Urban school reformers for decades have tried to improve educational outcomes for underserved and disadvantaged students, with the assistance of constantly evolving federal and state policies. In recent years, education policies have shifted from targeting individual students to developing universal standards for teaching and learning, and…

This paper describes the origins, structure, and components of the Chancellor's District, and details the findings about its outcomes for elementary schools. The Chancellor's District initiative ended in July 2003, with the implementation of a system-wide restructuring policy that reorganized the entire New York City school system. The 32…

New Visions for Public Schools' New Century High Schools Initiative in New York City highlights a strategy of school-level partnerships between educators from the New York City Department of Education (DoE) and non-profit organizational staff. The strategy aims to support the transformation of chronically low-performing large high schools…

This paper presents national 2000-01 data from charter schools and charter-school authorizers in the United States regarding the various stages of the accountability process: the charter application stage, the monitoring stage, and the sanctions stage. The larger accountability context of public schools and its impact on charter schools are also…

This report examines the efficacy of the Boston Pilot Schools, an innovative model of urban schools created to promote innovation and increased choice options within the Boston school district. The report uses school and district level data to examine student demographics, achievement, and engagement at the 11 Pilot Schools that were in operation…

This paper examines the ways in which the State of Texas economy benefits from the presence of Austin Community College (ACC). ACC pays $70.9 million in direct faculty and staff wages and salaries. The college pays wages and salaries, which generate additional incomes as they are spent, and their operating and capital expenditures generate still…

This report presents findings of an analytical study on student achievement in charter schools and the effect of state accountability regimes on charter-school performance. Data for the study were gathered from a literature review and test scores from 1999 to 2001 of both charter schools and regular public schools. The data were collected from…

This document, the thirteenth annual report of the North Carolina Community College System, details the critical success factors of students in the state's community colleges. The report is the result of a process undertaken to streamline and simplify accountability reporting by the Community College System. The purpose of the report is two-fold.…

This introductory packet is designed as an aid in conceptualizing financing efforts, identifying sources, and understanding strategies related to needed reforms that address barriers to learning. The packet contains an introductory overview of financing strategies to support innovative approaches to assisting children and families. Also presented…

Experience has shown that providing instructional, emotional, and managerial support to new principals by giving them experienced, expert principals as mentors can help to a large extent. Over the course of a year, New Visions for Public Schools studied six types of principal mentor programs offered to new and needy principals in six New York City…

This publication focuses on data reported annually by South Carolina's public institutions of higher education as part of institutional effectiveness reporting and part of the process of performance funding. Data related to the funding process reflect the 1999-2000 performance year (institutional ratings of spring 2000), and historical performance…

"No Child Left Behind" ("NCLB") requires that parents receive certain information about their child's education, as well as the overall performance of the child's school on state tests in reading, math and science. "NCLB" gives funding for early childhood learning; allows for more spending on each student, especially disadvantaged students; and,…

Trust has been found to be an important component of school effectiveness, yet remains understudied especially in terms of school-central office relations. Using mixed methods in a case-study design, this research illustrates how the lack of trust, which often remains undiscussed in school reform, was surfaced and then began to be addressed by a…

Over the past 6 years, 28 states have authorized the creation of charter schools as an alternative form of public education. This policy brief examines the goals and implementation issues specifically related to teaching and learning. It presents findings of a study that explored how learning communities were created and sustained in 17 charter…

Unlike many proposed educational reforms in the United States, charter schools enjoy support from policymakers across the political spectrum, making such schools a major focus of public school reform among educators and legislators. The origin of charter schools and how these schools are affecting education is the subject of this background paper.…