An Examination of Specialization and Niche Markets in New Jersey’s Charter School Supply

• In Event: Charter School Challenges: Serving Diverse Students Through Appropriate Intervention

Abstract

Previous evidence suggests charter schools may avoid severely disadvantaged areas where students are presumed most challenging to educate. This phenomenon has been directly observed in New Jersey. An emerging debate is whether charter schools engage in strategic positioning within the educational marketplace to gain competitive advantages or if school locations are the result of more passive responses to practical concerns that constrain decision-making. In this paper, I use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to examine New Jersey charter school locations across school types. Findings suggest that more market-oriented charter schools tend to seek out more advantageous neighborhoods, indicating that “positioning strategies” may play a significant role in determining the supply of at least some schools.

Author

• Chad Joseph D'Entremont, Teachers College, Columbia University