
%99
s-fin
ding
s-an
d
+ G
ross
, B., &
DeA
rmon
d, M
. (20
11, M
arch
). Iss
ue b
rief:
How
do c
harte
r sch
ools
get t
he te
ache
rs th
ey w
ant?
Was
hing
ton,
D.C
.: N
atio
nal A
llian
ce fo
r Pub
lic C
hart
er S
choo
ls. A
vaila
ble:
http
://w
ww.
publ
iccha
rter
s.org
/dat
a/fil
es/P
ublic
atio
n_do
cs/N
APC
S_Te
ache
rBrie
f_M
arch
2011
_201
1033
0T16
4201
+ Ch
adw
ick, C
., & K
owal
, J. (
2011
). Pr
epar
ing f
or gr
owth
: Hum
an ca
pita
l inn
ovat
ions
in ch
arte
r pub
lic sc
hool
s. W
ashi
ngto
n, D
.C.:
Cent
er fo
r Am
eric
an P
rogr
ess.
Avai
labl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.am
eric
anpr
ogre
ss.o
rg/is
sues
/201
1/05
/hum
an_c
apita
l.pdf
+ Ko
wal, J
., & H
asse
l, E. A
. (Pu
blic
Impa
ct). (
2011
). Im
porti
ng le
ader
s for
scho
ol tu
rnar
ound
s: Le
ssons
and
oppo
rtuni
ties.
Char
lotte
s-vi
lle: U
nive
rsity
of V
irgin
ia’s D
arde
n/Cu
rry P
artn
ersh
ip fo
r Lea
ders
in E
duca
tion.
Ava
ilabl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.da
rden
.virg
inia
.edu/
web/
uplo
aded
Files
/Dar
den/
Dar
den_
Curr
y_PL
E/U
VA_S
choo
l_Tu
rnar
ound
/Impo
rtin
g_Le
ader
s_fo
r_Sc
hool
_Tur
naro
unds
.PD
F
+ D
oyle,
D., &
Ste
iner
, L. (
2011
). D
evelo
ping
educ
atio
n ta
lent p
ipeli
nes f
or ch
arte
r sch
ools:
A ci
tywi
de a
ppro
ach.
Chi
cago
, IL:
N
atio
nal C
hart
er S
choo
l Res
ourc
e Cen
ter.
Avai
labl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.ch
arte
rsch
oolce
nter
.org
/site
s/def
ault/
files
/104
4%20
NC
S%20
WtP
aper
_Dev
EdTa
lent%
20fin
al.p
df
Co
ncl
usi
on
Res
ou
rces
for
impl
emen
ting
ke
y co
mp
on
ents
of
the
N
ew O
rlean
s sy
stem
42
43
This
chec
klist
pro
vide
s a co
ncise
sum
mar
y of t
he k
ey is
sues
pre
sent
ed in
this
guid
e. Th
e che
cklis
t can
help
you
orga
nize
your
st
rate
gic p
lann
ing
effor
ts fo
r im
plem
entin
g N
ew O
rlean
s-st
yle,
char
ter-
base
d ed
ucat
ion
refo
rms.
Use
it to
det
erm
ine y
our c
ity’s
exist
ing
or p
oten
tial r
esou
rces
for s
uppo
rtin
g th
e dra
mat
ic gr
owth
of h
igh-
qual
ity ch
arte
r sch
ools
and
netw
orks
. Ide
ally,
your
city
w
ill h
ave m
any c
ompo
nent
s of t
he ch
eckl
ist a
lread
y in
plac
e, w
ith th
e rem
aini
ng cr
itica
l com
pone
nts a
stro
ng p
ossib
ility
with
in
the fi
rst y
ear o
r two
of u
sing
char
terin
g to
repl
ace t
he d
istric
t’s lo
west
perfo
rmin
g sc
hool
s, an
d re
war
d th
e bes
t per
form
ing
dist
rict
scho
ols w
ith g
reat
er au
tono
mie
s and
flex
ibili
ty fo
r inn
ovat
ion.
CH
AR
TER
GR
OW
TH
AN
D I
NC
UB
AT
ION
:
+ H
asse
l, E.
A., H
asse
l, B.
C., &
Abl
eidin
ger,
J. (2
011)
. Goi
ng ex
pone
ntia
l: Gr
owin
g the
char
ter s
choo
l sec
tor’s
bes
t. W
ashi
ngto
n,
D.C
.: Pro
gres
sive P
olic
y Ins
titut
e. Av
aila
ble:
http
://w
ww.
prog
ress
ivefi
x.co
m/w
p-co
nten
t/upl
oads
/201
1/02
/2.2
011_
Has
sel_
Goi
ng-
Expo
nent
ial_
WEB
1.pdf
+ K
ania
, J., K
utas
h, J.
, Obb
ard,
J., &
Alb
right
, R. (
2011
, Apr
il). Th
e pro
mise
of ci
tywi
de ch
arte
r stra
tegi
es. W
ashi
ngto
n, D
.C.:
Nat
iona
l Alli
ance
for P
ublic
Cha
rter
Sch
ools.
Ava
ilabl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.pu
blicc
hart
ers.o
rg/d
ata/
files
/Pub
licat
ion_
docs
/201
1_Fi
nal_
The%
20Pr
omise
%20
of%
20Ci
tyw
ide%
20Ch
arte
r%20
Stra
tegi
es_2
0110
517T
1433
33.p
df
+ A
bleid
inge
r, J.,
& S
tein
er, L
. (20
11).
Incu
batin
g hi
gh-q
ualit
y cha
rter s
choo
ls: In
nova
tions
in ci
ty-b
ased
orga
niza
tions
. Chi
cago
: N
atio
nal C
hart
er S
choo
l Res
ourc
e Cen
ter.
Avai
labl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.ch
arte
rsch
oolce
nter
.org
/site
s/def
ault/
files
/104
3%20
NC
S%20
WtP
aper
_Inc
ubat
ing%
20fin
al_0
+ A
bleid
inge
r, J.,
& K
owal
, J. (
Publ
ic Im
pact
). (2
011)
. Bet
ter c
hoice
s: Ch
arte
r inc
ubat
ion
as a
stra
tegy
for i
mpr
ovin
g the
char
ter
scho
ol se
ctor
. Ind
iana
polis
, IN
: Citi
es fo
r Edu
catio
n En
trepr
eneu
rshi
p Tr
ust,
and
Was
hing
ton,
DC:
Thom
as B
. For
dham
In
stitu
te. R
etrie
ved
from
http
://ed
exce
llenc
emed
ia.n
et/p
ublic
atio
ns/2
011/
2011
1207
-Bet
ter-
Choi
ces/2
0111
207-
Bette
r-Ch
oice
s.pdf
STR
ON
G A
UT
HO
RIZ
ING
PR
AC
TIC
ES:
+ N
atio
nal A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Cha
rter
Sch
ool A
utho
rizer
s. (2
010)
. Prin
ciples
and
stan
dard
s for
qua
lity c
harte
r sch
ool a
utho
rizin
g. Ch
icag
o: A
utho
r. ht
tp://
ww
w.qu
ality
char
ters
.org
/imag
es/st
orie
s/pub
licat
ions
/Prin
ciples
_and
_Sta
ndar
ds_2
010.
+ Pe
trill
i, M
. J., &
Ebe
rhar
dt, T
. (20
11).
The c
harte
r sch
ool q
ualit
y age
nda:
Wha
t com
es n
ext?
201
1 PI
E N
etwo
rk S
umm
it Po
licy
Brief
s. Av
aila
ble:
http
://w
ww.
pie-
netw
ork.
org/
c/do
cum
ent_
libra
ry/g
et_fi
le?uu
id=8
4659
b13-
e8ba
-4fd
1-a5
1a-
ebe3
7832
dc63
&gr
oupI
d=10
457
+ N
atio
nal A
ssoc
iatio
n of
Cha
rter
Sch
ool A
utho
rizer
s. (2
009)
. Cha
rter
scho
ol p
erfo
rman
ce a
ccou
ntab
ility
. Chi
cago
: Aut
hor.
Avai
labl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.qu
ality
char
ters
.org
/imag
es/st
orie
s/Pe
rform
ance
_Acc
ount
abili
ty.p
df
+ H
asse
l, B.
C., &
Has
sel E
. A. (
2009
). Tr
y, tr
y aga
in. C
hape
l Hill
, NC:
Pub
lic Im
pact
. http
://w
ww.
publ
icim
pact
.com
/pub
licat
ions
/Pu
blic
_Im
pact
_Try
_Try
_Aga
in_S
lide_
Augu
st_2
009.p
df
CO
MM
UN
ITY
EN
GA
GE
ME
NT:
+ St
eine
r, L.
, & B
rinso
n, D
. (20
11).
Fixi
ng fa
iling
scho
ols:
Build
ing f
amily
and
com
mun
ity d
eman
d fo
r dra
mat
ic ch
ange
. Av
aila
ble:
http
://pu
blic
impa
ct.co
m/im
ages
/stor
ies/
build
ing_
dem
and_
for_
chan
ge_i
n_fa
iling
_sch
ools-
Publ
ic_I
mpa
ct.p
df
AD
DIT
ION
AL
GE
NER
AL
RE
SOU
RC
ES:
+ Ko
wal
, J., &
Abl
eidin
ger,
J. (2
011)
. Lea
ding
indi
cato
rs of
scho
ol tu
rnar
ound
s: H
ow to
know
whe
n dr
amat
ic ch
ange
is on
trac
k.
Char
lotte
svill
e: U
nive
rsity
of V
irgin
ia’s D
arde
n/Cu
rry P
artn
ersh
ip fo
r Lea
ders
in E
duca
tion.
Ava
ilabl
e: ht
tp://
ww
w.da
rden
.vi
rgin
ia.ed
u/we
b/up
load
edFi
les/D
arde
n/D
arde
n_Cu
rry_
PLE/
UVA
_Sch
ool_
Turn
arou
nd/L
eadi
ng_I
ndic
ator
s_of
_Sch
ool_
Turn
arou
nds.p
df
+ Bu
ildin
g Cha
rter
Sch
ool Q
ualit
y: w
ww.
char
ters
choo
lqua
lity.o
rg
+ N
atio
nal C
hart
er S
choo
l Res
ourc
e Cen
ter:
ww
w.ch
arte
rsch
oolce
nter
.org
App
endi
x A
: P
rep
ared
nes
s C
hec
klis
t
44
45
Already in place, strong
Already in place, needs improvement
Strong possibility in years 1-2
Unlikely for 3 or more years
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Strong charter law
State accountability system assigns performance rating for each school and has clear bar
for acceptable performance
Entity with legislative or executive power to take over failing district schools and replace
with charters
Political support for using charter schools as a critical component of school reform
efforts – especially to annually take over and charter the bottom 5-7 percent of failing
schools
Charter schools exempt from existing collective bargaining agreements or teacher
contracts
Strong state charter office that monitors the performance and health of the charter
school sector
State charter association able to provide active advocacy at state and/or city level
No restrictive cap on the number of charters that can be opened in the city
HUMAN CAPITAL
Relationship with national providers like Teach For America or The New Teacher Project
Local teacher preparation program prepares teachers for working in charter school
setting
Alternative certification programs provide additional routes into teaching
Flexibility for teachers to move from district to charter schools with relative ease
Interest from human capital development organizations like High Bar, MATCH teacher
coaching, Relay Graduate School of Education
Companies and organizations in the region could provide a source of strong leaders,
teachers, and charter board members from other sectors
Organizations/collaborative entities support charter schools in matching their school
staffing needs with appropriate applicants
Already in place, strong
Already in place, needs improvement
Strong possibility in years 1-2
Unlikely for 3 or more years
CHARTER INCUBATION & CMO GROWTH
Organization with capability to incubate new schools, support development of strong
schools, scale up high performers into networks, and encourage low performers to close
Organization/group of entities to assess needs of charter system, foster new services to
meet these needs
Strategies in place to convert existing schools—both high performers and persistently
low-performing schools—to charter status
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Strong community-based organizations (CBOs) work in education and support charter
efforts
Existing CBOs willing to support communication efforts to introduce charter concepts to
community and/or support grassroots advocacy for charter efforts
National organizations—like 50CAN or Stand for Children—engaged in the city
FUNDING & FACILITIES
Per-pupil funding follows child to charters
Per-pupil funding adequate to run competitive schools
Charter schools have access to public school facilities, free or at low cost
Facilities financing options exist (philanthropic credit enhancement, local support
organization, etc.)
Local philanthropic foundations exist and support charter schools
Large local businesses support education/charters
National foundations currently support or have expressed interest in supporting charters
in city
Funding sources adequate to support charter and network incubation, facilities, and
human capital development necessary for growth of high-quality charters
46
47
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Already in place, strong
Already in place, needs improvement
Strong possibility in years 1-2
Unlikely for 3 or more years
PLANNING FOR DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM OF SCHOOLS
Plan for ongoing governance and oversight system that provides and protects autonomies
of high performers, and takes decisive and fair action when schools fall short
Plan for centralized application process or enrollment system that can be phased in
as number of charters grows
Options for special education supports for charter schools
Ombudsman for charter schools
Transportation options for charter schools
Market of service providers for charter schools
Public Impact
504 Dogwood Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
919.240.7955
www.publicimpact.com
New Schools For New Orleans
200 Broadway, Suite 108
New Orleans, LA 70118
504.274.3619
www.newschoolsforneworleans.org