Abstract

An Inventory of Factors Relating to Charter School Locations
Track: Education
Author(s): Charisse Gulosino

Although there have been several studies of the geography of market-style mechanisms of parental choice and competition between schools, the locational decisions of charter schools, community characteristics, and the spatial distributions of nearby nonprofits have been less studied. This study examines whether charter schools have a tendency to cluster near nonprofits for purposes of strengthening relationships or because a third set of factors related to public transportation, socioeconomic needs, property values, and density of school-age population predispose them to locate in certain types of areas. The study asks: How can a GIS analysis identify optimal locational sites for charter schools? This study inventories the options of new charter school construction in both urban and suburban areas.

The study is situated in the literature on nonprofit locational dynamics. No other research has attempted to explore the planning implications of charter school site selection. This study hopes to fill this research gap.

Charisse Gulosino
Brown University
67 George St., Box 1977
Taubman Center for Public Policy, Brown University
Providence , Rhode Island 02912
United States
Phone: 401-863-9582
E-mail: Charisse_Gulosino@brown.edu