Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full.
Many underenrolled school buildings in Columbus
A recent news article has revealed stunningly low enrollment rates in a number of Columbus City Schools buildings across the city. The data indicate inefficient use of public resources (utilities, staffing, transportation, and more) and flies in the face of Ohio’s efforts to give charter schools access to exactly these types of underutilized facilities. Fordham’s Aaron Churchill lays out the problems made clear by these data and urges a solution to end waste and duplication for the benefit of students and families.
Going private
A charter school in Indiana recently petitioned the State Board of Education to convert to a private school when its charter expires at the end of this school year. Initial coverage of the effort focused on the “rocky history” of The Genius School, a K-6 charter in northeast Indianapolis, including a failed attempt to switch sponsors prior to exploring the possibility of conversion. The board, however, found no grounds to reject the petition and voted unanimously to accept the private-school conversion request on Wednesday.
Charter innovation pt. 1 – Louisiana
Learning pods, a pandemic-era innovation that arose among homeschool families to support (or supplement) extended virtual learning, are not only sticking around in the post-Covid education environment, they are even being embraced by more-typical schools. Louisiana’s University View Academy, a previously-virtual-only charter based in Baton Rouge, is launching place-based pods for small groups of its students to help personalize their educational experience. But even brick-and-mortar charter operators in the state are getting in on the act. Discovery Schools in Kenner are now operating “Discovery Fusion”, a mix of online and in-person instruction for its students in what they call the “first hybrid charter school” in the state.
Charter innovation pt. 2 – New York
The New York Times took a look at the extended day program at Brooklyn Charter School in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood. It’s an experiment that started this school year and seems very popular with parents. The story labels it a “12-hour school day”, but the details show that before- and after-care are separate (and optional) from the regular school schedule. However, parents and kids appreciate how the staff integrates all the activities—including homework, meals, and academic enrichment—with the curriculum.
Follow-ups
Two weeks ago, we covered Colorado House Bill 24-1363, which would, among other things, allow traditional districts the ability to revoke a charter if that district’s enrollment was decreasing, allow community members to appeal an approved charter, and end the no-cost allowance for charters to rent district facilities. That bill was heard in the state’s House Education Committee this week and failed to advance on a bi-partisan vote of 3-8. Last week, we talked about the lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) by the California Charter Schools Association, challenging the district’s new policy that aims to limit charter co-locations within hundreds of distict buildings. The Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Daily News came out in favor of the legal action, calling it a “needed challenge” to LAUSD’s misguided overstep. “The plain fact is,” they write, “that the ability to access public school campuses by charter schools…is guaranteed by California law.” And they conclude by telling district leaders: “Instead of legislating away the competition, put the interests of students above all others. Craft budgets that are about student achievement, not just appeasing big-spending labor unions or protecting bloated bureaucracies. You know, do something other than what LAUSD has been doing for decades.”
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
