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New panelists announced; last change to register for October 17 event!
Has more equitable funding improved Ohio charter schools? Join us for an in-person event in Columbus on Thursday, October 17, to find out! Senior Research Fellow for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and professor at The Ohio State University, Stéphane Lavertu, will be presenting his analysis about the impacts of Ohio’s Quality Community School Support Fund. Discussing those findings will be a panel of charter leaders including Anthony Gatto, Executive Director of Arts and College Preparatory Academy (ACPA) and Ciji Pittman, Superintendent of KIPP:Columbus. The event will be held at the Athletic Club of Columbus. Doors open at 8:30 am – with a light breakfast available – and the program begins at 9:00 am. Register now to attend!
Charter enrollment surges
Important new research released this week by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools looks at school enrollment trends across the country over the last five years. That is, before, during, and after pandemic-disrupted school years. Overall, the charter sector is showing significant growth while traditional district schools have seen sharp enrollment declines. The charter surge is led increasingly by Hispanic and Black students and charter schools are outperforming expectations based on documented population changes across most states. You can download the full report here.
Even more good news
More important research: The Progressive Policy Institute’s latest report shows that charter school expansion in several cities has contributed to a substantive reduction in the achievement gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers. The analysis looks specifically at student performance in 10 U.S. cities with the largest charter sectors (including Dayton) between 2011 and 2023. Overall, cities that have aggressively expanded high-quality charters have seen what PPI terms “a true rising tide”: Low-income students starting to catch up to statewide student performance levels, regardless of whether they attend one of those charters or a district-operated school. This effect is particularly pronounced when at least one-third of a city’s students are enrolled in a charter (or “charter-like”) public school. Incredible news! You can read the full report here.
More high-quality charter schools needed
Fordham Institute president Mike Petrilli cites the new NAPCS report in a blog post this week. In it, he notes that the population of school-age children will likely continue to decline for many years to come. That means more schools will have to close—including charters—but that doesn’t mean the charter sector shouldn’t continue to expand. And the key is quality. “Let’s remember what we stand for, charter community: quality choices for families,” he concludes, noting that low-performing schools of all kinds should be first on the chopping block. “As long as [quality choices] are scarce, we need more great charter schools, not fewer.”
Speaking of school closures…
It is still the case that charter schools can close due to lack of enrollment, and Victory Academy in Toledo will unfortunately do so next Friday. While the school’s closure mid-year is a worst-case scenario, this coverage indicates that school leaders are doing everything they can to mitigate the upheaval for families. This includes timing the closure for the end of a grading period, inviting as many other schools as possible to conduct a school fair on site so families can make informed choices of where to go, and facilitating paperwork transfer to smooth the transition.
Petitioning the court
Leaders of the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and Oklahoma’s charter school board filed petitions last week with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to take up their case and rule on the legality of the first religiously-affiliated charter school proposed in the country.
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