Tharp collection.

Explores the ways in which the educational system can combat such problems as a degenerating democratic system, lack of creative thinking, and moral and spiritual decline

In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.

The Annual Editions series is designed to provide convenient inexpensive access to a wide range of current articles from some of the most respected magazines, newspapers and journals published today. Annual Editions are updated on a regular basis through a continuous monitoring of over 300 periodical sources. The articles selected are authored by prominent scholars, researchers, and commentators writing for a general audience. Each Annual Editions volume has a number of features designed to make them especially valuable for classroom use; including a brief overview for each unit, as well as Learning Outcomes, Critical Thinking questions, and Internet References to accompany each article. Go to the McGraw-Hill CreateTM Annual Editions Article Collection at http://www.mcgrawhillcreate.com/annualeditions to browse the entire collection. Select individual Annual Editions articles to enhance your course, or access and select the entire Evers: Annual Editions: Education, 43/e book here at http://create.mheducation.com/createonline/index.html#qlink=search%2Ftext%3Disbn:1259392260 for an easy, pre-built teaching resource. Visit http://create.mheducation.com for more information on other McGraw-Hill titles and special collections.

The Annual Editions series is designed to provide convenient inexpensive access to a wide range of current articles from some of the most respected magazines, newspapers and journals published today. Annual Editions are updated on a regular basis through a continuous monitoring of over 300 periodical sources. The articles selected are authored by prominent scholars, researchers, and commentators writing for a general audience. Each Annual Editions volume has a number of features designed to make them especially valuable for classroom use; including a brief overview for each unit, as well as Learning Outcomes, Critical Thinking questions, and Internet References to accompany each article. Go to the McGraw-Hill Create® Annual Editions Article Collection at http://www.mcgrawhillcreate.com/annualeditions to browse the entire collection. Select individual Annual Editions articles to enhance your course, or access and select the entire Fraser-Burgess: Annual Editions: Education, 44/e book here http://create.mheducation.com/createonline/index.html#qlink=search%2Ftext%3Disbn:1259922839 for an easy, pre-built teaching resource. Visit http://create.mheducation.com for more information on other McGraw-Hill titles and special collections.