Evaluating the Performance of Philadelphia's Charter Schools Mar 2008 Ron Zimmer, Suzanne Blanc, Brian P Gill, Jolley Bruce Christman

Charter schools, publicly funded schools that operate autonomously outside the direct control of local school districts and generally enroll students through the choices of their parents rather tha...

Learning to Learn From Data: Limitations and Illuminations Mar 2008 Roseann Hugh, Cecily A. Mitchell

Under NCLB, educators are experiencing increased pressure to use student performance data to improve achievement. Despite attention to this data, we know little about how schools actually make mea...

Literature Review: Portfolio of Schools 2008 Holly Plastaras Maluk, Shani Adia Evans

A review of the literature on the portfolio of schools model for district-wide high school reform

Informing High School Choices: The Progress & Challenges of Small High Schools in Philadelphia Jan 2008 Tracey A. Hartmann, Holly Plastaras Maluk, Rebecca J. Reumann-Moore

In the School District of Philadelphia in 2007-08, almost one third of high school students attend one of the district's 32 small high schools. Of these, 26 have been newly created or significantl...

A Philadelphia Story: Building Civic Capacity for School Reform in a Privatizing System - Executive Summary Dec 2007 Eva Gold, Elaine Simon, Maia Cucchiara, Cecily A. Mitchell, Morgan Riffer

Following the 2001 state takeover of the School District of Philadelphia, a new governance structure was established and an ambitious set of reforms went into effect, generating renewed public conf...

A Philadelphia Story: Building Civic Capacity for School Reform in a Privatizing System Dec 2007 Eva Gold, Elaine Simon, Maia Cucchiara, Cecily A. Mitchell, Morgan Riffer

Following the 2001 state takeover of the School District of Philadelphia, a new governance structure was established and an ambitious set of reforms went into effect, generating renewed public conf...

Letter to the Editor: Are Privately Run Public Schools Worth the Effort and Money? Jul 2007 Jolley Bruce Christman, Susan Bodilly

This letter to the editor responds to a June 25 editorial about the RAND/Research for Action report on student outcomes in Philadelphia's privately managed schools.

The Time is Now: Youth Organize to Transform Philadelphia Schools Jun 2007 Gretchen E. L. Suess, Kristine S. Lewis

Through a study of public school reform in Philadelphia, Research for Action (RFA) has focused on youth roles in civic engagement. Two local youth organizations at three high schools have researche...

Closing the Teacher Quality Gap in Philadelphia: New Hope and Old Hurdles - Executive Summary May 2007 Elizabeth Useem, Robert Offenberg, Elizabeth Farley

This study of teacher staffing issues in the School District of Philadelphia, the third in a series, outlines the degree to which the district has succeeded in upgrading teachers' professional cred...

Closing the Teacher Quality Gap in Philadelphia: New Hope and Old Hurdles May 2007 Elizabeth Useem, Robert Offenberg, Elizabeth Farley

This study of teacher staffing issues in the School District of Philadelphia, the third in a series, outlines the degree to which the district has succeeded in upgrading teachers' professional cred...

'Going Small': Start Up and Early Implementation of Small High Schools in Philadelphia Apr 2007 Rebecca J. Reumann-Moore, Tracey A. Hartmann

The summary of findings from year one of Research for Action's study, 'Going Small: Public Private Collaboration in Restructuring High School Education in Philadelphia' provides a brief introductio...

Studying Micro-Processes of School-Based Educators' Use of Data in Cross-School Qualitative Research Apr 2007 Suzanne Blanc, Katrina E. Bulkley, Jolley Bruce Christman, Ruth Curran Neild, Eva Travers

This paper was presented at the American Education Research Association's 2007 annual conference. While there is a great deal of enthusiasm for collection and use of student data by educators, litt...

Letter to the Editor: Good School News Mar 2007 Jolley Bruce Christman, Brian P Gill

This letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer responds to a February 23 commentary by Charles Zogby.

Letter to the Editor: Public Schools, Private Operators Mar 2007 Brian P Gill, Jolley Bruce Christman

This article responds to a February 23 editorial about the RAND/Research for Action report on student outcomes in Philadelphia's privately managed schools.

Public Education in Philadelphia: The Crucial Need for Civic Capacity in a Privatized Environment Mar 2007 Suzanne Blanc, Elaine Simon

This article explores the role of public engagement in Philadelphia public schools, answering the question of whether the form of private sector involvement now being pursued by the School District...

Commentary: Straight Talk about a Report on Achievement at City Schools Feb 2007 Brian P Gill, Jolley Bruce Christman

This commentary sets the record straight following extensive media coverage of the release of RAND and RFA's report, 'State Takeover, School Restructuring, Private Management, and Student Achieveme...

Blurring the Boundaries: A Case Study of Private Sector Involvement in Philadelphia Public Schools Feb 2007 Eva Gold, Jolley Bruce Christman, Benjamin B. Herold

This article describes the private sector involvement in Philadelphia public schools under the state takeover. This is a case study that focuses on the political and institutional context in which ...

Bringing the Private into the Public: Changing the Rules of the Game and New Regime Politics in Philadelphia Public Education Feb 2007 Katrina E. Bulkley

Using the lens of urban regime analysis, this article examines the Philadelphia education regime and the policies it has promoted resulting from the state takeover of the district in 2001. The auth...

State Takeover, School Restructuring, Private Management, and Student Achievement in Philadelphia Jan 2007 Brian P Gill, Ron Zimmer, Jolley Bruce Christman, Suzanne Blanc

Following a state takeover of the Philadelphia public schools in 2002, 45 schools were turned over to private managers, making Philadelphia the site of the nation's largest experiment in the privat...

Student Achievement in Privately Managed and District-Managed Schools in Philadelphia Since the State Takeover Jan 2007 Brian P Gill, Ron Zimmer, Jolley Bruce Christman, Suzanne Blanc

Following a state takeover of the Philadelphia public schools in 2002, 45 schools were turned over to private managers, making Philadelphia the site of the nation's largest experiment in the privat...