Celebrating
What better way to celebrate National Charter Schools Week than by debunking yet another pernicious myth? New research utilizing data from Newark, New Jersey, provides the most compelling evidence yet that students who enroll in charter schools are less likely to leave than those who enroll in traditional district schools, including English language learners and students with disabilities.
Cleveland changemaker
Additionally, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools took the occasion to celebrate a group of 30 young and dynamic changemakers from across the country—including Amira Thomas, Director of Randall Park High School in Cleveland—who are making a meaningful impact in their community via the arts, writing, and sports; education and politics; leadership; science; and social justice. Kudos!
Best bet
National Charter Collaborative CEO Naomi N. Shelton partnered with NACSA President Karega Rausch to pen an op-ed to foreground the importance of the “the genius, creativity, and innovation” that has long been overlooked and undervalued in communities of color. They write that this community power—often the motivating force in charter schools—is the best bet for moving education forward after more than a year of pandemic disruption.
The view from Wisconsin
Coulee Region Virtual Academy is a fully-online charter school created in 2020 when traditional schools were closed to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Many were skeptical that fully-online education could work—not least of which were the teachers coming to the model brand new. Data and anecdotes suggest that not only did kids and adults adjust to the model, many of them actually thrived in it and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The view from Texas…and beyond
Another pandemic-era innovation—the microschool—has found success in many areas of the country. Here’s a look at Great Hearts Microschools from the perspective of a group of San Antonio parents who are passionate about the learning model and have high hopes for serving their own children and likely those in many other communities across the country as Great Hearts expands.
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