One mom, one kid, one amazing story
“When my son was in school, I just felt like he wasn’t challenged and was always underestimated,” said Phoenix mom Diana Diaz-Harrison. “I was always told what he couldn't do, because he had a disability. And that’s not how I wanted my son or other kids to be seen.” So she founded Arizona Autism Charter School to make sure that opportunity was available. Here’s a great feature on the school as it prepared to open its second campus. Even better, that second campus is focused on postsecondary education and entrepreneurship training—a huge boost for students with autism.
More voices for choice
While the topic is education reform generally, the important speakers in EdChoice’s new documentary From Our Perspective cover school choice, vouchers, and charter schools as part of their discussion. How could they not when the film’s goal is to lift up vital Black voices leading the charge for more and better educational options for their kids? Education leaders Naomi Shelton and Curtis Valentine lead conversations with Chris Stewart, Michael Phillips, Alisha Thomas Morgan (Searcy), Dr. Kathaleena Edward Monds, Dr. Charles Cole, Sekou Biddle, India Johnson, Deirdra Reed, and Ohio’s own Walter Blanks, Jr., covering their past challenges, standing victories, and future work ahead in this ongoing effort.
Past/future
Speaking of history, Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, has a new book out looking at the past 20 years of education reforms in Los Angeles. Former LAUSD president Caprice Young reviewed “When Schools Work” for EdNext, saying that Fuller “makes a righteous effort to capture more than 150 years of history, uncovers fascinating recurring patterns, and ably depicts the wildly complex, kaleidoscopic landscape of evolving L.A. education politics.” Her insider knowledge of the topic makes for a review as interesting as the book itself.
Deep dive into charter authorization
Perhaps a bit less scintillating but no less important is a new report from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers: A comprehensive study of the numbers and types of authorizers extant across the country, the size of their portfolios, and how their work has changed from 2016 to 2020. Their three most pressing areas of discussion: Fewer authorizers now oversee more schools, the churn among school district authorizers, and innovation as the key to quality in the charter sector.
More research
CREDO is out with its latest charter school performance study, looking at Denver, Memphis, and Baton Rouge and using data from 2016-2019. Broadly speaking, charter schools boosted student performance overall in these cities vs. traditional district schools; however, each city’s school choice ecosystem is a little bit different and there is some evidence that parents are gravitating toward whichever school they can access that is the highest performing. Sometimes it’s charters and sometimes it’s a district-run school of choice. A fascinating analysis worth a read.
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