[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-585893-105":3,"doc-detail-585893-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","a-sharp-turn-right-a-new-breed-of-charter-schools-delivers-the-conservative-agenda","A Sharp Turn Right - A New Breed of Charter Schools Delivers the Conservative Agenda","","A Sharp Turn Right analyzes how a new wave of charter schools advances right-wing, Christian nationalist ideas while undermining democratically governed public education. It traces policy momentum in 2023, explains what classical charter schools are, and profiles major networks and their ambitions. The report also documents legal, ideological, and operational patterns—such as religious connections, student demographics, and strategies that affect enrollment and discipline—framing charter expansion as a decisive shift with real consequences for progressive goals.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-sharp-turn-right-a-new-breed-of-charter-schools-delivers-the-conservative-agenda/585893/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-sharp-turn-right-a-new-breed-of-charter-schools-delivers-the-conservative-agenda/585893.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jordan Avery","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What central issue does the report raise about charter schools?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It argues that a new breed of charter schools is infused with right-wing Christian nationalist ideas and operates as a weapon against democratically governed public schools.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the report describe the intent and appeal of the new charter school model?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It states the schools are designed to attract families aligned with Christian nationalist beliefs and often have student bodies that are whiter and wealthier than other charter and district public schools.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What example does the introduction provide of religious charter school policy?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It describes Oklahoma’s approval of the nation’s first religious charter school by a board appointed by the state’s right-wing governor, framing it as part of an accelerating movement toward similar charters.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},585893,1792193154,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":92,"language":93,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":94,"faqs":95,"seo_title":96,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":97,"read_time":98,"preview_page_count":4},1099523882367,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc",8,"July 2023  \nA SHARP TURN RIGHT  \nA New Breed of Charter Schools Delivers the Conservative Agenda  \nTable of Contents  \nPreface 1  \nIntroduction 3  \nThe Landscape in 2023 5  \nWhat is a Classical Charter School? 7  \nHillsdale Classical Charter Schools 10  \nAscent Classical Academies 17  \nGreat Hearts' Grand Aspirations 19  \nAmerican Leadership Academy's Profitable  \nWay 21  \nPublic Schools or Right-Wing Charter Schools? 23  \nConclusion 26  \nEndnotes 27  \nSpecial Thanks to the Following  \nReport authors Karen Francisco and NPE Executive Director Carol Burris.  \nNPE Director of Communications Joanna Oszeyczik designed the report.  \nNPE’s Grassroots Network Coordinator Marla Kilfoyle assisted with the research.  \nWe would also like to thank:  \nLeigh Dingerson who provided feedback and edited thereport.  \nThis report would not have been possible without the effort and commitment of the Board of Directors of the Network for Public Education (NPE), with special thanks to Diane Ravitch, President of NPE. Diane generously gave her support, guidance, editing, and advice throughout the writing of this report.  \nFinally, thank you to all of our generous donors who make our work supporting public education possible. No outside organization contributed to, reviewed, or influenced our findings.  \nAbout the Authors  \nKaren Francisco was a reporter and editor at Indiana newspapers for 40 years. She now lives in Littleton, Colorado.  \nCarol Burris is the Executive Director of NPE. She is a retired award-winning high school principal and the author of three books on equity initiatives in public schools.  \nPreface  \nIn the spring of 1988, I attended a conference at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. My friend, former AFT President Albert Shanker, was also there. At one point, we had a chance for a private conversation, and he told me that he was excited about anew idea called “charter schools.” He envisioned them as “schools within schools,” created by teachers and subject to union and school district rules.  \nThey were to be places of innovation designed to test out new ideas to reach the most challenging to teach students. He said,“These would be schools that would find new ways to  \nmotivate the kids who are now sitting in the back of the classroom, with their heads on their desks.”  \nBy 1994, however, Shanker turned against charter schools, publicly expressing his disappointment in The New York Times. He said then that charters were no different from vouchers. Shanker recognized that even at the very beginning of the charter movement, profiteers were moving in, and charter schools were propped up to compete, not cooperate, with public schools. He concluded that the real purpose of charter schools was to eliminate teachers’ unions.  \nFor years, the Network for Public Education has continued the legacy of Albert Shanker by calling for reforms that would bring charters back to their original mission. We have exposed the daily scandals, the high-closure rates that leave children stranded, and the widespread profiteering in the charter industry.  \nLike Shanker, we believe that charters should be controlled by public school districts, enrolling the neediest students and identifying practices that would strengthen public schools. Instead, they have become a sector that demands public resources without public accountability and often employs strategies and disciplinary policies intended to weed out the students who need the most help.  \nThis new report, A Sharp Turn Right, exposes yet one more problem—the creation of a new breed of charter schools that are imbued with the ideas of right-wing Christian  \nnationalism. These charter schools have become weapons of the Right as they seek to destroy democratically governed public schools while turning back the clock of education and social progress by a century.  \nThe report carefully lays out the case that the new breed of charter schools is designed to attract families with Christia","cbCaiqEUx7lMwYLZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqEUx7lMwYLZ","pdf",4228980,34,"English","# Preface\n# Introduction\n# The Landscape in 2023\n# What is a Classical Charter School?\n# Hillsdale Classical Charter Schools\n# Ascent Classical Academies\n# Great Hearts' Grand Aspirations\n# American Leadership Academy's Profitable Way\n# Public Schools or Right-Wing Charter Schools?\n# Conclusion\n# Endnotes","[{\"question\":\"What central issue does the report raise about charter schools?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that a new breed of charter schools is infused with right-wing Christian nationalist ideas and operates as a weapon against democratically governed public schools.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the report describe the intent and appeal of the new charter school model?\",\"answer\":\"It states the schools are designed to attract families aligned with Christian nationalist beliefs and often have student bodies that are whiter and wealthier than other charter and district public schools.\"},{\"question\":\"What example does the introduction provide of religious charter school policy?\",\"answer\":\"It describes Oklahoma’s approval of the nation’s first religious charter school by a board appointed by the state’s right-wing governor, framing it as part of an accelerating movement toward similar charters.\"}]","A Sharp Turn Right - A New Breed of Charter Schools Delivers the Conservative Agenda | PDF",1792056262,86,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":100},[101,105,109,113,118,123,127,130,135,138,142],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},30,"research-report",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":134},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":137},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":139,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":140,"show_sort_weight":139,"slug":141},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":143,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":144,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":145},19,"General","general"]