A Charter Management Organization's Shifting Approach to Access

• In Event: New Directions in Organizational Theory and Methodology

Abstract

In this paper I explore what happens when a “no-excuses” CMO located in a competitive local education market tries to operate in more equitable ways (specifically by increasing access). Drawing on neo-institutional theory and sensemaking, I ask: What does a "no excuses" charter mean when it makes a public commitment to take steps to expand accessibility? How do school leaders and teachers negotiate what may be competing goals: competing in the market and expanding access? The continued proliferation of school choice, often in the name of equity, makes questions of whether they are accessible to highest-need students critical for researchers to explore.

Author

• Wagma S. Mommandi, University of Colorado - Boulder
  Presenting Author