On the ground
The Cleveland Public Library is teaming up with local nonprofit PCs for People to help get computers and Wi-Fi hotspots in the hands of Cuyahoga County residents who need them, including K-12 students and their families. An important and valuable effort.
Kindergarten drought?
The Columbus Dispatch this week reported that most school districts in central Ohio are seeing a sizeable decrease in the number of Kindergarten students enrolled this year as compared to last. The culprit is said to be Covid-19, with one parental anecdote from the ‘burbs provided. The piece takes pains to worry about parents choosing charter schools instead, “taking” money from those districts along the way; although those fears do not seem to be attributed to any individuals, especially district officials. Nor are there any anecdotes or data connected to them.
Providing some evidence
ABC6 News in Columbus looked a little harder to try and figure out where local families were choosing to send their students this fall, noting that Columbus City Schools’ overall attendance has dropped by around 2,000 students from the end of last school year to the start of this. They talked to one parent who opted for a private Christian school so her son could attend school in person and one who opted for an online charter school so her son would not have to attend school in person during the coronavirus pandemic. While some data of comings and goings is provided—and welcomed—it is clear that schooling decisions are far more complicated for parents than straight up numbers can show.
Following the student
Discussion ramped up this week over a proposed new school funding plan in the General Assembly. Among many other changes in the current iteration of the bill, direct funding for charter and voucher students—which would be a monumental change to the district deduction funding method currently in place.
Far from the ground
It was announced this week that Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education, is heading up the education transition team for President-Elect Biden.
Learning opportunity
The National Charter School Resource Center is featuring a new three-part virtual series called Leading in the Unknown, featuring charter sector experts providing provide real world applications on topics such as maintaining a strategic focus, tracking success, and sustaining impact. All of these are presented through a lens of moving forward while adapting to a changing environment. You can learn more about the series and access the various modules here.
