Stories featured in Ohio Charter News Weekly may require a paid subscription to read in full.
Celebrating Ohio students
Kudos to the three Ohio Connections Academy students who received the school’s Community Service Recognition Award this year. Here’s a look at one of those awardees, recent graduate Sage Robinson of Columbus. She is a member of the YMCA Teen Leaders Club, works at the Y’s annual Thanksgiving Day 5K race, and regularly volunteers at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
School choice takes root
National Public Media outlet WFYI in Indianapolis dug into school attendance data across the state and determined that “school choice has never been more popular in Indiana” than it is right now. The variety of options—as well as the ease of opting in—has increasingly led parents to make choices beyond their residentially-assigned district school. Nearly 1 in 5 Hoosier students attend a school other than their home district today (up from 1 in 13 ten years ago), with interdistrict open enrollment, charter schools, and private schools all popular options. Great stuff.
Enshrining choice
A signature-gathering effort is underway in Colorado. If successful, Initiative #138 will be placed on the November ballot, aiming to enshrine the right to educational choice in the state constitution. Supporters of the effort say that despite decades of bipartisan support for charters and other school options, legislative efforts to protect traditional school districts at the expense of charter schools and parental choice are on the rise. Only by writing it into the constitution will Centennial State families be assured that their right to choose the best education for their children will be fully protected.
Illinois lawsuit
Three charter school networks this week sued both Chicago Schools’ and Illinois’ state education boards, looking to strike down a recently-enacted state law that is intended to make it easier for charter school teachers to unionize in the state. The Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Intrinsic Schools, and the Montessori Network, claim that provisions of the law violate their free speech and property rights, and is preempted by federal labor law. “The act,” they say, “is a state regulatory measure that seeks to advance Illinois’ chosen labor policies in direct contravention of the rights guaranteed to charter schools and their employees under the National Labor Relations Act.”
How to be ready to apply for a federal grant
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently released a video series intended to help smaller charters, especially those operating as their own local educational agencies (LEAs), get ready to compete for federal education grants alongside larger and better-resourced networks. Topics include project selection, building internal capacity, writing a competitive application, planning for implementation, and more. The videos share wisdom and strategies from grant writers with long experience and success. You can check out all the videos here.
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
