Published: January 1, 1997

Charting The Charters

As charter schools sweep the country, the big question for researchers is: Do they work?

Cindy Grutzik spends a couple days each week in two Southern California charter schools interviewing teachers, attending staff meetings, and observing classrooms. A doctoral student at the University of California at Los Angeles, Grutzik wants to know whether charter school teachers are satisfied with their experiences.

Her early results suggest that for most the change to charter schools has been difficult but positive. "It seems that people understand that hard work comes along with this kind of situation," the former...