Annotated Bibliography

Michigan Association of Public School Academies. (2011). The ABCs of Public

Charter Schools in Michigan. Retrieved from
http://www.house.mi.gov/sessiondocs/20112012/testimony/committee5-3-23-2011.pdf
The ABCs of Public Charter Schools in Michigan starts off by giving the
reader fast facts about charter schools in Michigan. The document
starts off with the basics of what a charter school is and how one starts
and moves on to explain how many people in the state currently attend
or work at charter schools.
The document is organized into 4 main parts: fast facts, types of
charter schools, finances, and facts/myths. I like this layout as it is
clear and concise. The last section that goes through facts and myths
about charter schools answers many common questions asked about
charter schools. The layout makes it easy to find the information you
are looking for and has the information written in a language that is
easy for the reader to understand.

Michigan Department of Education. (2016). Michigan Charter SchoolsQuestions and Answers. Retrieved from
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/PSAQA_54517_7.pdf
This document is written by the Michigan Department of Education to
answer all common questions about Charter Schools. It provides the
guidelines of how to open a Charter School, who can enroll, what the
schools can/cannot do, and transportation regulations. The questions
are answered in a Q&A format and organized by topic.
Michigan Charter Schools- Questions and Answers takes all of the
commonly asked questions about Charter Schools and answers them in
a common language that the reader can understand. The document is
organized telling the reader how to go about opening a Charter School
first, and then goes on to explain the specifics.

Michigan Legislature. (2015). The Revised School Code (Excerpt) Act 451of
1976. Retrieved from (http://www.legislature.mi.gov/
(S(sgi2bu1w34v2qpl102sfe2ue))/mileg.aspx?
page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-380-504
This excerpt of the Revised School Code discusses charter school laws.
It explains where a charter school may be located as well as enrollment
laws. Each section of the School Code is numbered so it is easy for the
reader to identify the different aspects of the law.
The layout is easy to follow and provides you with the School Code
broken down into different excerpts. I found this website helpful as it is
had the exact excerpt we were looking for without having to read
through the entire School Code. We specifically looked at the
information regarding enrollment priority and regulations.

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (2016). Measuring Up. Retrieved
from http://www.publiccharters.org/get-the-facts/lawdatabase/states/mi
This website allows the viewer to compare charter schools in different
states. It shows what requirements each state has and how each area
is ranked in terms of charter schools nationwide. At the top of each
states page it mentions strengths and weaknesses for the given state.
We spent most of our time on the Michigan page. The website states
that, Michigans law contains caps on charter public schools that allow
for ample growth, includes multiple authorizers, and provides a fair
amount of accountability; however, it provides inadequate autonomy
and inequitable funding (NAPCS). The website gives short summaries
for each state and then goes into great detail, making it easy for the
viewer to get the big idea rather easily. The only downside is the
ratings for each area are somewhat difficult to understand as a key is
not readily visible.

Rader, S., (2013, August 6). What is a Charter School? Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIiM7L8u1yY

What is a Charter School? Provides the viewer with basic information

about charter schools through the words of individuals who are charter
school employees or parents. The video shares the positives of charter
schools and how successful they can be, especially when they have
parental support. It focuses on how education is a parents choice for
his or her child and how charter schools allow parents to select the
school that is teaching the curriculum they prefer in the environment
that they enjoy.
We found this video to be very inviting and informative and thought it
would be a great way to introduce charter schools to the viewers of our
website. The video provides basic information about charter schools
and shows a positive light on many of the misconceptions that go
along with these schools. We like how the video explains to parents
how it is their choice where their children get an education and that
charter schools are a great option.