The best charter school-related story you’ll read this week
Often in the rhetoric and policy arguments about charter schools, it is easy to lose focus on the students being served. This profile of 12 year old Trevonne Groves, Jr., a student at Dayton Leadership Academies, will restore the balance in the most important of ways. Seeing Dayton through Trevonne’s eyes as he plays tour guide is a rare and beautiful reminder of how awesome kids are and how important our work can be. And don’t miss the photos!
And this good news isn’t far behind
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute last week released a new report titled “Rising Tide: Charter School Market Share and Student Achievement”. Using a new data source, this first-of-its kind analysis found that an increase of charter market share led to strong achievement gains for black and Hispanic students in both urban and rural areas, regardless whether those students were in charters or traditional district schools. Matt Barnum provided some excellent context for these findings in his analysis in Chalkbeat.
The significance cannot be overstated
The importance of Fordham’s findings were such that the editorial staff of the Wall Street Journal felt compelled to comment positively on them. The title alone—“Charter Schools Ace another Test”—should provide a deserved boost for charter supporters.
More positive research findings
While peer review is not yet completed, a working paper out of Tufts University indicates some significant academic boosts for English language learners and students with special needs in Boston’s charter schools, as compared to their traditional district peers. The 74 provides an early look at the encouraging results.
Maybe yoga is not so good for you after all
Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, now campaign chair for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid is twisting herself into rhetorical pretzels trying to distance her past support for education reform in the Buckeye State with her current staunch stance for the status quo.
