| charter school | A group of teachers, parents, and even businesses may petition a local school board, or state government, to form a charter school which is exempt from many state and local regulations. Designed to promote creative new schools, the charter represents legal permission to try new approaches to educate students. First charter legislation was passed in Minnesota in 1991.
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| Edison Schools (Edison Project) | An educational company that contracts with local school districts, promising to improve student achievement while making a profit in the process.
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| educational vouchers | Flat grants or payments representing the cost of educating a student at a school. Awarded to the parent or child to enable free choice of a school–public or private–the voucher payment is made to the school that accepts the child.
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| EMO (Educational Maintenance Organization) | The term is borrowed from Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and refers to the growing number of profit-driven companies in the business of public education.
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| full service school | These schools provide a network of social services from nutrition and health care to parental education and transportation, all designed to support the comprehensive educational needs of children.
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| home schooling | A growing trend (but a longtime practice) of parents educating their children at home, for religious or philosophical reasons.
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| ideologues | Home school advocates focused on avoiding public schools in order to impart their own set of values.
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| magnet school | A specialized school open to all students in a district on a competitive or lottery basis. It provides a method of drawing children away from segregated neighborhood schools while affording unique educational specialties, such as science, math, and the performing arts.
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| open enrollment | The practice of permitting students to attend the school of their choice within their school system. It is sometimes associated with magnet schools and desegregation efforts.
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| pedagogues | Term given to home school advocates motivated by humanistic rather than religious goals.
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| privatization | The movement toward increased private sector, for-profit involvement in the management of public agencies, including schools.
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| reconstructionism (reconstructionist) | Also called social reconstructionism, this is a view of education as a way to improve the quality of life, to reduce the chances of conflict, and to create a more humane world.
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| school choice | The name given to several programs in which parents choose what school their child will attend.
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| service credit | By volunteering in a variety of community settings, from nursing homes to child care facilities, students are encouraged to develop a sense of community and meet what is now a high school graduation requirement in some states.
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| Tesseract | Formerly Educational Alternatives, this private company works in the public school sector, attempting to improve school efficiency and student achievement, while making a profit.
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