A 2017 Brookings study found that only 46 percent of families have a charter school within 5 miles from their home, and a recent Fordham Institute analysis finds there are over 500 medium- and high-poverty Census tracts across the country without nearby charter elementary schools. One of the biggest obstacles to charter school growth is securing affordable school facilities. Help may be on the way, however: a new federal tax incentive called the Opportunity Zone program has the potential to lighten that load for charter schools across the country. In a blog post for EdNext.org, Adam Peshek talks about how this program might change the trajectories of children and their communities.

—Education Next