Charter schools represent a fifteen year old reform strategy designed to improve educational outcomes for K–12 students—through increased choice and reduced government bureaucracy.
Current questions about charters have matured beyond issues of existence to focus on strategies and practices for financial and human resource management, practices to gain effective classroom instruction, the importance of authorizers and approaches to scaling up successful models as well as the continuing challenges of No Child Left Behind.
Charter Schools: Practices for High Performance is a four-day leadership development program designed specifically to help charter school leaders develop the essential skills and strategies to build capacity and improve student outcomes. This intensive program draws on the expertise and research of Harvard faculty and leading practitioners in framing the challenges faced by charter schools and their school communities while also attending to the larger state-level policy environment.
Learning Objectives
Providing a Flexible Framework for Change
The institute helps individuals at the school, system, and policy levels develop leadership strategies and perspectives necessary to create high-performing learning organizations. Several overarching questions guide the work of the institute:
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What factors are important to the successful expansion of charter schools?
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How can charter schools strategically manage their external environment to achieve successful outcomes?
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What factors help charter schools build internal capacity to ensure effective student outcomes?
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What non-profit management knowledge and skills are essential for leaders of entrepreneurial charter schools?
Through large-group presentations, case discussions, and smaller brainstorming sessions, you will work with colleagues from across the country to solve difficult problems, examine real Charter School challenges, and confront long-held beliefs and expectations.
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Benefits of Attending |
As a Charter Schools leader, this unique program will help you:
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Examine elements of high performing charter schools
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Explore issues of scale-up that support positive outcomes for students
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Address topics of internal accountability that enhance student learning
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Allocate resources (human and financial) to build organizational capacity
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Devise a theory of action for working effectively with external agencies and constituencies
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Curriculum Overview
Over the course of the four days you will have the opportunity to critically examine the working of your school or organization based on constructive feedback and support from Harvard faculty, leading practitioners, and policy analysts. Your thinking will be enhanced and enriched by practice-based information from leading charter school practitioners and advocates from across the United States.
Who Should Attend
The institute is designed for those involved in the design and implementation of charter schools at both the school and system levels as well as those responsible for the design of state or national policy affecting charter schools.
Faculty
Katherine Merseth
Institute Chair, Director, Teacher Education Program; Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Katherine Merseth's work concentrates on charter schools, teacher education, mathematics education, and the case-method of instruction. At Harvard, she founded the Harvard Children's Initiative, a university-wide program focusing on the needs of children as well as the School Leadership and the Teacher Education Programs at the School of Education.
Aretha Miller
Aretha Miller is the Interim COO and Director of School Improvement at NYC Center for Charter School Excellence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the number of high-quality charter schools and thereby improve public education in New York City. The Center is an advocate, bridge and catalyst for charter schools, helping them to achieve academic and operational excellence and long-term sustainability. As the Director of School Improvement, she coordinates the programs offered by the Center to support all the charter schools in NYC.
Sally Bachofer
As the Director of Knowledge at National Association of Charter School Authorizers Association, Sally leads in creation of model policies, practices and procedures that define quality in the area of charter school oversight. In working with authorizers, Ms. Bachofer coaches and models quality authorization and oversight practices including application, ongoing school review and evaluation, and renewal activities.
Keith Burnam
Founder, KIPP Charlotte
In 2003, Burnam joined KIPP Gaston College Preparatory, a rural KIPP school with 90% African American and 70% low income student population. Burnam's record of success as a teacher and leader helped make KIPP GCP the highest performing public school in Northampton County and one of the top performing KIPP schools nationwide. Mr. Burnam was part of the KIPP Fisher Fellows Program in 2006-2007 and began laying the foundation for KIPP Charlotte, which he founded in 2007.
Peter Frumkin
Peter Frumkin is Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He writes frequently about nonprofit management, philanthropy, cross-sector partnerships, and service contracting and served as the founding director of the Charter School Institute at Harvard University. He has worked as a foundation program officer, a nonprofit manager, and program evaluator for both nonprofit and public agencies and frequently serves as a strategy consultant to foundations and non profit boards.
Rick Hess
Rick Hess is a resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and executive editor of Education Next. He is known for his work on a diverse range of educational issues including entrepreneurship, philanthropy, accountability, charter schooling and school vouchers, and teacher quality. A former public high school social studies teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Hess holds Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University. He has taught as a professor of education and public policy at Harvard, Georgetown, and Rice Universities, as well as at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Monica Higgins
Associate Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Monica Higgins joined the Harvard faculty in 1995 and is currently an associate professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE) where her research and teaching focus on the areas of leadership development and organizational change. Prior to joining HGSE, she spent eleven years as a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School in the Organizational Behavior Unit. Her recent book, "Career Imprints:
James Honan
Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
James Honan's teaching and research interests include financial management of nonprofit organizations, organizational performance measurement and management, and higher-education administration. Honan has served as a consultant on strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance measurement and management to numerous colleges, universities, schools, and nonprofit organizations, both nationally and internationally.
Julie Jackson
Member of Leadership team
North Star Academy Network
Julie Jackson, served for two years as the Dean of Students at North Star and leader in the development of the high school program . North Star is most established charter school in the Uncommon School Network, achieving significant academic results since 1997. The North Star Academy Network has four schools (one elementary, two middle and one high school) in New Jersey.
Bruno V. Manno
Bruno V. Manno is Senior Program Associate for Education at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. He has directed the Baltimore philanthropy’s investments in education since 1998. He has played several key roles at the U. S. Department of Education as well as being a Senior Fellow in the Education Policy Studies Program at the Hudson Institute, where he served as executive director of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal and as associate director of Hudson’s Modern Red Schoolhouse Project.. He is co-author of Charter Schools in Action: Renewing Public Education and a frequent writer and commentator on education issues.
Jim Peyser
Jim Peyser is a Partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, where he brings to bear a strong hybrid background in education policy, charter school development and business management to lead NewSchools' East Coast initiatives. From 1999 through 2006, Jim served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jim was Education Advisor to two Governors of Massachusetts, where he helped shape outcomes-focused policy at the state level on standards, charter schools and school accountability.
Nelson Smith
Nelson Smith became the first President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in December 2004. The Alliance is the national nonprofit that works to increase the growth and quality of charter schools through advocacy, communications, and capacity-building initiatives.
Previously, Mr. Smith served as Vice President for Policy and Governance at New American Schools; was the first Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. From 1985 to 1992, at the US Department of Education, he oversaw numerous programs devoted to improving education through research-based methods. His articles about charter schooling and education policy have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Education Next and other publications.
General Information
Program Fee
The comprehensive program fee of $2,145 includes tuition, all instructional materials, networking opportunities with faculty and participants, a special event, certificate of participation, and a letter indicating clock hours of instruction. Payment is due within 30 days of registration.
Registration
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Payment or purchase order is due thirty days after registration. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses; please wait for payment confirmation before making travel arrangements.
Accommodations
Hotel accommodations are made available to participants
at a reduced rate. Travel and hotel accommodations are the responsibility of the individual participant.
Currier House Dormitory
This Harvard dormitory is a 15 minute walk from class. Each participant is assigned a single room, and
shares a bathroom. While housing facilities are comfortable, they are also
quite spartan. Linens are provided. The cost for room
and breakfast is $115 per night.
Sheraton Commander Hotel
$169.00 (single/double)
Reservations:888-627-7121
Deadline: June 26, 2009
Reference:HGSE, Charter Schools
www.sheraton.com/commander
Group Registrations
You will be asked to identify your group name during registration. In order to help us best serve your group, please try to use the same identifier as your teammates, e.g. “Cambridge High School Group,” or “Essex County Group,” or “John Harvard’s Cambridge Team.”
Please note that we are unable to offer group discounts.
We ask that changes to group participant lists take place at least two weeks prior to the start date of the program. If individual or team replacements are made within 14 days of the program start date, PPE may not be able to incorporate these changes into some or all of the program materials. We will make our best effort to incorporate requested changes where possible.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations must be submitted via fax or email. Full refunds will be given up to 30 days prior to the start of the program. Due to program demand and pre-institute preparations, cancellations received 29–14 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of 10% of the program tuition. Cancellations received within 13 days prior to the start of the program and no-shows are subject to the full program tuition. Please note: Cancellation fees are based upon the date the written request is received.
The Harvard
Graduate School of Education reserves the right to cancel the program
or change faculty at its discretion. In the unlikely case of the program changes,
the school is not responsible for non-refundable travel arrangements
or other planning costs incurred.
Program Location
The conference will be held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Further Information
1-800-545-1849 • ppe@gse.harvard.edu
The Harvard Graduate School of Education affirms the right of all individuals to equal treatment in education without regard to race, age, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, handicap, national origin, or any other considerations that are extraneous to effective performance. The Harvard Graduate School of Education will accommodate anyone with disabilities.
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