Chapter 10: Reflections on the Development of Charter Schools in Michigan

Economist Gary Wolfram provides a first-hand account of the intellectual and political origins of Michigan’s charter school movement. This essay combines policy theory and memoir to explain how economic reasoning, political entrepreneurship, and market-based accountability converged in the early 1990s. Wolfram’s narrative traces how the alliance between Engler’s administration and academic reformers operationalized school choice within a constitutional framework. The essay offers a foundational perspective on the interplay between ideology, economics, and governance in education reform.