"You People Down the River": Citizen Understanding of Pennsylvania Rural Charter Schools

• In Event: 47.087 - Rural Schools and Communities: Conflict and Collaboration

Abstract

Most charter schools are located in urban areas and operated by for-profit corporations. Rural charter schools, in contrast, are often initiated and operated by local community groups. This suggests questions about the processes through which these schools originated and what they mean to their rural communities. This study uses qualitative case study methodology and a social justice lens to investigate five brick-and-mortar rural charter schools in Pennsylvania. The study seeks to understand stakeholders' experiences with the rural charter schools, the schools' origination stories, and participants' perspective on the needs the schools fulfill in the rural communities as planned replacements of their previous traditional schools.

Authors

• Karen Eppley, The Pennsylvania State University

• Carrie Freie, The Pennsylvania State University - Altoona