The big news of the week
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated more than $133 million to the Communities in Schools Network, a nonprofit whose mission is to support students at risk of dropping out of school through a wide variety of in- and out-of-school programming across the country. The organization’s Columbus-based affiliate, which serves district and charter school students primarily in central Ohio area, will receive $2 million as part of the larger donation.
What happens in Indy…
As we noted last month, Indianapolis Public Schools agreed to share proceeds of a previous funding referendum with a number of affiliated charter schools in the state. A new law wending its way through the Indiana legislature would make such fund-sharing a requirement in the future. HB 1072 passed the House this week by a vote of 52-39 and advanced to the Senate where it will be heard first in the Appropriations Committee.
A “better route” to give parents choice
A blog post written by two Kennesaw State University economics professors and published by the Education Freedom Institute suggests that empirical evidence of charter school success is a better guide for parents than other informational resources available to them. They have a new report on states’ “charter school ecosystems” which explains their idea in detail.
Getting report cards right
Aaron Churchill of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute published a blog post looking at the on-the-ground implementation of new school report cards in Ohio. A committee of the state board of education has been diligently working to operationalize the report card framework passed by the General Assembly last year and the blog post digs deep into the nuances of that effort which will impact both district and charter schools.
College scholarships
Grand Valley State University outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, authorizes 80 charter schools across the Mitten State which graduate between 900 and 1,000 students each year. This week, GVSU announced that every graduate from those schools would be eligible for a $1,000 annual scholarship to help them attend the university. A fantastic incentive for students to get to and through college. Kudos!
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