Overview of Charter Schools That You Should All Read

1. "Charter Schools." Issues & Controversies
http://www.2facts.com/TempFiles/i0104140.htm

• This direct link will only on campus.
• From off-campus, go to Facts on File through ResearchPort and then do a seach in"Issues and Controversies" (check box on the left) for charter schools.

2. Clark, Charles S. "Charter Schools." CQ Researcher 12.44 (2002): 1033-1056. CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2002122000>.

• This link will only work on campus
• From off-campus, go to CQ Researcher through ResearchPort and search for "charter schools" .

3. Maryland State Department of Education. " Charter School Annual 2007 Report." Maryland 's Public Charter School Program. 12 Jun 2007.
www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/1CEB8910-211A-47E0-909F-C452B3A76CAB/13917/charter_annual_07.pdf
The stats in this report are wonderfully inconclusive. You might want to see if you can use them to your advantage.

Additional Overviews/Background Material

• Maryland Public Schools FAQ on Charter Schools
  http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/charter_schools/docs/cs_q-a
• An Evaluation of the Maryland Charter School Program - report out of the University of Maryland
• Charter Schools Take Root In Maryland - a short and fairly balanced article from the August 23, 2007 Washington Post
• Do Charter Schools Threaten Public Education? Emerging Evidence from Fifteen Years of a Quasi-Market for Schooling - This is a rather long, intensive and scholary investigation into charter schools. The version linked to is archved online, but says it was scheduled for publication in May. I checked, and the published version of this paper is available through Langsdale's databases. (Normally you would want to cite the published version, but this one is easier to link to, and is fine for class purposes.)
• Evaluating the impact of Charter Schools in Student Achievment.
• Achievment and Behavior in Charter Schools: Drawing a More Complete Picture
  

Resources with a Positive View on Charter Schools

• Maryland Charter School Network
  • Videos of people speaking about charter schools : This is a really good place to see teachers talk about why they think charter schools are good.
• The Center for Education Reform
• City Charter Schools Shine - from the Aug 27, 2007 Baltimore Sun.
• Charter schools key to attracting new BRAC residents, school board member says from the October 4, 2006 Baltimore Business Journal. This would be particularly useful if the community leader group decides to be pro-charter schools.

Resources with a Negative View on Charter Schools

• Charter schools: Profit destroys education
• James Campbell. "DO CHARTERS PASS THE TEST? " The Sun  4  Oct. 2007. This will be good for the school administrators group to read.
  On campus users can view this with this link: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1353629971&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=41152&RQT=309&VName=PQD
  Off campus users will have to go to Langsdale's Baltimore Sun database and search for it.
• Nation's Charter Schools Lagging Behind, U.S. Test Scores Reveal. From the August 17, 2004 New York Times.