Charter Schools' Early Indicators of Distress Prior to Failure: Leaders and Governing Board Experiences

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Abstract

Comitted to fostering high-quality charter school options for all students, school leaders and governing board members have an imperative to understand the nature of school failure and the elements that could identify schools in distress at earlier stages. Early warning systems have been used in many contexts to identify early indications of crisis or failure before it spirals into full-blown crisis. In this analysis, we conducted qualitative research with schools that had previously declined to identify characteristics for an early warning system to identify charter schools in distress prior to their entering the death spiral of school failure, with the objective of preventing student learning loss, further decline, or school closure.

Authors

• Aimee J. Evan, WestEd

• Hannah Sullivan, Manhattan Strategy Group