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The data—and the details—on chronic absenteeism
Kudos to the Columbus Dispatch for digging deeply into the issue of chronic student absenteeism in charter schools in Franklin County and around the state. Not only do they include data analysis from Fordham’s Aaron Churchill, but they also solicited commentary from two charter leaders. United Schools’ Andy Boy said, “When you don’t have reliable transportation, it’s going to impact your attendance. We don't have control of our transportation unless we take it over on our own.” Which, of course, he has done for the first time this year. Christopher Bond, director of YouthBuild Community School, pointed out that poor attendance at other schools was likely the reason why many of his students ended up with him. “Dropout recovery provides a different equation for a student that’s tried traditional, and they can’t figure it out,” he said. “I think for dropout recovery — it can’t be the excuse…” [for attendance issues and absenteeism] “…it can’t be the why… You have to dig deep and try to find alternative messages ... trying different ways to reach these students and give them a sense of resiliency they haven’t encountered, or weren’t aware of.” Great to see those important stories getting out there.
Specialized schools for student needs
Here is a fantastic, in-depth look at South Florida Autism Charter School (SFACS) outside Miami. It was founded in 2009 to provide area families with a public school tailored specifically for children on the autism spectrum. It began in a library with just 81 students. Today its two-story facility sits on a large campus and services nearly 300 students ranging from kindergarten through age 22. It also provides resources and services, like housing and employment, for adults with severe autism. SFACS is likened to Columbus’ own Oakstone Academy, and it is noted that Ohio, Texas, and Florida collectively account for around 40 percent of total nationwide enrollment in charters dedicated to serving students with special needs. Awesome!
Another week, another big announcement
Spectrum News Ohio reported this week that ResponsiveEd, one of the largest charter networks in the country, was awarded $72 million from the U.S. Department of Education to provide better quality charter school experiences for its students. Chuck Cook, CEO of ResponsiveEd, said, “For over 25 years, we have provided innovative, personalized learning environments, and we are excited to expand our impact, helping more students reach their goals, succeed academically, and transform their futures across four states.” Ohio being one of those states.
Hope-ful
Florida’s Schools of Hope legislation is already having an impact. The program allows charter operators to take up space in any district building whose utilization is below a certain threshold and whose academic performance has fallen below specific parameters for 2 of the previous 3 years. Seems like a lot of criteria, but there are apparently dozens of buildings that meet the definition and charter operators are already reaching out to those districts to ask for space as soon as they are allowed access by law. The new rules require districts to give up the space and to pay maintenance, security, student transportation, and food service costs for qualified charter operators. Objections to requests will be heard by the state, but only minimal reasons for denial are seen in the language. Traditional district supporters are sounding the alarm across the state.
Overturned
Back in July, the elected school board of Jackson-Madison County School System in Tennessee voted to deny the application of a charter school to open in their district, citing financial concerns, among other things. It was the second attempt of the school to meet the board’s demands. Leaders of the Jackson Museum Charter School appealed to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission and this week the denial was overturned. The school is now back on course to open in fall of 2026, but there’s still one more sticky issue: The elected school board would typically be the authorizer for any new charter established there, as per Tennessee law, but it seems unlikely a majority of members will vote in favor of this arrangement now. Luckily, the state could take up the mantle if the board votes against it. Another twisty tale to watch.
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