Ohio champion
Austin Osner is a 15-year-old Taekwondo phenom from Fairfield, Ohio, with victories in both national and international tournaments. He is also a rising junior at Ohio Virtual Academy. In this profile piece, we learn that Austin’s family chose a virtual charter school not only to facilitate his training and competition schedule but also because he faced bullying in his previous traditional school. Austin will continue his school work and his athletic training at full speed, with hopes to make the U.S. National Paralympic team as early as 2024. Fantastic!
Reversal
The Hillsborough (FL) County School Board this week reversed a previous vote and agreed to keep open four high performing charter schools whose contract renewals it had rejected earlier in the month. Along with passionate public support for the schools, a promise from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to withhold funding if the board did not follow state law regarding the renewals led to the reversal.
The view from Texas
Strong family and community interest is being cited for the establishment of a new charter school in Bastrop, Texas. Founders Classical Academy will open next month, serving grades three through eight, providing the community with a new and already-popular educational option. “We knew we had the demand for a new school,” said one of the cofounders of the parent network that formed to support the school’s creation, “We just needed a school to see the potential”.
The view from Hawaii
Kualapuʻu Charter on the island of Molokai was in the midst of a curriculum overhaul which was working to boost student achievement when the pandemic hit. While their students struggled with remote learning, officials say the strong student engagement they had been working to instill helped keep kids moving forward. Once they returned to fully in-person learning, school officials were confident their overhaul would continue.
ICYMI
Last week’s virtual panel discussion marking the 30th anniversary of charter schools is now available for viewing if you weren’t able to attend live. The event was sponsored by the Progressive Policy Institute and The 74. Speakers included Myrna Castrejón, president of the California Charter Schools Association, and Karega Rausch, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Former president Bill Clinton, who signed the federal Charter School Program into law in 1994, offered opening remarks.
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