Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full.
Timely research
This week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a new report comparing residential and educational mobility for district and charter students in North Carolina. The findings suggest that charter school enrollment breaks the link between residential and school mobility, particularly for students from traditionally disadvantaged communities. A timely message for National School Choice Week that charters allow students to remain stable in their chosen school even if they must change their residence.
More data
The National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) is also celebrating School Choice Week with data. Specifically, their jam-packed Charter School Data Dashboard, the first comprehensive compendium of the information on the whats, wheres, whys, and how awesomes of charter schools across the country.
The state of charter schools
Former NAPCS president and CEO Nina Rees sat down with Education Week contributor Rick Hess to talk about the state of charter schools, especially in terms of the national political climate today. Who is supportive of them and where support is weaker; how the pandemic may have impacted charters for the better; and her thoughts on the future of the movement are all covered here.
Here at home
Here in Ohio, Cornerstone Academy announced this week it had closed on a $30 million bond that will help them purchase two buildings—including their existing high school—and more than 14 acres. Their expansion plans will allow for more seats in middle and high school, starting this fall, which will be great news for all those prospective students now on the wait list. Talk about a celebration!
Meanwhile, in West Virginia
Clarksburg Classical Academy is ready to join the next wave of charter schools to open in West Virginia. The school expects approximately 50 students in Kindergarten through eighth grade when they open their doors this fall, with more to follow in ensuing years. Here’s to a great inaugural year.
Not all the news can be good
In Chicago, where the Board of Education recently adopted a platform that aims to discourage, limit, and even possibly end school choice in their city, the first test of that new “anti-choice” bent came this week. While the Board renewed the contracts of all 49 schools on their docket Thursday, the new contract terms were far shorter than the 10 years supporters advocated for. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that “most received three or four years with conditions like pledging not to suspend students, shoring up their offerings for students who are learning English or rectifying problems with services to students in special education.” There are likely more battles to come.
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
