Priscilla Wohlstetter
Distinguished Research Professor and Senior Research Fellow, CPRE
212-678-8409
Office Hours: Wednesdays 3:30-5:30 PM Thursdays 3:00-4:00 PM And by Appointment
Office Location: 303-H Zankel
Expertise
- Charter Schools
- Education Policy
- Politics and Education
Priscilla Wohlstetter
Professional Background
Educational Background
Scholarly Interests
Selected Publications
Wohlstetter, P., Smith, J., & Farrell, C.C. (2013). Choices and Challenges: Charter School Performance in Perspective. Harvard Education Press.
Farrell. C., Wohlstetter, P. & Smith, J. (2012). Charter management organizations: An emerging approach to scaling-up what works. Educational Policy, 26(4), 499-532.
Hentschke, G., Wohlstetter, P., Hirman, J., & Zeehandelaar, D. (2011). Using state-wide multiple measures for school leadership and management: Costs incurred vs. benefits gained. School Leadership & Management, 31(1), 21-34.
Thomas, A. & Wohlstetter, P. (2010, May). Six keys to success: Districts attempting urban reforms can learn from strategies that work. American School Board Journal. Alexandra, VA: National School Boards Association, 197(5), 36-38.
Wohlstetter, P. & Smith, J. (2010). Uncommon players, common goals: Partnerships in charter schools. In C. Lubienski & P.C. Weitzel, The charter school experiment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Nayfack, M., Hentschke, G. & Wohlstetter, P. (2009, March). Exploring superintendent leadership in smaller urban districts: Does district size influence superintendent behavior? Education and Urban Society, 41(3), 317-337.Wohlstetter, P., Datnow, A. & Park, V. (2007). Creating a system for data-driven decision-making: Applying the principal-agent framework. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19(3), 239-259.
Wohlstetter, P., Malloy, C.L., Hentschke, G. & Smith, J. (2004, December). Improving service delivery in education through collaboration: The role of cross-sectoral alliances in the development and support of charter schools. Social Science Quarterly, 85(5), 1078-1096.
Wohlstetter, P. & Chau, D. (2003). Does autonomy matter? Implementing research-based practices in charter and other public schools. In K. Bulkley & P. Wohlstetter (Eds.), Taking account of charter schools: What’s happened and what’s next? New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Wohlstetter, P., Malloy, C.L., Chau, D., & Polhemus, J.L. (2003, September). Improving schools through networks: A new approach to urban school reform. Educational Policy, 17(4), 399-430.
current projects
Teachers College Survey Research Initiative
The Teachers College Survey Research Initiative (TCSRI) assists states, districts and schools in designing surveys that fit their needs and priorities. Among the tools offered are surveys to evaluate stakeholder satisfaction, school climate, principal performance, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards by states and school districts. The surveys are designed to help clients identify what they are doing well and areas that can be improved.
The TCSRI was created by a diverse group of faculty from across Teachers College with expertise in survey design, measurement and statistics, leadership, parent involvement, and student engagement. All of our surveys meet the high-quality standards of survey design.
With our surveys, clients will have 24/7 access to the results. TCSRI also analyzes and reports survey results to clients. Additional TCSRI services include creating new surveys, customized services for clients, developing presentations for clients to communicate survey results to various stakeholders.
Funding: Provost Investment Fund
Director: Priscilla Wohlstetter
Contact Information:
Box 11
(212) 678-8213
School Performance Dashboard
The School Performance Dashboard compares state-wide the performance of charter schools and non-charter public schools. The Dashboard also presents the ratings of all individual charter schools in a state.
Schools are rated on twelve indices of performance, both academic and financial. The academic performance measures include traditional measures, such as Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), and innovative measures, including academic momentum and school productivity. Financial performance is assessed by three measures: direct classroom investment, liquidity ratio, and reserves ratio.
In addition to the annual report, an online interactive tool provides access to all charter school performance data over multiple years (2006 – present). Users can evaluate individual schools; compare the performance of multiple schools; review the performance of a single school across years; or download the entire data set. The interactive tool can be accessed at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/cegov/products/csi-interactive/index.html
The California School Performance Dashboard was founded in 2004 under the auspices of the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California. Plans are in progress to customize the dashboard for other states, including New York State.
Funding: Ahmanson Foundation, Haynes Foundation, Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Parsons Foundation, Weingart Foundation, William B. Siart, Trustee, University of Southern California.
Principal Investigator: Priscilla Wohlstetter
Contact Information:
Box 11
(212) 678-8213
National School Choice Project
The National School Choice Project evaluates American cities based on their openness to school choice reforms. The project asks the question: which cities foster and support school choice by nurturing the development, growth, and success of innovative reform efforts from outside governmental and school-level networks.
The final report will identify which American cities have the most reform-friendly ecosystems, based on factors such as human and financial capital devoted to nonprofit and other entrepreneurial educational ventures; the role of charter schools; availability of non-traditional reformers and service providers; district-level receptivity to nontraditional reforms and collaborative relationships; and municipal openness to nontraditional service providers and reformers.
Utilizing publicly available data, national and local surveys, and interviews local insiders, the Project will implement a grading metric to rate each city evaluated, based on overall receptivity and accomplishments in the area of school choice reform efforts.
Funding: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Principal Investigator: Priscilla Wohlstetter
Contact Information:
Box 11
(212) 678-8213
biographical information
custom course list
Documents & Papers
Download: Wohlstetter C.V. [PDF]
