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Getting kids to school…and to value school
Local TV news ran two pieces on Franklinton High School, a dropout recovery charter school in Columbus, this week. Their main focus is to show how school leaders are working to reduce student absenteeism, including buying a fleet of small vans to help kids who need it get to and from school. But this interview with three current students—all of whom were not well-served in other schools—shows that there’s much more to Franklinton’s model to help students succeed. All three young people have found new value in showing up to learn and new direction for their future by working hard to earn a diploma. All thanks to their new school.
The wheels on these buses are not identical
Elected board members of Allentown (PA) School District voted this week to revise a raft of rules related to charter school students living in their district boundaries, including enshrining their determination that “transportation provided to charter school students need not be identical to transportation provided to traditional public school students” into the rules. What on earth could this mean? Perhaps it could be good (as in: charter students can use small vans rather than the big yellow buses required for district students). Perhaps it could be very bad (as in: district students get picked up at their homes; charter students have to leap onto a moving vehicle that might or might not slow down). Place your bets now!
Outperforming
New state data from Tennessee shows that charter school students in Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville generally outperformed their traditional district peers on state tests last year. “These results show what is possible when great leaders are given the flexibility and autonomy to meet the unique needs of their students and communities,” said Tennessee Charter School Center CEO Elizabeth Fiveash in response to the data. “We celebrate the great work of our charter school leaders, teachers, and most importantly, students and look forward to continuing this momentum into this coming year.”
Charters and districts working together – pt. 1
It’s not all Us vs. Them out there. In Washington, D.C., the municipal government has created a first-of-its-kind school safety office to help both D.C. Public Schools and charter schools in the city to enhance safety for all of their students. This includes incident response teams as well as preventative measures both inside and outside of all buildings. Awesome news!
Charters and districts working together – pt. 2
Meanwhile, the new paradigm in Indianapolis—where district and charter schools are now overseen by a single governance entity—has resulted in unprecedented teamwork on behalf of a November levy ask. All public schools will benefit from the money that levy will raise, and so both district and charter supporters are working together to get out the vote and to knock on doors across the city asking for a yes vote.
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