West Virginia charter update
While the opening of one brick-and-mortar building in Nitro fell afoul of zoning issues, delaying it for a full year, the other four brand new charter schools in West Virginia are now open for the year. Kudos to all and best wishes for a great year of learning!
Continuing transportation woes
Transportation issues continued for students in Dayton, and students in Kettering joined them in difficulty as the new school year entered its second week. As ever, students exercising school choice were disproportionately affected. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Madeline Mitchell recounted a deeply personal story of how such school bus failures negatively impact very young children.
California parents chose charters
The most recent iteration of an annual poll conducted by Policy Analysis for California (PACE) and the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education included a number of questions intended to explain the sharp decline in K-12 student enrollment during the pandemic. Results indicate that over a quarter of California parents moved their children to a new school during these years, with most saying they wanted a different experience for their child or were dissatisfied with Covid protocols and learning and mental health supports. 23 percent of parents reported moving their children to charter schools over this time, an eight point increase over pre-pandemic switches. An additional 28 percent of parents surveyed who are now considering switching their child’s school are more likely to do so due to dissatisfaction with the quality of instruction at their current school. Charters likely stand to benefit again.
Parents more engaged than ever in education
New national survey data from NAPCS and The Harris Poll indicate that parents are more involved in decisions related to education than ever before. 93 percent of parents value school choice and 86 percent specifically want options other than the district school they are assigned to attend. Charters remain a popular choice among parents who switched school type, however they have fallen to second choice behind homeschooling, likely fueled by a strong desire for student safety which was also picked up in the data. Nearly 90 percent of parents who switched schools are happy with the choices they made and a majority say that their child is happier after switching schools.
Charter facilities grant application time
The application window for the third round of Community School Classroom Facilities grants from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission is now open. Nearly $12 million is available for eligible, high-performing schools across the state. More information and application materials are available here.
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