CSPI contributes to the dialogue on public school choice by collecting the most current state and national information, providing analysis of news and research, and creating forums to share and shape opinion. Our goal is to provide timely, high quality information to parents, policy makers, and key stakeholders. The Institute is driven by the belief that competition is good for all public schools. Public school choice should be a lever for innovation, improved school practices, and greater student achievement. We unequivocally support the concept of public school choice, but do not uniformly endorse the performance of all public charter schools.
The Charter School Policy Institute, founded in 2005, is an independent authority on quality public charter schools in Texas and across the country. The Institute is governed
by a non-partisan board of directors from business, academic, and civic life. An advisory board of stakeholders from across the nation also informs the work of the Institute.
1. Promote the value of increased competition within the public school system.
2. Assemble, organize, and disseminate unbiased information on the development of
charter schools as a viable public school option for students and parents.
3. Foster public discussion and research on the policies governing the development and
performance of public charter schools.
4. Encourage the transfer of charter school innovations throughout the entire public
school system.
The first decade of public charter school development has produced uneven results across the nation. Some public charter schools have performed extremely well, while others have struggled to outperform their traditional public school counterparts. CSPI seeks the best models in public charter schools to drive the debate on quality and focus on results. Quality public charters schools offer the promise of a better education, in many instances, for kids that do not succeed in the traditional public school system. Not all public charter schools are the same. Many have developed programs aimed at: College preparation, dropout recovery, science and math academies, Early College high schools. The institute believes the top-performers in each type of charter school have the ability to transform the public school landscape. We promote best practices from all types of public charter schools with a specific focus on models that can be replicated and are supported by good data.
1. An open enrollment school with
2. significant yearly improvement in student achievement, and
3. transparent financial practices easily understood by parents and the public
