Charter Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this book was to describe the variables that contributed to the establishment of a charter school in an urban Arizona and rural California school district, noting the similarities and dissimilarities and disclosing the factors used to justify implementation of the Montessori theory of education. The secondary purpose of this book was to describe the guidelines for maintaining a charter school, the evaluation methods and factors used in the school’s unique experience with staff development. The two schools experienced many similarities when the same variables were applied to both schools. As a result, the stakeholders of both schools used the principles of the organizational theory area of empowerment to implement choices in curriculum. This book provides an insight for parents, teachers, and community leaders to develop strategies by utilizing the same principles to meet the educational needs of children.

About the Author

Steve P. Jefferson, Ed. D, served the Los Angeles Unified School District as a Resource Specialist Coordinator at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles California. For greater than ten years, Dr. Jefferson has taught and developed teacher training programs on behavior intervention strategies for students labeled emotionally disturbed. He has been a guest presenter on differentiated instruction and learning styles at a number of secondary schools and has conducted workshops on brain research at various school districts and colleges in Los Angeles. He has been a guest lecturer for National University and Pepperdine University’s Doctoral Program. Dr. Jefferson is currently a visiting lecturer at National University in Los Angeles, California.