Ohio Charter News will not be distributed next week due to the holiday. Our next edition will publish on December 2. Happy Thanksgiving!
Grand opening
Fredrick Douglass High School held a grand opening event earlier this month as it launched a new campus in Euclid, Ohio. “We have a variety of talented staff from different fields and backgrounds that are passionate about teaching the next generation,” said principal Scott Caldwell. “We are a community school that caters to students that don’t fit the traditional setting. We offer a smaller, quiet, and more intimate space for our students to learn.” Best wishes to students, staff, and families!
Excellence
Growing up in Gahanna, Ohio, Gisele James did not like school. But she did love learning and her postsecondary education and subsequent career path led her to teaching. “I started out as a substitute teacher of a class of non-traditional students who did not like school,” she said. “I immediately fell in love with my students and was excited about planning fun and engaging lessons!” That began a lifelong career in education and today she is the principal at Par Excellence Academy in Newark, Ohio. You can see more of her story in this profile published in the Newark Advocate.
The view from Indy
The war of words on the editorial pages of the Indy Star continued this week, with a piece from Derrick J. Miller. The longtime manager of an Indianapolis community center (and former State of Indiana and Midwest Citizen of the Year awardee) says that the Indianapolis School District should consolidate and sell its underutilized buildings for the betterment of the whole community, including the charter school students who would benefit from new, larger, and better facilities.
More than a million STEM students strong
The CEO of research giant Battelle published an op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch this week, describing the history of the Ohio STEM Learning Network. It began with the creation of the state’s first independent STEM school, included big boosts to the PAST Foundation and KIPP Columbus, expanded to other states, and has now culminated in the connection of over 1.4 million students with high quality opportunities to experience science, technology, engineering and math instruction. An important education story worth telling.
Unionization effort reportedly underway
The Columbus Dispatch reported this week that teachers and other staff members at KIPP Columbus were pursuing an effort at forming a union.
Radical revamp
Saying that “This has not been right from the get-go,” Columbus City Schools officials announced this week they were in the midst of a top-to-bottom revamp of student transportation. It includes engaging two bus routing software packages and changing the busing assignments of every student using district transportation, including charter and private school attendees. The new effort to combat longstanding problems for thousands of students will be rolled out on January 3. Key to the success of the revamp will be communication to families and cooperation with schools of choice. Interim state superintendent Stephanie Siddens and Ohio Department of Education staffers brought together key district and charter leaders in Columbus to try and reestablish common ground ahead of the final push. Fingers crossed for a smooth and successful launch.
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