Archived - State of Charter Schools 2000 - Fourth-Year Report Acknowledgements

Archived Information

The State of Charter Schools 2000 - Fourth-Year Report, January 2000

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the many people who contributed either directly or indirectly to this Report. Almost 1,000 directors of charter schools responded to our surveys, graciously taking time from their school responsibilities to answer our questions, share their insights, and provide the data that serves as the basis for this report. Staff at many state and national organizations focused on education policy or technical assistance also provided us with valuable resources and information. We extend a special thanks to Field Research for the care and professionalism they dis- played in administering our surveys and to the directors in the 37 state charter offices for their patient and timely responses to our queries on the counts and status of charter schools in their states. We especially appreciate the administrators, teachers, students, and parents of the 91 charter schools that generously agreed to be part of this lon- gitudinal study. In successive years, they invited us into their schools and classrooms, shared their thoughts and feel- ings, provided key information on their schools and students, and helped us understand and learn from their strug- gles and triumphs. Together, these individuals and organizations have made our work and this report possible. We offer this final yearly report as a token of appreciation for their efforts to improve education for all students.

We would like to give a special thanks to our partner in the National Study of Charter Schools, the Institute for Responsive Education (IRE), a non-profit research firm in Boston. IRE played an instrumental role in refining and implementing the Study's research design. We would especially like to thank our esteemed colleague Abby Weiss for her keen insight and tireless work.

Many others read and provided invaluable feedback on drafts of the Report. We appreciate the thoughtful and insightful ideas, contributions, and comments of the Study's Advisory Board. The members of the Advisory Board are: Jose Afonso, Massachusetts Department of Education; William Lowe Boyd, Department of Education Policy Studies at The Pennsylvania State University; Rexford Brown, P.S.1 Charter School; Joan Buckley, American Federation of Teachers; Faith Crampton, National Education Association; Gary Hart, Institute for Education Reform at California State University, Sacramento; Ted Kolderie, Center for Policy Studies; and Joe Nathan, Center for School Change, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

In addition, a group of reviewers from the U.S. Department of Education reviewed the report and provided helpful comments and insights that improved the Report. From the Department, we would like to thank Caroline Chang, Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Alexander Choi, Office of Civil Rights; David Cleary, Office of the UnderSecretary; Cathy Grimes-Miller, Office of the General Counsel; Judith Holt, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Lonna B. Jones, Office of the UnderSecretary; Alex Medler, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Meredith Miller, Planning and Evaluation Service; and Robert Scott, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Three peer reviewers also provided helpful feedback on the content of this report-we appreciate the helpful advice we received from Linda Brown, Massachusetts Charter Resource Center; Jeffrey R. Henig, the George Washington University; and F. Howard Nelson, American Federation of Teachers.

The authors also would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to Pat Lines, Martin Orland, Judith Anderson, and Joseph Conaty of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement for their support and guidance in shap- ing and implementing this Report and the Study. Our thanks are also extended to Deborah Gibbs who oversaw the formatting and production of this report.

While appreciating the contributions of all of the reviewers, the authors accept full responsibility for the content of the Report.

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Executive Summary