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In this report, we complement our latest fall 2021 survey research from the American School District Panel with in-depth interviews of leaders on the ground in five school systems. Our goal with these interviews was to learn from system leaders about the academic needs of children as they return to school, how districts and charter schools are addressing those needs, and how the pandemic has affected schools. In Brief: (1) Education leaders across the country recognize that students are falling behind academically during the pandemic. Some districts are responding by emphasizing grade-level instruction and just-in-time supports rather than remediation. We interviewed top leaders in five school systems committed to this approach to learn more about its implementation; (2) We found that implementing acceleration required school systems to work with schools in new ways, but the strategy was complicated by a host of factors that made getting to instruction difficult: challenging student behaviors, staffing shortages, and the politicization of health, safety, and education. All these pressures have made leading school districts in 2021-22 like playing a game of Whack-A-Mole; and (3) School districts across the country are working hard to catch students up. But the Whack-A-Mole experience of leading during the pandemic raises questions about how these pressures will affect system leaders and leadership and whether, in the future, schools alone will be able to do enough to help all students get the help they need to recover. [For latest fall 2021 survey research from the American School District Panel, "Flux in the Educator Labor Market: Acute Staff Shortages and Projected Superintendent Departures. Selected Findings from the Fourth American School District Panel Survey. Data Note: Insights from the American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A956-9," see ED617372.]

In 2012 Washington became the 42nd state in the nation to adopt a charter school law. Charter schools in Washington are autonomous public schools operated by a nonprofit organization rather than a school district. As a local education agency, each school must follow many of the same compliance and reporting requirements that traditional districts do. In Washington, either a school district or the Washington State Charter School Commission can authorize schools. Charter schools hire their own staff, manage their budgets, and select their own curriculum, and in exchange face closure if they fail to meet strict operational and student achievement requirements. Like other standards for special populations, charter schools in Washington are required to adhere to all federal and state laws pertaining to special education, including the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504, which guarantee non-discrimination, accommodations, and services to students with disabilities. Washington's first charter school opened in 2014. As of May 2018, there are 10 charter schools operating in Seattle, Tacoma, Kent, Spokane, and Highline. Together these schools serve just under 2,400 students. Since its inception 25 years ago, the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has studied charter public schools and state policies to understand how the charter sector can fulfill its original intent--to innovate for the broader education system while providing families with high-quality public school options. While it is still too early to assess the quality of Washington's charter sector, there is an opportunity to address some of the questions about charter schools that have arisen in other states. Drawing on decades of national research, CRPE is taking a closer look at issues of interest to Washingtonians. This brief presents data on common questions about special education in charter schools in relation to both a local and a national context. Data for the following questions is provided: (1) Do charter schools in Washington serve students with disabilities?; (2) Are charter schools in Washington serving students with "all" types of disabilities?; (3) What level of inclusion are Washington's charter schools providing for students in special education?; and (4) Are students with disabilities being "pushed out" of Washington's charter schools?

In America today, families in almost every urban community have some kind of public school choice. This report focuses on "public school choice," under which families are able to choose from both an array of traditional public schools and public charter schools. Public school choice has grown rapidly in the past 20 years; new charter schools have emerged with support from state and federal policy and philanthropists, while district school choice has grown alongside or in competition with charter schools. Choice, in one form or another, is now woven deeply into today's urban education landscape. Over the course of a year, researchers with the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) looked across 18 cities to answer three basic questions for urban locales with both charter and district-run schools of choice. Is the education system continuously improving? Do all students have access to a high-quality education? Is the education strategy rooted in the community? The 18 cities in this study are: Atlanta, Boston, Camden, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Tulsa, and Washington, D.C. To answer the three questions, CRPE looked across traditional district schools, charter schools, and the organizations that support both. [Foreword by Robin Lake.]

In at least ten cities across the country, there are schools that operate under some sort of partnership school model: a "third way" governance strategy that breaks through district-charter divides that could help improve struggling schools or increase the number of quality school options in a neighborhood. Like charter schools, partnership schools enjoy more freedom of action than a traditional district-run school. Partnership schools are legally distinct from charter schools, which are authorized under a specific process outlined by a state's charter school law, while partnership schools may be permitted under a separate state law. This brief examines the "third way" approach to school improvement and provides guidance for district and charter leaders and policymakers considering partnership schools.

The 2013 merger of Memphis City Schools (with 103,000 students) and Shelby County Schools (with 47,000 students) was the largest school district consolidation in American history. In its first year of operation, the new Shelby County Schools (SCS) commissioned CRPE researchers to perform a critical review of the district's readiness to implement a portfolio strategy for managing its schools. Based on interviews with internal and external stakeholders and analysis against model system progress, this report outlines CRPE's baseline measurement of where SCS stands in relation to the seven main components of the portfolio strategy. The report also provides suggestions for how SCS can seek progress over the next year, and track progress or decline at future intervals.

This brief outlines how new K-12 public education governance proposals--relinquishment, smart districts, and the urban school system of the future--are complements, not alternatives, to the portfolio strategy. The portfolio strategy defines the role of government, or how it can steer in public education; the other proposals show how, once government's role is redefined, independent organizations will develop capacity to row (provide schools, assist schools, develop teacher skills, etc.). The portfolio strategy needs mechanisms for operating and improving schools, such as those provided by the other reforms. The other reforms, reciprocally, depend on the portfolio strategy to provide preconditions that they cannot create by themselves. (Contains 2 tables and 8 footnotes.)

With the interest and assistance of more than a dozen key state education leaders and staff from across the country, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) is investigating what it would take for states to attract and support talented school leaders. This report explains CRPE's efforts to create a coherent framework that any state could use to draft a strategy for developing and supporting a principal corps for the coming decades. It explains why principals are key to so many of today's education efforts and why now is the time to take action. The report then presents a focused data guide and a framework for thinking about policies that can help states get started. State Principal Data Guide: Data Elements is appended. (Contains 22 footnotes.)

This is the first report from an ongoing study of four urban school districts (New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and the District of Columbia) that are experimenting with new school designs and new ways of holding schools accountable for performance. This report introduces the idea of a "portfolio school district," and shows how some leading school districts have put the idea into practice. The report's goal is to help district and community leaders throughout the country judge whether a similar approach could improve the schools in their localities, and if they decide in the affirmative, how to approach building a portfolio strategy of their own. As this report will show, rebuilding a school district on the portfolio model involves challenges of many kinds--technical, organizational, and political. Reform leaders in the districts the authors have studied have made great progress but still have many problems to solve. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, and 15 footnotes.)