This is our first edition of 2023. Happy New Year to all! It covers news from December 15, 2022 – January 6, 2023.
Looking back at 2022 pt 1 – Indianapolis
In its last meeting of 2022, the elected board of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) tabled a proposed vote to place a $413.6 million property-tax referendum on the May 2023 primary ballot. The reason? Criticism from charter advocates who believe that the district should share revenue from that levy with them. The district superintendent had previously stated that no such sharing would occur. Also in Indy just before Christmas, the Indiana Charter School Network filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office against IPS, alleging that the district has failed to comply with a state law requiring it to offer unused school buildings to charter schools for $1. A district reorganization plan coming into effect would close up to seven buildings, but charter advocates say officials are looking for other takers of the surplus property and are not abiding by the law that gives charters right of first refusal. More to come on both of these stories as 2023 continues.
Looking back at 2022 pt 2 – Dayton
The Dayton Daily News ran a series of pieces in late December looking at the postsecondary options available to area seniors as they look toward graduation in the spring. These include students from Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) who are considering trade school or a short-term certificate rather than a traditional four-year college pathway. Of course, for many of those students, four-year college is their goal. And thanks to DECA and their own hard work, they are ready to achieve it.
Onward to 2023 pt 1 – Teacher diversity
The co-founder of Roxbury Prep High School in Boston published a piece in CommonWealth Magazine in December describing her school’s plan for solving an ongoing teacher shortage while also boosting the diversity of the teaching corps. At the same time, the National Charter School Resource Center published a report on the same topic, providing strategies to help charter leaders recruit, retain, and sustain more teachers of color. And as we move further into 2023, NCSRC will be holding a webinar on the strategies found in the report. It will be held on Thursday, January 12, at 3:00 pm ET. For more information and to register for the event, click here.
Onward to 2023 pt 2 – School transportation
A top-to-bottom revamp of student transportation routes in Columbus launched on January 2 when many charter and private schools returned from the holiday break. Things seemed to go reasonably well on that first day (at least in the morning), but on January 3, when district students returned as well, things seemed to go…less well for everyone. On January 4, while commenting on ongoing problems, Columbus City Schools officials pointed out that they had more than enough drivers on staff to cover all of the routes (as well as hundreds of routes covered by a third party contractor), thus eliminating “driver shortage” from the official list of explanations. If problems persist for district, charter, and private school students, hopefully the real issues will be quickly addressed.
National School Choice Week 2023!
The annual celebration known as National School Choice Week will run from January 22 – 28, 2023. Supporters of charters, vouchers, homeschooling, and more can join others from all around the country to draw attention to the vital options different types of schools provide for students who need them.
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
