LESSONS LEARNED IN THE WORLD OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
CHARTER SCHOOL INSIGHTS: Charter school management companies: Let the buyer beware?
Charter school management companies: Let the buyer beware?
I just finished reading Brian Carpenter's dissertation that became the basis for his book Good to Gone. In his research on dissolved charter schools he notes that EMO run charter schools comprise about 10% of the charter school market, but EMO run schools comprise over 20% of the schools that are dissolved.
As readers of this blog know, I'm not philosophically opposed to management company run schools. However, if one of the advantages of a management company run school is that you are buying expertise (often at a premium), then why would these schools close twice as often as non-management company run schools?
(Note: Dr. Carpenter does not specify which management companies have experienced larger than expected dissolutions. For that reason, this blog should not be used as a broad brush to paint all management comapanies.)
Dr. Carpenter doesn't answer that question, but it seems that any group looking to start a charter school ought to ask that question if it is considering a management company. Why not ask:
As readers of this blog know, I'm not philosophically opposed to management company run schools. However, if one of the advantages of a management company run school is that you are buying expertise (often at a premium), then why would these schools close twice as often as non-management company run schools?
(Note: Dr. Carpenter does not specify which management companies have experienced larger than expected dissolutions. For that reason, this blog should not be used as a broad brush to paint all management comapanies.)
Dr. Carpenter doesn't answer that question, but it seems that any group looking to start a charter school ought to ask that question if it is considering a management company. Why not ask:
- What is your success rate?
- How many schools have you had dissolved?