Go for growth: How Ohio lawmakers can fix the school grading system
Aaron ChurchillIn its version of the state budget bill, the Ohio House included language that would place more weight on student growth measures when calculating charter sponsor ratings.
High-quality high schools: The next frontier for Ohio’s charter sector
Jessica PoinerEach year, school choice advocates celebrate National Charter Schools Week. This year, they had an extra reason to break open the champagne: U.S.
Private school vouchers help level the playing field
Aaron ChurchillNOTE: This piece originally appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer in a slightly different form.
House Bill 176 goes nuclear on education
Jessica PoinerIn politics as of late, there’s been a lot of talk about “going nuclear” in order to accomplish a goal.
LeBron James to start a new school in Akron, but it’s not a charter
Jamie Davies O'LearyWhen news broke the other day that LeBron James was starting a school in his home town of Akron, some commentators assumed it was going to be a charter.
State board's graduation fix falls woefully short
Chad L. Aldis, Aaron ChurchillNote: This blog originally appeared in a slightly different form as a guest commentary in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
Will anyone even qualify for the much-debated federal charter school program grant?
Jamie Davies O'LearyLast week, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) announced that the long-awaited Charter School Program (CSP) grant funds will soon be available. The federal program will provide $32 million in FY 2018 for high-quality charter startups and replications.
Your chance to stand up for school choice
Ohio Education GadflyAre you a school choice supporter or just interested in learning more about this issue that is gaining national prominence? Ohio parents, students, schools, and advocates will be holding a rally on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at 11 a.m. on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse. And you’re invited to attend.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Is a 10th grade education too high a bar for an Ohio diploma?
By Tom Gunlock
Cracking down on e-schools: What’s with the double standard?
Jamie Davies O'LearyE-schools, a.k.a. virtual charter schools, have been so thoroughly mired in controversy that they’ve become radioactive in most education discussions. Or in most discussions, period. The current dispute in Ohio is largely technical and centers on the extent to which e-schools provide learning opportunities to students rather than merely offering them.
Foreword: Pathway to Success – Citizens Leadership Academy
Jamie Davies O'LearyCitizens Leadership Academy (CLA) is preparing Cleveland middle schoolers for success in high school, college, and life—and not just academically. CLA, whose population is 79 percent economically disadvantaged and made up almost entirely of students of color, is second among all public schools in the city on student growth.
Fordham Institute media response to newly released Ohio charter facilities survey
Ohio Education GadflyA report released today outlines the facilities challenges facing Ohio’s public charter schools.
Some immodest advice to the Ohio graduation requirements work group
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
Turnarounds rarely work; close dysfunctional schools instead
Aaron Churchill“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” There's a lot of truth in that cliché, but it doesn't seem to apply to education. When it comes to chronically low-performing schools, in many cases, the better – and more courageous – course is to “quit” and close a school that is simply beyond repair.
Good charters are good choices: Farah’s story (Columbus Collegiate Academy)
Jamie Davies O'LearyParents make choices about their child’s schooling based on a variety of factors: location, safety, convenience, academics, extracurriculars, support services, and more. Many families choose their school by moving to the neighborhood of their preference, thus exercising “choice” when making homeownership decisions.
2017 National School Choice Poll
Jessica PoinerThe American Federation for Children (AFC) recently released its third annual poll on school choice. The national poll surveyed just over 1,000 likely November 2018 voters early this January via phone calls.
A new year brings a new chance for district-charter collaboration
Jessica PoinerPeter Cunningham recently called district-charter collaboration the “great unfilled promise” of school choice.
Ohio’s new charter operator report cards have room to improve
Jamie Davies O'LearyOhio’s charter school reform discussions have mostly focused on sponsors—the entities responsible for providing charter school oversight. Overlooked are the important changes in Ohio’s charter reform law (House Bill 2) around operators.
Every student matters: Ohio should keep a focus on dropout recovery school accountability
Sarah SoudersOne in seven adults’ ages 18-24 in Ohio lacks a high school diploma and faces bleak prospects of prospering in our economy. Dropouts earn $10,000 less each year than the average high school graduate according to the U.S.
Foreword – 2016 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report
Kathryn MullenIt would be an understatement to say that the 2015–16 school year was one of transition. Indeed, over the past twelve months, we lived through the implementation of the third state assessment in three years, the rollout of Ohio’s revised sponsor evaluation, and the introduction of a new state superintendent at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).
Foreword: Pathway to Success – KIPP Columbus takes seriously its mission to send kids to and through college
Jamie Davies O'LearyKIPP Columbus achieves extraordinary outcomes for its students, predominantly students in poverty and students of color—a fact worth celebrating by itself. In 2015-16 in Ohio’s Urban Eight cities, KIPP Columbus was in the top five percent of all schools (district and charter) on student growth and among the very best (top 3 percent) in Columbus.
Introducing Purdue Polytechnic High School
Jeff MurrayHopes are high for a new kind of school in Indianapolis. Purdue Polytechnic High School will open in the 2017-18 school year, admitting its first class of 150 ninth graders on the near Eastside.
Charter Schools at the Crossroads: Predicaments, Paradoxes, Possibilities
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Bruno V. Manno, Chair, Brandon L. WrightOver the past quarter-century, charter schools have gone from an upstart education experiment to a prominent, promising, and disruptive innovation in K–12 education. Indeed, few observers present at the creation of the first charter schools could have predicted how rapidly this movement would spread or how thoroughly it would come to dominate the education-reform agenda.
Ohio’s sponsor evaluations: Take two
Kathryn MullenThe Ohio Department of Education (ODE) recently released the results of its revised sponsor evaluation, including new ratings for all of the state’s charter-school sponsors.
Charter school authorizing in post-Katrina New Orleans
Kathryn Mullen UptonTwenty-five years into the American charter school movement there remains little research on the impact of charter authorizers, yet these entities are responsible for key decisions in the lives of charter schools, including whether they can open, and when they must close.
How to solve the school closure conundrum
Jessica PoinerPoliticians are wise to pay attention to public opinion data, but they are also responsible for crafting sound policies based on research and evidence.
Fordham Institute media statement on release of $71 million federal charter school grant to Ohio
Ohio Education GadflyToday, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) announced that it would release the $71 million Charter School Program (CSP) grant awarded to Ohio last September, but with additional restrictions attached. The letter outlines "high-risk" special conditions for how Ohio's award can be spent.
What Trump’s visit to a Cleveland charter school really means
Aaron ChurchillGOP presidential candidate Donald Trump recently visited Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy, a charter school educating predominately minority and low-income children. I write not to comment on Mr.
What charter school authorizers can teach states on ESSA: It's hard to find indicators of school quality that aren’t test scores
Kathryn MullenBy Kathryn Mullen Upton