Praise for school choice expansion in Ohio
The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal had positive words for the school choice provisions enacted via the state budget bill here in Ohio. Voucher expansion is high on their list, as is the increase in funding that brings charter schools closer to parity with their traditional district peers than ever before. “The new law is also a step toward fairness for charter schools,” they write, spelling out the boosts in base funding, facilities funding, and the supplement for high-quality charters “The average brick-and-mortar Ohio charter school will receive roughly 85 percent of district-school funding, up from 70 percent currently.”
Other provisions of importance in the state budget
Fordham’s Jessica Poiner provided a detailed analysis of new efforts to address Ohio’s teacher pipeline issues enacted via the state budget: Improving teacher pay, expanding the pool of substitutes, investing in Grow Your Own programs, and making teacher licensure more flexible. These important changes will impact charter schools as much or more than traditional district schools. Another closely-watched issue: changes to the third grade reading guarantee. School districts were initially unclear as to whether the elimination of mandatory retention in the budget applied to children who just completed third grade in the 2022–23 school year. The Ohio Department of Education issued guidance earlier this week clarifying that timeline. You can read the detailed guidance, covering 2022–23 and 2023–24 requirements, here.
The past and the future
Here’s a great look at Youngstown Preparatory Academy, a three-year-old charter school in the city headquartered in a 100-year-old former Catholic school building. The passion of founder Timothy Freeman for serving the students of Youngstown is clear in every word and the historic building seems to fit the school’s mission perfectly. Registration for fall is now open.
Mythbusting via podcast
If you haven’t checked out NACSA’s Get Schooled on Public Education podcast yet, now is a great time to do so. Fordham’s David Griffith was the guest on this week’s edition, explaining how charters are both the same as (free, open to all, etc.) and different than (independent from districts, overseen by an authorizer, etc.) traditional public schools. Good stuff.
The view from Scotland
A group of students from the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School in Massachusetts will be spending part of their summer break in Scotland, performing an original adaptation of Peter Pan at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A huge honor for these young people and a summer trip that they probably won’t forget. “All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust. The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
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