Education for at-risk students: An exploratory case study of a charter middle school and a neighborhood middle school

This case study examined how charter schools and regular public schools differ in terms of their educational experiences for at-risk students. The study compared a regular middle school and a charter middle school to see how they delivered educational services to at-risk students. The primary focus of the study was two African American male students and how they were affected by the services at the two schools.;In order to study the educational experiences of at-risk students in charter schools and public schools three schools in Nashville were identified: (a) a regular elementary school, (b) a middle school that is a charter school, and (c) a regular public middle school. The regular elementary school was the feeder school for both middle schools. The middle schools were matched on their proximity to each other, population of students, class size, and an effort to address the educational needs of at-risk students.;Two at-risk students were selected to participate in this small case study. The two students were "matched." That is, they were selected by the nomination of teachers who had adequate knowledge that the two students were similar in academic performance, attendance, social and economic conditions, behavior, and neighborhood experiences. The findings from the research suggested that the two schools were similar in their commitment to providing quality service to students, the use of data to drive the instructional programs, the desire to create a safe learning environment through building relationships with parents, students, and teachers, and a willingness to devote extra time to interventions.;The findings suggest that the two schools were very different in their approach to delivering the educational services. The charter middle school seemed to have more freedom to make decisions about the curriculum it used, textbooks, assessment tools, the operation of the schools, selection of teachers, and a mission to get students to compete at the national and global levels rather than just the local level. The recommendation of this study, due to the limitation of the focus being on two students and two schools, is to conduct a study with a greater population and more schools.