Supporting Early Readers in Philadelphiau0026#039;s Independent Charter Schools

Supporting Early Readers in Philadelphia’s Independent Charter Schools: An Initial Inquiry into Cross-School Collaboratives www.phledresearch.org January 2019 RACHEL COMLY, Research for Action RYAN FINK, CPRE JILL PIERCE, Research for Action ADRIANNE FLACK, CPRE | S u p p o r t i n g E a r l y R e a d e r s Acknowledgements The authors are also grateful for the insights of the independent charter school representatives interviewed for this study. Miriam Sondheimer and Matt Kelley from the Philadelphia School Partnership, Steve Zimmerman from the Coalition of Public Independent Charter Schools, and Megan Ohlssen from the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools also provided essential context to inform this work. The authors gratefully acknowledge the intellectual contributions of Ruth Curran Neild, Director of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium, and Abigail Gray, Senior Researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, throughout the research and writing process. At Research for Action, Katie Carter provided helpful feedback on drafts. The William Penn Foundation provided funding for this work as part of its goal of supporting early literacy in Philadelphia. The Foundation did not exercise editorial control over this report, and the contents do not necessarily reflect their views. About PERC The mission of the Philadelphia Education Research Consortium is to provide timely, actionable, rigorous, and non-partisan research on the most pressing issues facing Philadelphia public education. To do this, PERC seeks to engage the region’s colleges and universities, nonprofits, and the Philadelphia public education sector, both charter and non-charter, in respectful, mutually beneficial research-practice partnerships. By providing Philadelphia’s leaders and citizenry with high-quality information about progress, challenges, and effective strategies in education, PERC aims to increase education opportunities and achievement for all Philadelphia students. PERC is an initiative of Research for Action, a nonprofit education research organization based in Philadelphia. About the Consortium for Policy Research in Education The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE), headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, conducts rigorous program evaluation and research studies using qualitative and quantitative methods, advanced survey techniques, and data analysis. CPRE consists of a broad network of leading experts in education, economics, public policy, sociology, and other social fields. Research conducted by CPRE is peer-reviewed and open access. You can access CPRE research via its Scholarly Commons repository at http://bit.ly/CPREpubs. Suggested Citation Comly, R., Fink, R., Pierce, J., & Flack A. (2018). Supporting early readers in Philadelphia’s independent charter schools: An initial inquiry into cross-school collaboratives. Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium. 1 | S u p p o r t i n g E a r l y R e a d e r s Supporting Early Readers in Philadelphia’s Independent Charter Schools: An Initial Inquiry into Cross-School Collaboratives Rachel Comly, Ryan Fink, Jill Pierce, and Adrianne Flack • January 2019 Why this study The City of Philadelphia has identified improving early literacy as a key civic priority. The goal is to support children’s literacy development in school, at home, and in the community—regardless of where students live or attend school in Philadelphia. For this reason, civic efforts have sought to engage families, communities, and the city’s public and private schools. From the public education sector, representatives from both traditional public schools and charter schools provide leadership for Read by 4th, the citywide campaign to promote grade-level reading by fourth grade. Charter schools enroll about one third of all public school students in Philadelphia, and more than half of Philadelphia’s charter schools are independent. In this report, the term independent charter schools refers to stand-alone schools managed by individual operators that are not part of a charter network (also known as a charter management organization). Examples of charter networks are The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), Mastery Schools, and the Universal Family of Schools. Independent charter schools have unique opportunities and challenges with regard to early literacy instruction. Like all charter schools, independent charter schools have inherent flexibility to innovate to meet student needs, and they can be more insulated from the effects of changes in policy than traditional public schools. At the same time, because they are not part of a larger network featuring a greater pool of teachers and staff with whom to collaborate, or a system to facilitate that collaboration, they are at greater risk of professional isolation. Our prior research suggests