Charters are by nature different not just from traditional public schools, but from one another. With their freedom and flexibility, some charter schools have opened doors and opportunities for many poor minority children who were previously trapped at failing campuses run by school district bureaucracies. These successful charter schools have perfected alternative models of organization, management, and discipline that shatter the status-quo orthodoxy. In Free to Learn, successful charter principals and teachers – who often do things contrary to the public education establishment – offer hope and practical advice for the charter movement. After Hurricane Katrina, Free to Learn served as an inspiration and handbook for charter school administrators in New Orleans.