ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the experiences of teachers in a charter school and examines the consequences they faced when they decided to unionize. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 established up to 100 charter schools, all eligible to bypass many of the regulations required of traditional public schools. To capture the experiences of teachers in a charter school, the author utilized a qualitative case study methodology. The objective of this case study was to capture a phenomenon of a group of charter schools that decided to unionize. The case study design provided insights that could help structure future research in order to advance the field's knowledge base. Teachers described an environment where they worked alongside school leaders and families. The unionization efforts led to broken relationships with their school leaders and a contentious 18-month contract negotiation process against their governing board. The process of unionization and the ensuing contract negotiations divided a once-united Hope Charter School (HCS) community.
