English Learner (EL) students are the fastest growing demographic group among school children in the United States, with the number of ELs in K-12 public schools increasing by about 14% from 2002-03 to 2010-11. Research and practice suggest that greater family engagement with schools can be a critical lever for ensuring the academic success of [...]

Charter Schools and Military Communities: A Toolkit features information on charter schools serving the needs of military families and tools to help additional military communities strengthen their local school options with new charter schools. Over the past decade, a variety of charter schools have opened to serve military-connected children and families in diverse locations and [...]

Alma del Mar (“Soul of the Sea”) Charter School is a K-8 Expeditionary Learning public charter school that opened in August 2011 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Alma del Mar is committed to setting all of the students on a college trajectory and challenging them to be service-minded leaders. By engaging in a rigorous academic program [...]

The charter sector has grown dramatically since its beginnings in Minnesota almost a quarter of a century ago. Today, an estimated 2.5 million children attend approximately 6,400 charter schools across the country, and all but 8 states have charter laws in place. The expansion of the sector has been accompanied by an increase in public commentary about charter [...]