Resources for Further Reading
In addition to the stories and resources on this site, Bellwether has compiled additional analyses, reports, opinion pieces, and more. If you want to better understand the school reform strategies detailed on this site, this list is a great place to start. The links below include resources created by Bellwether as well as other organizations, foundations, and think tanks.
To navigate these resources by strategic pillar, click the links to the right:
General Resources
What’s Next in School District Reform? Five Leaders Share Their Visions
Ahead of the Heard | August 11, 2020
Ten Lessons From Eight Cities
Ahead of the Heard | February 7, 2019
More, Better, Faster: Q&A with the Bellwether Team Behind Eight Cities
Ahead of the Heard | October 31, 2018
School Performance Frameworks
Measuring and Assessing Student Achievement in Urban School Districts
Urban Institute | February 6, 2020
Four Questions Denver Public Schools Should Ask About Their SPF
Ahead of the Heard | January 29, 2020
One Big Takeaway From Two New Investigations About Real Estate and School Ratings: You Can’t Tell a Good School Without Measuring Student Growth
The 74 Million | December 16, 2019
A School Performance Framework Could Be Huge for Los Angeles. Why Is the District Backtracking?
Ahead of the Heard | November 11, 2019
Bellwether Education Partners | October 11, 2019
How to Develop a Common School Performance Framework
Center on Reinventing Public Education | 2016
Performance Contracts
At Candidate Forum, Michael Bennet Looked Back on the Reforms He Implemented as Denver Supe. Could Those Ideas Go National?
The 74 Million | December 17, 2019
Disruptive Innovation in an Urban School District: Denver's Luminary Learning Network
Gates Family Foundation | 2018
Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing
National Association for Charter School Authorizers | 2018
Leadership, Commitment, Judgement: Elements of Successful Charter School Authorizing. Findings from the Quality Practice Project
National Association for Charter School Authorizers | 2018
School Quality Oversight Body
What Do Toxic Charter School Politics Mean for Newark Students?
Ahead of the Heard | February 18, 2020
If Your District is Losing Enrollment, Borrow Some Tools from Denver
Ahead of the Heard | February 13, 2020
5 Things Districts Can Do to Keep Ahead of Population Changes — and Avoid Enrollment, Planning and Budgetary Disasters
The 74 Million | November 19, 2019
Denver Voters Just “Flipped” the School Board
Ahead of the Heard | November 17, 2019
Will Denver’s School Board Change Direction on Tuesday?
Ahead of the Heard | November 4, 2019
Lessons in Managing the Gut-Wrenching Process of School Closures
Ahead of the Heard | October 10, 2019
Should Failing Schools be Closed? What the Research Says
Manhattan Institute | September 2019
The Upgrade Rule: How Schools and Districts Can Make School Closures Work Better for Families
EdNavigator | October 2019
Lightfoot Seeks to Change the Chicago Board of Education from Appointed to Elected. Does it Matter?
Ahead of the Heard | July 17, 2019
School Autonomy
Student-Based Budgeting in Service of Equity: A Q&A With Jess Gartner of Allovue
Ahead of the Heard | July 13, 2020
Adapting Schools to a New Normal With Decentralized Power
Ahead of the Heard | May 26, 2020
A Q&A With Five Parents of Color on What Matters When Choosing a School
Ahead of the Heard | February 26, 2020
How Autonomous Schools Should Be Held Accountable — It’s Complicated
Ahead of the Heard | February 20, 2020
“I Didn’t Realize How Much Work It Takes to Find a School for Your Child”: Q&A With Shaniola Arowolaju of Washington, D.C
Ahead of the Heard | February 19, 2020
Staking out the Middle Ground: Policy Design for Autonomous Schools
Bellwether Education Partners | February 19, 2020
“I’m So Thankful I Had a Choice”: Q&A With LaVonia Abavana on Camden Schools
Ahead of the Heard | January 28, 2020
Can Successful Schools Replicate? Scaling Up Boston’s Charter School Sector
The National Bureau of Economic Research | November 20, 2019
School Choice Isn’t That Simple for Youth in Foster Care
Ahead of the Heard | November 6, 2019
Autonomous District Schools: Lessons From the Field on a Promising Strategy
Bellwether Education Partners | October 29, 2019
If Cities Want Robust School Choice, They Need Robust Public Transit
Ahead of the Heard | October 24, 2019
Why This School Founder Symbolizes the Best of the Eight Cities Project
Ahead of the Heard | February 20, 2019
Autonomous District Schools: A New Path to Growing High-Quality, Innovative Public Schools
Public Impact | 2019
State Progress Toward Next Generation Learning: A National Landscape
Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) | 2019
Charter Schools and the Achievement Gap
The Future of Children | Winter 2018
What effect did the New Orleans reforms have on student achievement, high school graduation, and college outcomes?
Education Research Alliance for New Orleans | July 15, 2018
In Pursuit of the Common Good: The Spillover Effects of Charter Schools on Public School Students in New York City
Education Finance and Policy | 2018
Can Urban Districts Get Charter-Like Performance with Charter-Lite Schools?
Progressive Policy Institute | 2018
Stepping Up: How Are American Cities Delivering on the Promise of Public School Choice?
Center on Reinventing Public Education | November 2017
The Impact of Scaling the New Orleans Charter Restart Model on Student Performance
Center for Research on Education Outcomes | 2017
Urban Charter School Study Report on 41 Regions
Center for Research on Education Outcomes | 2015
DC Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) Report No. 4
The Education Consortium for Research and Evaluation | September 5, 2014
Small Schools: Great Strides. A Study of New Small Schools in Chicago
Bank Street College of Education | 2000
Rubric for Scoring School Autonomy
Center on Reinventing Public Education
New School Incubation
What Is a School District Chief Innovation Officer? A Q&A With Margo Roen and David Saenz
Ahead of the Heard | October 3, 2019
Should Indianapolis Be Our Ninth City?
Ahead of the Heard | May 19, 2019
Strategy for DC Schools
Education Forward DC | 2019
Rooted in Opportunity: The Walton Family Foundation's Approach to Starting and Growing High-Quality Schools
The Walton Family Foundation | 2018
Talent Strategies
Should an Ivy League Business School Train Education Leaders? Why Not?
Ahead of the Heard | January 2020
What the Providence Public School District Can Learn From Newark
Ahead of the Heard | July 10, 2019
Preparing Teachers for Diverse Schools: Lessons from Minority Serving Institutions
Bellwether Education Partners | March 10, 2019
50 State Comparison: Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Education Commission of the States | 2019
Trading Coursework for Classroom: Realizing the Potential of Teacher Residencies
Bellwether Education Partners | 2018
Helping Arlington Build Campus Leaders: A Case Study
New Leaders | 2016
Case Study: Camden, NJ: Jumpstarting Systematic Reform
TNTP | 2015
School Talent Development Programs
New Schools for New Orleans
Unified Enrollment
“Not All Children Learn and Develop in the Same Way”: Q&A with Asia J. Norton of Newark
Ahead of the Heard | June 11, 2020
As More Districts Create "Autonomous Schools," They Need a Balanced Approach to District-Wide Services
Ahead of the Heard | February 17, 2020
Straight Talk for City Leaders on Unified Enrollment: A Q&A with Shannon Fitzgerald
Ahead of the Heard | November 12, 2018
A Guide to Unifying Enrollment: The What, Why, and How for Those Considering It
Center on Reinventing Public Education | 2017
Replicating Quality: Policy Recommendations to Support the Replication and Growth of High-Performing Charter Schools and Networks
National Association of Charter School Authorizers | 2014