Teachers thriving
The EdChoice organization, in partnership with Morning Consult, surveyed a nationally representative sample of teachers on a wide range of subjects in April and May of this year. An article in Forbes this week details one interesting aspect of the findings: teacher wellbeing. On the upside, more than half of all teachers feel a “sense of purpose” and “hopeful” when thinking about the future, although more than 60 percent also reported feeling overwhelmed. However, when these overall data are disaggregated to charter, private, and district teacher groups, a serious divide emerges. A notable 66 percent of charter school teachers said that they were thriving, as compared to 69 percent of private school teachers and just 41 percent of traditional district school teachers. Additionally, a much higher percentage of charter and private school teachers were deemed as “promoters” of the teaching profession—recommending it to family and friends as a career—than were their traditional district peers. Lots to unpack in these interesting survey questions and responses. You can find the full report here.
Year end kudos
Newark High School senior Makenzie Adams graduated as co-valedictorian this week. In this profile piece, she and her mom give credit for her early educational success to local charter school Par Excellence Academy, boosted by the opportunities she took advantage of in Newark City Schools later on. She’ll be attending Ohio University in the fall, with the help of The Gates Scholarship, awarded to only 750 students nationwide out of 51,000 applicants. Kudos!
Looking forward to next year
Springfield native and Ohio State University football standout Braxton Miller was on hand for the unveiling of a new charter school—Springfield Sports Academy—which will open this fall. Miller is an appropriate partner and supporter of the unique sports-centric education model planned for the new school. Take a look at this great coverage.
And also next year…
The second year of operation for West Virginia Virtual Academy will include some exciting dual enrollment opportunities for students to earn free college credit, thanks to a new partnership with Pierpont Community and Technical College announced earlier this week. All eligible students, freshman and above, will be able to take college classes remotely, concurrent with their high school courses, starting this fall. Amazing growth for charters in the Mountain State.
Research on retention
Ohio Excels and the Ohio Education Research Center (OERC) released a study this week on the academic impact of retaining students under Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee and providing them with extra support. Rigorous analysis shows substantial academic progress among those who repeated third grade, which persists at least through seventh grade. This is important data for consideration by lawmakers as they debate the future of the retention mandate in the Guarantee.
*****
Did you know you can have every edition of the Ohio Charter News Weekly sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
