Suzanne E. Eckes

The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP): An Analysis of One Model's Efforts to Promote Achievement in Underserved Communities

Many claim that the Knowledge is Power Program has experienced success in closing the achievement gap in urban and rural communities across America. Studies suggest that KIPP charter schools enroll an overwhelming proportion of poor and minority students and often outperform their district peers. However, the purpose of this study is not to evaluate whether KIPP schools are closing the achievement gap, but instead to assess the strategies KIPP charter schools use to promote student achievement. Describing and evaluating these approaches may offer new insights into the ways we can improve instruction and possibly increase student achievement levels for students in underserved communities.

Legal and Policy Issues Regarding Niche Charter Schools: Race, Religion, Culture, and the Law

A growing number of ethnocentric or culturally oriented niche charter schools have opened around the country. These ethnic or culture-oriented models raise legal and policy concerns about church/state entanglement as well as concerns about diversity. Indeed, there has already been litigation focused on racial and ethnic aspects of charter schools as well as religious influences. Despite the litigation in these areas, the constitutional tensions to which ethnocentric charter schools give rise have not been fully explored in the literature. Using legal research methods, this article examines the existing litigation involving culture-oriented charter schools and discusses the policy and legal tensions involved.

Are Charter Schools Using Recruitment Strategies to Increase Student Body Diversity

Depending on state statutory language, charter schools may be able to exercise more control over their student body composition. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools may have the opportunity to increase student body diversity by drawing students from across traditional school district boundary lines. Specifically, depending on the state statutory language, charter schools may be permitted some flexibility in recruiting and admitting students. This study investigates the admissions and recruitment practices of eight high-achieving charter schools and considers whether charter school leaders negotiate state statutes to create a diverse student body.

The Line between Cultural Education and Religious Education: Do Ethnocentric Niche Charter Schools Have a Prayer?.

When first conceived, charter schools were envisioned as local projects initiated by parents and/or groups of teachers seeking to improve the educational performance of students (Budde, 1996). In the past two decades, the phenomenon has expanded to more than 5% of all U.S. public schools and almost 3% of all students (Center for Education Reform [CER], 2009). During this time, groups have come onto the charter school landscape representing points of view that were not a part of the original rhetoric. In the area of charter school creation and management, the originally envisioned groups of parents and teachers have been joined by educational management organizations (Plank, Arsen, & Sykes, 2000) and charter management organizations (Lake, Dusseault, Bowen, Demeritt, & Hill, 2010). Another of these phenomena are the so-called ethnocentric niche charter schools (Buchanan & Fox, 2003, 2005; Institute on Race and Poverty, 2008) that seek to integrate the celebration of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, or philosophical concepts into the educational process. This chapter provides examples of two types of ethnocentric schools and examines whether they are able to operate within the legal constraints imposed on them by state charter school laws and the First Amendment of the U.S.

The 50th Anniversary of Brown: Is there Any Reason to Celebrate?

The Brown v. Board of Education decision remains one of the most important legal decisions in history. Although there were local schemes used to avoid desegregating public schools after the decision, black students experienced declining segregation from the 1950s to the late 1980s. During the 1990s, however, a series of Supreme Court decisions stymied desegregation efforts. As a result, some scholars would argue that many of the changes that Brown began are now becoming undone. Given this reality, the 50th anniversary of Brown will not be as celebratory as it might have been. This article examines the impact of Brown and its progeny.

Segregation in Charter Schools The Important Role of University-Based Authorizers

This article argues that one possible avenue for addressing and increasing student body diversity in charter schools may lie with the authorizer. In particular, we focus on the role of university-based authorizers, a group of sponsors that would appear to be especially concerned with educational opportunity given their faculties’ traditional concern with issues of social justice. Thus, this article examines whether university-based charter school authorizers encourage charter school operators to recruit and enroll a diverse student body, and it discusses the role that authorizers could play in promoting more diverse charter schools.

Significant Legal Issues for Inclusion in Preservice Teacher Preparation

Abstract The purpose of this article is to inform teachers, administrators, students, and university faculty about the most important legal topics to include in preservice teacher education programs. Surprisingly, only a few studies have attempted to identify the most important topics. This article reviews the relevant literature regarding school law within preservice teacher preparation programs and reports results from a textbook analysis that examined the typical topics included in school law courses. Furthermore, recommendations are discussed on the basis of this research regarding which legal topics to include in courses and professional development sessions.

Haven Charter Schools: Separate by Design and Legally Questionable.

This article examines the legal and policy complexities involved with students who are self-selecting into haven charter schools. Haven charter schools are those that intend to create a safe place for students with complex histories who may have been intimidated by a dominant group in their former schools. For the purpose of this study, haven charter schools are grouped into the following three categories: (1) ability-focused charters schools (e.g., specials needs); (2) culture-focused charter schools (e.g., Native-American, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Latino); and (3) gender- or sexual orientation based charter schools. After providing relevant background information and examining related literature, this article analyzes how recent courts have addressed legal challenges to this form of de facto segregation in charter schools and how these court opinions may inform policy debates about haven charter schools.

The Potential Impact of Social Science Research on Legal Issues Surrounding Single-Sex Classrooms and Schools.

Purpose: This article examines the role social science has played in litigation involving public single-sex educational programs. It also explores a body of social science research related to gender and education that we believe could assist the courts and school leaders in better examining the possibilities and the limitations of single-sex programs in the public sector. Specifically, we want to show how a particular set of social science research at the intersection of gender and education, from a range of theoretical frameworks, could assist school leaders in demonstrating to the courts that a justification for single-sex programs may exist in current empirical research. Method: This article uses traditional legal research methods, which is a form of historical-legal research used to investigate the interpretation of law. We used the two major legal databases (i.e., Lexis-Nexis, Westlaw) to determine how many lawsuits have been initiated as a result of the amendments to the Title IX regulations. The retrieved cases were coded to determine the legal claims relied upon by plaintiffs and to learn if/how social science research was considered in these cases. Findings: We analyzed four schools currently involved in litigation. We report the social science that was relied upon by school districts and analyzed by courts. Implications: We encourage school leaders and the courts to explore more diverse theoretical frameworks related to gender and education that we believe could add some analytic strength to the existing body of empirical research about single-sex schooling.

Desegregation Decrees versus the NCLB Choice Provision: Implications for Resegregated Schools.

ABSTRACT Despite the creeping resegregation of public schools, recent court decisions have been involved in the lifting of court-ordered desegregation decrees, which could arguably cause further segregation. When dismissing desegregation decrees, lower courts have relied on three U.S. Supreme Court decisions during the 1990s that permitted a lower standard for lifting desegregation decrees. Those school districts that remain under court-ordered desegregation decrees may find themselves in conflict with the No Child Left Behind Acts (NCLB) choice provision. Specifically, NCLB permits parents to transfer their children to another school if their present school is deemed in need of improvement. Such NCLB regulations may permit school districts to bypass the desegregation decree. In so doing, there is a conflict between a federal regulation and federal court order. Employing legal research techniques (e.g., case and statutory analysis), this paper explores the Supreme Courts jurisprudence for declaring a sc...