For more than two generations, the traditional urban school system-the district-has utterly failed to do its job: prepare its students for a lifetime of success. Millions and millions of boys and girls have suffered the grievous consequences. The district is irreparably broken. For the sake of today's and tomorrow's inner-city kids, it must be replaced. The Urban School System of the Future argues that vastly better results can be realized through the creation of a new type of organization that properly manages a city's portfolio of schools using the revolutionary principles of chartering.
It will ensure that new schools are regularly created, that great schools are expanded and replicated, that persistently failing schools are closed, and that families have access to an array of high-quality options. This new entity will focus exclusively on school performance, meaning, among other things, our cities can thoughtfully integrate their traditional public, charter public, and private schools into a single, high-functioning k-12 system. For decades, the district has produced the most heartbreaking results for already at-risk kids. The Urban School System of the Future explains how we can finally turn the tide and create dynamic, responsive, high-performing, self-improving urban school systems that fulfill the promise of public education.

Introduction
The District as The System
Government Services Through Multiple Providers
Chartering as The System
Managing the Portfolio of Schools
Section I: The Traditional Urban School District
Chapter 1: The Failure of Urban Districts
The Role of Public Education in America's Cities
Contemporary Results
Longstanding Under-performance
Explanation for the Crisis
Chapter 2: The Failure of Reform
Increases in Funding
Standards and Accountability
Choice and Competition
So What Went Wrong?
Chapter 3: The Quality Curve
Data
Chapter 4: The Failure of Fixing
Why Do Failing Schools Survive?
Yesterday's and Today's Schools
The Stickiness of Failure
Defining Turnaround Down
NCLB and Failing Schools
Owning Up to Failed Improvement Efforts
Flailing in the Dark
Still in its Infancy?
Keep Digging
Misunderstanding the Lessons of High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools
Beyond Education
Section II: Urban Charter Schooling
Chapter 5: The Charter Revolution
A New Type of School
The Evolution of Chartering
Chartering and America's Cities
The Purposes and Potential of Chartering
Chapter 6: The Charter Quality Curve
Off on the Wrong Track
Variations in Charter Performance
Charter Performance Data
Charter-District Distribution Comparisons
Conclusion
Chapter 7: The Systemic Innovations of Chartering
Starting New
Diversification: Removing Exclusive Authority
Authorizing
Operators
Replications and Expansions
Closures
Section III: Urban Private Schooling
Chapter 8: Private Schooling and the Public System
The Development of American Private Education
Separating the Sectors
Religion and Public Schools
Private Schools and Public Policy
International Comparisons of Private Education
The Disappearance of Inner-City Private Schools
Toward a Solution
Chapter 9: The Private Quality Curve
The Quality Distribution of Urban Private Schools
Private Schools in Milwaukee
Additional Evidence
Conclusion
Section IV: The Urban School System of the Future
Chapter 10: Characteristics of the New System
Closer Than We Think
A Word about the District
Pillars of the New System
Chancellor of the City School System
Authorizers
School Operators
Private Schools
Additional Issues to Consider
Conclusion
Chapter 11: Finishing the Job
From District-centered to School-centered
The Proliferation of Choice
Churning the Schools Portfolio
Integrating the Three Sectors