Changing, growing, improving
Par Excellence Academy in Newark recently celebrated the full integration of STEM curricula into its K-6 education pathway, a transformation underway for some time. The school has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a local church basement, as evidenced by their well-outfitted facility and their distinguished guests on hand from medicine, manufacturing, science, and the arts. And they’re not done growing yet. A playground—designed, researched, and budgeted by third and fourth graders as part of their STEM-based design challenge—will be underway soon. It will include four-square, pickleball, and more. Congratulations to the entire school community.
A new option
Officials from Southern Ohio Career Academy staffed a booth at the Ross County Fair recently, looking to spread the word about what their new school could do to help high school age students who are behind in their education catch up and still earn a diploma. There’s still time for any interested Chillicothe-area families to apply. School starts September 18.
More info on 4 + 2
School starts next week for Canton Harbor High School, a northeast Ohio charter looking to “get creative” by moving away from a traditional five-days-a-week schedule. The move has already generated plenty of media attention; in a piece published this week, we learned some additional details about the new model. Called “4+2”, it involves four typical days and just two hours of learning time on Friday mornings. The principal says students will have the opportunity “to receive two hours of one-on-one time from peers and teachers in areas they may be struggling in, like math or reading.” Teachers will use the additional time without students in the building to collaborate, plan, and prepare lessons. The new schedule launches with the new school year.
Some things don’t change
Back in July, we raised the possibility that things were changing for the better in terms of charter school acceptance in Toledo. That was because a zoning panel allowed a permit request—for the L. Hollingworth School for the Talented and Gifted to open a daycare and preschool—to proceed upward to a final city council vote. At least two of the city council members who sat on that panel concurred at the time that the project was “worthy…to go forth” and violated no city regulations. Even if they weren’t overly enthusiastic. Fast forward to this week when the full city council denied the school’s request on a vote of 7-5, including a seeming change of heart and a “No” vote from one of those zoning panel members who had found the project “worthy” a month earlier. The school’s founder vowed to fight on, but he likely faces an uphill battle.
Cautious optimism
School started for many districts, charters, and private schools in the Dayton area this week. So far, folks are expressing cautious optimism around student transportation, according to this Dayton Daily News coverage. Limited information from the first days indicate fully-staffed routes, some late buses, but nothing like the widespread chaos of last year. However, we also learn that a number of charter schools have banded together and built their own transportation network for the first time, which is obviously a factor in making things simpler for those still reliant on district services.
Counting the money
In this piece from public media in northeast Ohio, school district officials and advocates are expressing continued unhappiness over school funding, despite huge increases provided to them via the recently-passed state budget. Breakthrough Schools’ John Zitzner is also interviewed, pointing out that charter schools in Ohio still receive less per pupil than districts. Fordham’s Chad Aldis spells it out even more clearly in this companion piece: State and local funding combine to put districts way out in front of everyone else. National media are echoing that sentiment, with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal discussing the findings of new research out of the University of Arkansas showing the wide disparity between charter and district funding in every state with charter schools.
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