The urban school system of the future : applying the principles and lessons of chartering / Andy Smarick.

"For more than two generations, the traditional urban school system--the district--has utterly failed to do its job: prepare its students for a lifetime of success. Millions and millions of boys and girls have suffered the grievous consequences. The district is irreparably broken. For the sake of today's and tomorrow's inner-city kids, it must be replaced. The Urban School System of the Future argues that vastly better results can be realized through the creation of a new type of organization that properly manages a city's portfolio of schools using the revolutionary principles of chartering. It will ensure that new schools are regularly created, that great schools are expanded and replicated, that persistently failing schools are closed, and that families have access to an array of high-quality options. This new entity will focus exclusively on school performance, meaning, among other things, our cities can thoughtfully integrate their traditional public, charter public, and private schools into a single, high-functioning k-12 system. For decades, the district has produced the most heartbreaking results for already at-risk kids. The Urban School System of the Future explains how we can finally turn the tide and create dynamic, responsive, high-performing, self-improving urban school systems that fulfill the promise of public education".

Includes bibliographical references.

pt. I. The Traditional Urban School District -- chapter 1. The Failure of the Urban District -- chapter 2. The Failure of Reform -- chapter 3. The Quality Curve -- chapter 4. The Failure of Fixing -- part II. Urban Charter Schooling -- chapter 5. The Charter Revolution -- chapter 6. The Charter Quality Curve -- chapter 7. The Systemic Innovations of Chartering -- part III. Urban Private Schooling -- chapter 8. Private Schooling and the Public System -- chapter 9. The Private Quality Curve -- part IV. The Urban School System of the Future -- chapter 10. Characteristics of the New System -- chapter 11. Finishing the Job.