Recommends policy actions to create the infrastructure and political will to improve public education through pre-K education, early literacy, expanded learning time, multiple pathways, statewide educator quality development, and educator collaboration.

Based on a literature review, examines the role of community organizing in ensuring the long-term sustainability of school and district reform efforts by addressing patterns of inequality in underserved communities; effective strategies; and challenges.

Examines the start-up and implementation of Philadelphia's small neighborhood high school creation in 2003-08. Discusses student demographics, engagement and achievement, school climate, educators' visions, the role of partners, and remaining challenges.

Calls for improving the teacher applicant pool; preparing, recruiting and retaining the best; incentivizing hard-to-fill assignments; utilizing data to improve support systems and evaluations; and bolstering accountability. Includes lessons from abroad.

Analyzes how student attributes, including race/ethnicity, language, and nativity, and school type (public, charter, pilot, magnet), size, and mix affect which students leave and which schools they transfer to. Considers pros and cons of student mobility.

Assesses the impact of charter and pilot schools on achievement by tracking students who showed similar academic traits in earlier grades across school types. Also compares applicants who won the lottery to attend charters or pilots and those who did not.

Analyzes results of an evaluation of gains in reading and math scores over one academic year among independent charter school students compared with public school students, by charter school type, student characteristics, and school-switching.