Description
The traditional public school systems in most of America’s urban cores have failed students for decades. Millions of students from low-income families have not had access to high-quality K‑12 education. There is no mystery as to why our inner cities are plagued by high unemployment, crime, and violence.
Charter Schools Work is about how charter public schools can create a competitive educational landscape which improves K‑12 education. This book details the practices at University Academy, a K‑12 college-preparatory charter public school that serves 1000 students. Tom Vander Ark, former Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said the school “might be the best open admission college prep school in the United States”.
University Academy and other charter public schools now educate roughly 40% of the students in the Kansas City Missouri School District. Competition is forcing schools to compete based on quality and students are benefiting. The transformation that is occurring in Kansas City, MO offers a roadmap for others who have the will to say no to the status quo of failing school districts in America.