A Guide to the Charter Sector of Minnesota Public Education

Report • November 2017 • By John Kostouros

What are charter schools like? It depends on which ones you mean.

In 1991, Minnesota created the charter option in an effort to create different, more effective ways of providing public education and to offer more choices to families. In its first twenty-five years that option has spawned a vibrant and growing second sector of public education in Minnesota and in much of the rest of the country.

This report from The Center for Policy Design looks at the chartering landscape in Minnesota, and specifically at innovations — in governance, schooling models and instruction, school evaluation and accountability, management, operations, and authorizing — across the charter sector.

This report was researched and written by John Kostouros, a Senior Fellow at Education Evolving, with contributions by Robert Wedl and an introduction by Ted Kolderie.