This guide was developed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement. Sharon Horn was project director.

An external advisory group provided feedback to refine the study scope, define the selection criteria, and clarify the text. Members included Dave Angerer, head of school, Black River Public School; George Fatheree, chief operating officer, California Charter Schools Association; Bryan Hassel, codirector, Public Impact; Becky Smerdon, principal research scientist, American Institute for Research; and Todd Ziebarth, policy consultant, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Staff in the Department of Education who provided input and reviewed drafts include David Dunn, Tom Corwin, Steve Fried, Cathy Grimes-Miller, Christy Wolfe, Kerri Briggs, Lorenzo Esters, Amanda Schaumburg, Stacy Kreppel, Dean Kern, Margarita Melendez, Margaret West Guenther, and Kate Devine.

The eight schools participating in the development of this guide and the case studies on which it is based were generous with both their time and attention to this project. We would like to thank those who were instrumental in coordinating and participating in the site visits that inform the case studies and this guide.

Gateway High School
1430 Scott Street
San Francisco, Calif. 94115
http://www.gatewayhigh.org
Sharon Olken, Principal

Media and Technology Charter High School (MATCH)
1001 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, Mass. 02215
http://www.matchschool.org
Alan Safran, Executive Director

Minnesota New Country School
210 Main Street, P.O. Box 88
Henderson, Minn. 56044
http://www.mncs.k12.mn.us
Dee Grover Thomas, Lead Teacher

North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
10 Washington Place
Newark, N.J. 07102
http://www.uncommonschools.org
Paul Bambrick Santoyo, Codirector

The Preuss School
9500 Gilman Drive Dept. 0536
La Jolla, Calif. 92093
http://preuss.ucsd.edu
Doris Alvarez, Principal

The SEED School of Washington, D.C.
4300 C St. S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20019
http://www.seedfoundation.com
John Ciccone, Head of School

Toledo School For The Arts
333 14th St.
Toledo, Ohio 43624
http://www.ts4arts.org
Martin Porter, Executive Director

YES College Preparatory School, Southeast Campus
3401 Hardy Road
Houston, Texas 77009
http://www.yesprep.org
Keith W. Desrosiers, Principal
Chris Barbic, Executive Director