One win, but maybe more to come
Tressa Pankovits, co-director of Reinventing America’s Schools at the Progressive Policy Institute opined this week that the revised Charter School Program rules issued by the U.S. Department of Education are a win for charter advocates. Unfortunately, she continues, it took thousands of dedicated voices and tremendous effort to achieve “slightly less burdensome rules” from a federal bureaucracy which is determinedly against school choice. And, she warns, the Biden administration and its allies show no signs of backing down from that stance, even now.
Shining lights
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week featured three charter school networks on their blog—two in Georgia and one in New York City—which they deemed exemplary in educating and caring for their students during the Covid pandemic. The difficulties they faced, the innovations they tested, and the victories they won will likely all sound familiar. Kudos to you all for your tremendous efforts.
Welcome to the Bureaucracy Zone
Officials at West Virginia’s first charter schools, scheduled to open little more than a month from now, are reporting a tremendous amount of red tape, confusion, and delay as they try to assist their teachers and staff members in signing up for the state’s Teachers’ Retirement System and the Public Employees insurance Agency. Some folks brush it off as “growing pains”, but others see a more deliberate obstruction of the process.
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