Centre County Daily Times 4 day series on charter schools

Centre Daily Times - Charter school series: Day by day

8:00am on Jul 17, 2011; Modified: 8:05am on Jul 20, 2011

Centre County was home to some of the state’s first charter schools. Today, it has four brick-and-mortar charters. Only three counties — Philadelphia, Allegheny and Chester — have more.

For four months, the Centre Daily Times has been examining the impact those schools in this area, both on the quality of education and the cost. Reporter Ed Mahon interviewed more than 60 people, including lawmakers, education experts, parents, students, and teachers from both charter schools and traditional public schools.

He visited classrooms and conducted analyses of state data to determine how Centre County’s charter school population compares to that of other counties, and examined the influence charter schools have had upon education in Centre County.

PART 1: Charter schools fought to be an option

PART 2: Charter schools' influence unclear

PART 3: Charter costs at heart of school debate

PART 4: The value of testing

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Charter school series: Day by day