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• Guest Speaker: Morgan Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education
  6 Sep 2006 | Morgan Brown
  Join the newly appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement Morgan Brown for a lively discussion of the Administration's initiatives to expand and improve choice, innovation, and accountability in public education.
• Field Trip Around the States
  6 Sep 2006 | Elizabeth Evans, Eric Osberg, Jim Griffin, Marc Kenen
  While the charter movement has accomplished great things and continues to have enormous potential, several factors--including inequitable funding, legislated caps, and the lack of facilities--threaten to stand in the way of continued progress.
  
  Join us as we take a tour of some key states. First, we travel to Illinois to learn more about how unfair funding formulas affect charters and the disadvantaged kids they serve. Next we're off to Massachusetts where the state's legislated cap on charter school growth is limiting high-quality options for families. The final stop is Colorado where the charter community is working to solve the facilities crisis that impedes the movement from coast to coast.
• Geography: The World Really is Flat
  6 Sep 2006 | Joseph, Student at Friendship Public Charter School, Ken Campbell
  Two achievement gaps are threatening America’s future: the first is between our low-income students and their more affluent peers; the second is between all of our students and their peers across the globe. In order to provide all of our students with the opportunity to succeed at home and compete in the worldwide marketplace of ideas and skills, we need to fundamentally change the way we think about and deliver public education.
• Computer Science: Sound-off Among Education Bloggers
  6 Sep 2006 | Alexander Russo, Andrew Rotherham, Joe Williams
  There's so much going on in education reform today that countless individuals and groups have launched education blogs as a way to weigh in on the public debate. Now’s your chance to chime in. Several of the nation’s leading education bloggers will set up the debate and share their views on what's working--and what's not—in education reform and what needs to be done to ensure every child receives the quality education she or he needs and deserves.
• Student Assembly: What I Did (While Others Were on Summer Vacation)
  6 Sep 2006 | Kinyette
  While most kids are spending the dog days of summer lounging by the pool or playing video games, many others are already back in the classroom, getting a head start on the upcoming school year. One major difference between traditional public schools and charter public schools is charters’ flexibility to tailor their schedules to meet the needs of their students and families. Chat with a charter student and teacher to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of returning, or remaining in school, during the summer months.
• History in the Making: A Look at Recent Charter Legislation
  6 Sep 2006 | Governor Jeb Bush
  Florida’s charter school movement got a major boost on June 26 when Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation creating the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission (FSE). This new statewide body has the power to sponsor charters and authorize new charter authorizers, such as universities and municipalities.
  
  Learn more about this innovative plan and how it fits into Governor Bush’s broader vision for providing high-quality education options for all of Florida’s children.
• Economics: The Marketshare of Charter Schools
  6 Sep 2006 | Gregg Vanourek, Todd Ziebarth
  Fifteen years into the movement, charters serve two percent of public school students in America. But that nationwide figure masks the significant expansion of charters in a number of specific areas. As of the 2005-06 school year, there were nine or more districts where the charter sector’s market share was at least 15 percent and five districts where it exceeded 20 percent.
  
  What are we learning about the impact of charters in these places? As districts lose more and more students to charters, are they improving their offerings and operations, or is it business as usual? Learn about the findings from the Alliance's most recent issue brief and pose your own questions to the experts.
• Attendance: New Orleans One Year Later
  6 Sep 2006 | John Alford, Mardele Early
  Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans’ public schools and scattered tens of thousands of its families across the nation. A year later, many of these families have returned to find an entirely new public education system—one where nearly three-quarters of students will attend charter schools.
  
  This bold experiment is the first of its kind in the nation, and it has the promise to fundamentally improve the life opportunities of thousands of children and begin to bridge the racial, social, and economic divides that long plagued the Crescent City.
  
  Principal Mardele Early and John Alford of New Schools for New Orleans will share their perspective on the potential for creating a brand new high-quality, accountable, and innovative system of public schools.
• Morning Announcements: Brief Summary of the State of the Charter School Movement
  6 Sep 2006 | Nelson Smith