Important new research
This week, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a blockbuster new report which uses Ohio administrative data to differentiate charter schools operated by “for-profit” management companies from those operated by “non-profits”, describe how their operations differ, and answer the question of how their form impacts their effectiveness compared to each other and to traditional district schools. The results are eye-opening; be sure to check it out. Lead writer Linda Jacobson covered the report and its implications for The 74, linking it to the national push to get the United States Department of Education to roll back its full slate of rule changes to the Charter Schools Program.
Report card results
Vindy.com took a look at the report card results for Youngstown-area charter schools, noting similar pandemic-era achievement declines to area districts. However, a number of charters appear to have bounced back faster, some even showing achievement levels today that are higher than in 2019. Kudos to those schools and their students, and kudos to Vindy.com for allowing school leaders to explain all that they have done and continue to do to catch their students up and move them forward again.
Bigger and better
Cleveland’s Global Ambassadors Language Academy, which bills itself as the first language immersion school in northeast Ohio and the only Mandarin immersion school in the state, this week won a grant of $250,000 in ARPA funding from the Cuyahoga County Commissioners. GALA plans to renovate a former school building into which their unique programs can move and grow. Awesome!
Never too early
The school year is only a couple of months old in West Virginia, but applications to open new schools for next fall have already begun arriving before the Professional Charter School Board. Here’s a look at two of those applications, one focused around business learning and the other around nursing skills.
Excellence visits Excellence
It was a long drive, but well worth it. 50 students from Morehouse College traveled from Atlanta to Brooklyn by bus earlier this month to visit Excellence Boys Charter School. They came bearing gifts, performances, and testimonials showcasing their college’s core pillars and beliefs that lead to success. The message: You, too, can be Morehouse Men!
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