columbia.news21.com | The Charter Explosion | Carnegie-Knight Initiative for Future of Journalism Education

These hybrid schools are blowing up the public education model

Public Schools as Ethnic Enclaves?

Charter school education is creating safe havens for niche groups — is that meeting their needs or resegregating them?

Catholic Schools Go Charter to Survive

Conversions are an attractive exit plan for struggling parochial schools.

A Tale of Two Charters

In Newark, N.J., two different charter schools are competing for students and resources, prompting many to question how we should shape the charter school landscape.

Teaching Pipeline Runs Straight Out of New Orleans

In New Orleans, demand for teachers outweighs the local supply. Programs like Teach for America have moved in to fill the gap. Now, some say, these out-of-towners clog the pipeline.

The Wisdom of the Marketplace

Charter schools have moved from fringe to mainstay in New Orleans, leaving uncertain parents a dizzying array of options. Can they really sort them out?

Rebuilding Communities From the School Up

Hurricane Katrina washed away most of New Orleans’ traditional public schools and cleared the way for a new “open-choice” system dominated by charters. These schools draw students from all over the city. What happens when communities are fractured and new ones emerge?

Reshaping Communities
Uncertainties Around Charters’ Special Ed Role
One family's legal struggle to get a charter school to recognize their son's special needs.
Special Education by the Numbers
Traditional public schools still serve a larger percent of special needs kids than charters. Why
Interactive Timeline: Indian Schools
For many American Indians, formal education has been a sorrowful experience.
Refuge on the Reservation
The stories of three American Indian students trying to make it in tribal charter schools.
Interactive Timeline: Uncertain Future
Explore the history of how and why the Catholic parochial system developed in America.
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Tapestry of Schools
Without Classrooms or Grades, Students Rule This School
It's not the usual kind of learning going on in the Minnesota New Country School.
A Breeding Place for Global Citizens
One St. Paul teaches the German language in every class. Why?
Teaching from the African American Experience
Why an Afro-centric school doesn't believe it is contributing to re-segregation.
Character-based learning
Look inside an elementary charter school with a Chinese language immersion program.
Old Values in New Kind of Education
Star International's mission is to maintain students' Arab and American identities.
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Unchartered Territory
Is Profit Dead?
For-profit companies rushed into the public school market at the same time charters first took
Rush into Cyber Space: Are Virtual Charters Any Good?
Virtual schooling is one of the fastest-growing educational trends. But does it work?
Visit Discovery
Students achieve through an unconventional approach at Discovery, one of Newark's oldest charters.
Go Inside KIPP
Newark's RISE Academy is part of KIPP, the country's largest network of charter schools.
Irene Goes to Washington
Follow charter co-founder Irene Hall as she lobbies for her school in the nation's capitol.
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New Orleans In Depth
Charter ‘X’
Is New Orleans losing its heritage along with its schools? Plus, play the Name Game.
The Wheels Go ‘Round
Travel with a bus-load of kindergartners across New Orleans' new charter landscape.
Video From the Trenches
A new generation of teachers has come to New Orleans in the wake of Katrina.
The Door-to-Door Salesman
Follow along as a charter school principal makes a pitch to a one family.
Finding Zion
A clever ad campaign sells a charter school to the family of one student.
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