Celebrating National Charter Schools Week
NAPCS leader Nina Rees launched National Charter Schools Week with a great op-ed in the Washington Examiner extolling the amazing work of charter schools to educate students and support school families in this difficult time.
Above and Beyond
NAPCS also released a list of ten national winners of the 2020 Above and Beyond Award, for charters who have gone the extra mile for their families and communities during the pandemic. One of those winners is Ohio’s own KIPP Columbus for distributing meals, operating a pandemic-licensed daycare center on campus, and much more. You can check out KIPP Columbus and all the great winners here.
Online learning unlimited
As the 2019-20 school year comes to an unsettled end, here’s one great story among many to put a smile on your face. Ohio Connections Academy student Amber Bennett is not only completing her freshman year in high school, she’s also celebrating completion of her associate degree (with honors) from Cuyahoga Community College. What’s more, she’s not the first member of the Bennett family to earn a degree from Tri-C while still in high school, and she likely won’t be the last…although her younger sibling might still be in middle school come degree time! Congratulations to Amber and the whole Bennett family.
Next year…
The end of one school year inevitably leads to thoughts of the next. Never more so, perhaps, than when uncertainty reigns. Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria this week floated what is here called a draft plan for reopening schools next year. The superintendent’s draft leaves most key decisions to local school boards and school and district leaders to determine what next school year will look like in their unique communities.
The money question
Finally this week, here’s a look at how charter school operators in Washington, D.C., are facing off against folks who say that charters should not be eligible to receive support from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The discussion in the nation’s capital will likely have resonance elsewhere across the country.
