News Alert

CER Announces the Publication of
THE CHARTER SCHOOL WORKBOOK:
Your Roadmap to the Charter School Movement

September, 1997) The Center for Education Reform is pleased to announce the back-to-school publication of The Charter School Workbook, which we hope will become a valuable, dog-eared resource for the charter school veteran and novice alike.

Topics include:

• Ranking of charter states, on the strength (effectiveness) or weakness (ineffectiveness) of their charter law, as well as a 32 point legislative profile of each of the thirty charter laws in the country (excerpts now available on the CER Website);
• Highlights of the history of the movement, with statistics on the ever-growing number of schools and profiles of outstanding charter schools in operation around the country (Profile Online: Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, an exemplary conversion charter in California), as well as the early evidence of their real improvements in student achievement;
• A look at the successes and obstacles faced by charter school applicants, operators and advocates, the reality behind charter opponents' strategies and rhetoric, and a breakdown of the myths and realities shaping the debate;
• Overview of the burgeoning body of research, with a profile of each study, as well as an annotated bibliography of the best writings available;
• A directory to the technical, financial and policy assistance provided by state and national organizations, as well as excerpts from the best "how to" and model documents available;

The Charter School Workbook includes information resources for each of the twenty nine states and the District of Columbia that now have some version of a charter school law, including this summer's addition of both the "new" and "improved" charter states. It includes the highlights of the latest charter numbers (e.g. over 280 charters scheduled to open this fall, including the very first charters in seven states) and research (e.g. the final six-part report from the Hudson Institute's Charter Schools in Action Project).

We call it a Workbook because we've designed it to be practical and useful, a handy reference for research, contacts, statistics and resources. It offers in one place a guide to much of the hard work that's being done in schools and states around the country, and is here to help you all as you continue that hard, trailblazing work of school reform and educational excellence.

Publication of The Charter School Workbook was made possible by a grant from the William H. Donner Foundation.

For more information or to order your copy of The Charter School Workbook, please call The Center for Education Reform at (800) 521-2118, or order online.

Corrections and Additions to The Charter School Workbook, First Printing.

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The Center for Education Reform is a non-profit, national advocacy group working to improve the nation's schools.

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