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“Fanatical” work rarely results in good work
In the wake of the state budget bill’s prohibition on school districts paying to bus students via public transit if their route requires transferring at a central hub, leaders of Dayton City Schools tell the media that they are “working fanatically” to come up with a new way to offer transportation to high school students for the upcoming school year. Yep. That’s what we’re all afraid of: a plan created on short notice by folks with a manic fixation on “we’ll show them” than on actually solving the “getting kids safely and efficiently to and from school” problem which has eluded them for more than a decade already.
Funding support for early literacy
Gov. DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce yesterday announced $46 million in new grants to support continued implementation of the science of reading in public schools across the state. Three charter schools are included among the recipients, including one in Cleveland, which is mentioned in this coverage. In a press release, the governor said the money will fund daily reading instruction, literacy coaches, professional development for teachers and training to help families support literacy at home. Schools are also expected to partner with local organizations, like libraries and colleges, to reinforce learning beyond the classroom. Awesome stuff. You can check out the full list of recipients here.
School choice infrastructure in Ohio’s rural areas
Ohio State University professor and Fordham Institute Senior Research Fellow Stéphane Lavertu published a great piece this week looking at the landscape of school choice in Ohio’s low-income rural areas. Educational options look different outside the city, with more choices than you might think. Professor Lavertu also explains that the way families use those choices is different too. About three percent of children in rural areas attend charter schools, for example, and the vast majority of those attend online schools since brick-and-mortar charters are rare in those parts of the state. Interesting stuff.
Stopping the spin cold
Terry Ryan, CEO of the education nonprofit Bluum and Board Chair of the Idaho Charter School Network, published a commentary this week aimed at stemming the false narrative that the U.S. Supreme Court’s split decision on the St. Isidore Catholic charter school case opened the door for religious charters in Idaho. No idea who was touting such falsehoods in the Gem State, but Terry quotes chapter and verse to clearly spell out their inaccuracy.
Pre-gaming
Most charter schools in California will need to seek renewal in the next three years. In this piece from EdSource, charter advocates express concerns that a surge in complaints about and scrutiny into Golden State charters reflect a strategy by opponents to influence the process early. It seems the idea is for critics to take a handful of legitimate concerns about charter accountability and management and spin them into sector-wide criticisms as well as stringent new legislation that would ultimately serve to disadvantage as many schools as possible come renewal time. We should probably discover whether this troubling supposition is true soon enough.
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