Roll the tape!
In case you were unable to attend Fordham’s in-person event earlier this week, diving into spring 2023 testing data from across Ohio, the full event video is now available here. This includes the presentation by OSU professor Dr. Vlad Kogan as well as the detailed Q&A with a panel that includes Dayton Early College Academy’s Superintendent and CEO Dave Taylor. An excellent conversation worth your time.
Staying in Dayton for a moment…
Congratulations to Ashley Bass, who was nominated as a Dayton Community Gem for her work as a Communities in Schools site coordinator at Emerson Academy. “Sometimes kids need just a little one-on-one support,” said Bass, talking about her work. “My goal is just to go out, meet those needs, and meet the kids where they are so that the only thing they have to worry about and focus on in the school is being in school and being a kid.”
New year, new footprint
Western Toledo Preparatory Academy is celebrating the start of the new school year and their expansion into a second campus. “We’re building on the academic strengths of Western Toledo Preparatory Academy,” explains Principal Kechan Johnson, “while developing a unique identity with STEM activities and a 21st-century learning approach. As a charter school, we have the flexibility to structure a program that best suits the needs of our students and families.” Here’s hoping for a great year for WTPA students, families, and staff!
All that and a side of chips
The adaptable flexibility of charter schools was also on the mind of NAPCS’s Christy Wolfe this week. She provided a guest commentary in the Fordham Institute’s Gadfly newsletter discussing what she termed “the Chipotlification of education” which she says is uniquely possible in the nation’s charter schools. That is, a public education that can be customized by families to include a home base with a school culture, instructor support, and camaraderie, along with greater flexibility to learn at home, pod, or school facility as families need and choose. An interesting take.
What makes the best the best?
Hot on the heels of its ranking as the best charter high school in America (and number 2 out of all high schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report), the Signature School’s executive director Jean Hitchcock sat down with Inside Indiana Business to talk about what makes their model so successful. Spoiler alert: Strong curricula, high standards, fully-committed faculty, and strong accountability for kids and adults. Best news of all for Evansville-area families: The possibility of a Signature middle school launching in the near future.
DEW-not
In response to a lawsuit filed by seven members of Ohio’s state board of education, a Franklin County judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order halting all ongoing work to create a new Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) as called for in the recent state budget bill. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
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