School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs

Wexner 434 A-B (4th Floor), Wexner Building, Harvard Kennedy School
  * - Indicates presenting author

1:00 p.m.

Opening remarks

Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University 
Michael Hartney, Boston College

1:15 p.m.

Session 1: Trends in the School Choice Landscape

Chair: Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University

1. The Nation’s Achievement Inequality Report Card: An Assessment of Interquartile Test Score Gaps and Equality Trends in Traditional Public, Charter, Catholic, and Department of Defense Schools
M. Danish Shakeel, University of Buckingham
Misty Gallo, University of Arkansas
Patrick J. Wolf, University of Arkansas *

2. How Much Public Funding Is Now Flowing Through ESAs, Vouchers and Tax Scholarships?
Marguerite Roza, Georgetown University
Maggie Cicco, Georgetown University *

3. The Fuse Is Lit: Disruptive Innovation and the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
Thomas Arnett, Clayton Christensen Institute*
Susan Gentz, K20Connect

4. Enrollment, Fiscal, and Resource Changes in American Public School Districts, 1998 to 2019
Matthew H. Lee, Kennesaw State University
Benjamin Scafidi, Kennesaw State University*

2:30 p.m.

Break

2:45 p.m.

Session 2: Charter Schooling

Chair: R. Shep Melnick, Boston College

1. Indiana Charter School Performance During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ron Zimmer, University of Kentucky
Stephen M. Ponisciak, University of Notre Dame
Mark Berends, University of Notre Dame
Julie W. Dallavis, University of Notre Dame 
Joseph J. Ferrare, University of Washington Bothell
Adam Kho, University of Kentucky 
Shelby L. Smith, University of Southern California*
R. Joseph Waddington, University of Notre Dame

2. The Spillover Impacts of Charter Schools 
John Singleton, University of Rochester
Angela Crema, University of Rochester*

3. Charter Schools in the Harlem Communities
Mohit Karnani, Harvard University*
Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University

4. Blowback or Buy-In: Public Opinion in Response to Charter School Penetration
Michael Henderson, Louisiana State University

4 p.m.

Break

4:15 p.m.

Session 3: Media Session

Chair: Martin West, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Liana Loewus, Freelance Journalist
Kevin Mahnken, The74
Jason Riley, The Wall Street Journal

5:30 p.m.

Adjourn

5:45 p.m.

Networking reception

6:30 p.m.

Keynote Address

Florida’s Journey to a New Definition of Public Education?
John Kirtley, Founder and Chairman, Step Up for Students
Charles Hotel Pavilion, Longfellow Room

Malkin Penthouse (5th floor), Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School

8:00 a.m.

Breakfast

8:30 a.m.

Session 4: Politics, Public Opinion, and Voting

Chair: Benjamin Hayman Schneer, Harvard Kennedy School

1. School Choice and the Political Power of the Teacher 
Vlad Kogan, The Ohio State University*
Michael Hartney, Boston College

2. Backlash? Schooling Reassignments and the Politics of School Desegregation
Deven Carlson, University of Oklahoma
Thurston Domina, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Nathan Barron, University of Oklahoma
James Carter III, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Rachel Perera, Brookings Institution
Matthew Lenard, Florida State University*

3. Seeds of Support: How Experience and Exposure Shape Public Opinion on School Choice  
James V. Shuls, Florida State University*
Zachary Goldberg, Florida State University
James L. Woodworth, Florida State University

9:45 a.m.

Session 5: Private School Choice

Chair: Anna Egalite, North Carolina State University

1. Are Work-Based Professional Skills Associated with Postsecondary Entrance and Persistence? Novel evidence from the Cristo Rey Network
Lauren C. Russell, University of Pennsylvania
Jason Jabbari, Washington University in St. Louis
Xueying Mei, Washington University in St. Louis
Fahvyon Jimenez, Jimenez Strategies
Shaun M. Dougherty, Boston College*

2. The Effects of School Vouchers on the Entry and Exit of Private, Charter, and Traditional Public Schools
Douglas Harris, Tulane University
Matias Morales, Tulane University*
Gabriel Olivier, Tulane University

3. Declining Public School Enrollment and the Rise of Universal Private School Choice Programs
Patrick Graff, American Federation for Children 
Brian Fitzpatrick, Thomas B. Fordham Institute*

4. Competitive Effects of a Phased-In Universal ESA: Evidence from Arkansas LEARNS and the Education Freedom Account (EFA)
Temurbek Rakhmatov, University of Arkansas*
Samuel Musser, University of Arkansas
Patrick Wolf, University of Arkansas
Harry Anthony Patrinos, University of Arkansas

11:00 a.m.

Break

11:15 a.m.

Session 6: Public School Choice

Chair: Michael Hartney, Boston College

1. Disaggregating the Impacts of Denver Public Schools’ Portfolio Strategy by Governance Type: Charter, Innovation, and Traditional Schools
Parker Baxter, UC-Denver*
Anna Nicotera, Basis Policy Research

2. When Lottery Losers Still Win: Magnet Schools with Close Substitutes
Jesse Bruhn, Brown University
Christopher Campos, University of Chicago*
Eric Chyn, University of Texas-Austin
Ishira Shrivatsa, University of Chicago 

3. Who Leaves? Interdistrict Magnet School Openings and Enrollment Dynamics in Nearby Schools  
Yerin Yoon, Boston College

4. Moving Teacher Quality Across School Sector: Differences in Teacher Value-Added Across Traditional Public, Charter, Magnet, Catholic, and Other Private Schools
Patrick Graff, University of Notre Dame

12:30 p.m.

Adjourn – Lunch