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  • 30 YEARS-14

    Capturing Charter
    School History for
    Future Generations!

    Celebrate 30 Years with Us!
    Learn About Our Mission

    Now Streaming!

    Interview of Former Michigan Gov. John Engler

    Watch Interview

    Peril and Promise

    A Decades-Long View Reveals Progress in Urban Education

    View Blog

    Founder

    [found·​er | ˈfau̇n-dər] noun
    Pertaining to charter schools:

    One from whom something originates. One who lays a foundation. One who establishes something special. Ideas matter.

    #SchoolBrag

    Hear it from
    the Schools!

    Watch #SchoolBrag

    In Memory of...

    U.S. Senator David Durenberger

    Read Memorial

    Help us Build!

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    Get YOUR STATE
    on the Map!

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    Welcome

    Welcome to the National Charter Schools Founders Library!
    We've made it our mission to collect, capture, and share the history of the charter schools movement for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

    From the original founders to the present day leaders, history matters! We know it's an invaluable asset for future leaders who are working to ensure all kids have access to a quality education. These historical documents and oral histories from the charter founders will enable us to learn from the past and better shape our future. And we need your help to achieve this! You can help us by connecting pioneers, funding projects, and so much more. Let's get to work, together!

    Ways to Help!
    School brag screens-02

    Celebrating 30 Years of Chartering

    Minnesota passed the first charter school law in the United States in 1991 and now 30 years later the idea of chartering has spread across the country. The charter schools movement has grown a great deal as new laws have been created, new schools have opened, new ways of teaching were pioneered, and new leaders emerged (Check out #SchoolBrags). Important materials, like speeches, white papers, historic legislation, personal papers of pioneers, and the like, are spread too far across the country. Here at the Founder's Library we believe that gathering, cataloging, preserving, and making this knowledge accessible is essential to continuing the charter idea's growth. The history of the origins and first quarter century of chartering can and will inform the future.

    Learn How You Can Celebrate 30 Years

    Thank You Founding Friends!

    Thanks to our generous supporters, we've been able to meet the funding needs for our new website!

    Meet Friends

    Search Suggestions:

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  • #schoolbrag
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