Op-ed calls for increase in charter school facility funding
Nina Rees, President and CEO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), and Fordham’s Chad Aldis wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Plain Dealer this week. Rees and Aldis discuss how charter schools are thriving, despite lackluster funding and how “Governor DeWine and the new state legislature can score a major win for educational equality and opportunity by providing more funding for public charter school facilities.”
Toledo’s bilingual charter school receives praise
The Toledo Blade published a piece yesterday highlighting the impressive work and growth of Toledo’s only bilingual school, Toledo SMART Bilingual Elementary. The K-5 charter school opened in 2014 with the hopes of catering to Toledo’s Spanish speaking population. Many parents value the school, reporting that they’ve noticed drastic improvements in their children’s abilities to speak and comprehend both English and Spanish since enrolling.
Debate on Ohio charter school funding
William Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Advocacy of School Funding, and Fordham’s Aaron Churchill recently published pro and con op-eds in the Columbus Dispatch on providing charter school students with more state funding. James Cowardin, from Columbus, weighs in on the pro side. Finally, Churchill responds to some of the assertions made by Phillis here.
Debunking the charter school “for profit” myth
Kat Sullivan of NAPCS recently wrote a new blog addressing the misconception that charter schools are for-profit entities. She discusses the similarities between all charters, the different management structures, and where the confusion really stems from (management organizations with for-profit tax status).
School Performance Institute workshop
Are you a school leader interested in purposefully designing your school for improvement? Then you should check out the School Performance Institute’s upcoming workshop on February 21st. You’ll have an opportunity to visit a high-performing charter school during a school day (to observe how the school has been purposefully designed to get results in a high-poverty context using proven methods) and discuss concrete ways to apply these ideas in your own school. You can register here, if interested, or contact John A. Dues for more information.
