Whether school choice increases parental demand for information about school quality
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.An average of forty-four million unique visitors use GreatSchools every year to check out schools in their area and elsewhere.
School choice that works for rural communities
Aaron ChurchillIn a provocative headline, a recent Wall Street Journal article proclaimed that “Rural America Is the New ‘Inner City.’” The piece profiles Kenton, Ohio, along with several other towns across the nation that have recently suffered population losses, sluggish economies, and surging substance abuse.
What Teens Want From Their Schools: A National Survey of High School Student Engagement
John Geraci, Maureen Palmerini, Pat Cirillo, Victoria McDougaldAmong high school students who consider dropping out, half cite lack of engagement with the school as a primary reason, and 42 percent report that they don’t see value in the schoolwork they are asked to do.
District requests for ECOT dollars highlight wide misperceptions about charter funding
Jamie Davies O'LearyRecently, several school districts asked to be repaid a chunk of the money that the state of Ohio is attempting to recover from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT); House Bill 87, currently pending in the General Assembly, would grant them their wish.
Guest Commentary: Charter opponent rhetoric should lead to support for equitable funding
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.
Interdistrict Open Enrollment in Ohio: A recap of Fordham’s latest event
Ohio Education GadflyIn the wake of Donald Trump’s election and his selection of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, a lot of attention has been focused on school choice.
Dad gets some new insights into the importance of school choice
Jeff MurrayThe best advice my wife and I received on how to manage daily life with newly born twin daughters was from our pediatrician: get them on a schedule. Any schedule that works for you is fine, but it should be the same schedule for both children, and stick to it. It was a great insight from a pro and it has served us well.
Research roundup: Interdistrict Open Enrollment in Ohio
Ohio Education GadflyIn case you missed it, Fordham released a new report last week: a first-of-its-kind analysis of the districts and the students utilizing open enrollment across district boundaries in the Buckeye State, focusing on which districts did and did not open their borders and on
Keep investing in charter schools that sustain results
NOTES: 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.
Foreword: Interdistrict Open Enrollment in Ohio
Aaron Churchill , Chad L. AldisIn April, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos toured the Van Wert school district in rural northwestern Ohio along with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. In such sparsely populated communities, private and charter schools are usually scarce.
Three ways to have a more honest debate about school choice
Jamie Davies O'LearyPosted just six hours after the close of Mother’s Day, this eerily titled article, “Some school districts tail parents to check where family actually lives,” discussed the lengths to which some parents go to enroll their child in a “desirable school
Charter School Funding: Inequity in the City
Jamie Davies O'LearyInequity in the City—the work of veteran authors of charter-school funding studies, including Inequity’s Next Frontier, Inequity Persists, and <
Join us for an important panel discussion: New research on interdistrict open enrollment
Ohio Education GadflyThe Thomas B. Fordham Institute is releasing a first-of-its-kind statewide analysis of interdistrict open enrollment. Using anonymous student-level data, Ohio State University professor Stéphane Lavertu and Deven Carlson of the University of Oklahoma examined the background characteristics of open enrollees along with their academic outcomes as gauged by state exams and graduation rates.
Charters and vouchers: Two peas in a pod
On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Jason Crye, and Alyssa Schwenk discuss how to win charter supporters over to the cause of school vouchers. During the Research Minute, David Griffith examines how No Child Left Behind influenced student behavior.
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.
What we know about school vouchers
On this week's podcast, special guest Matt Chingos, a senior fellow at the Urban In
Private school vouchers help level the playing field
Aaron ChurchillNOTE: This piece originally appeared in The Cincinnati Enquirer in a slightly different form.
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.
Three Signs That a Proposed Charter School Is at Risk of Failing
Anna Nicotera, David A. StuitIt’s well established that some charter schools do far better than others at educating their students. This variability has profound implications for the children who attend those schools. Yet painful experience shows that rebooting or closing a low-performing school is a drawn-out and excruciating process.
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.
Charters come to the Bluegrass State
On this week's podcast, Kentucky State Senator Mike Wilson joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss charter schools in the Bluegrass State, which recently passed its first charter law. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines efforts to improve content knowledge and comprehension for English language learners.
Leveraging ESSA to Support Quality-School Growth
Nelson Smith, Brandon L. WrightUnder the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal School Improvement Grants program is gone, but the goal of school improvement remains. States must now use seven percent of their Title I allocation for these efforts, but are no longer constrained by a prescribed menu of intervention options.
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.
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.
(No) Money in the Bank: Which Retirement Systems Penalize New Teachers?
A new teacher’s pension is supposed to be a perk. The truth is that for the majority of the nation’s new teachers, what they can anticipate in retirement benefits will be worth less than what they contributed to the system while they were in the classroom, even if they stay for decades.