First first day
Congratulations to the students, staff, and families of Springfield Sports Academy on the start of their inaugural school year. The new school looks to connect the benefits of athletics and academics for all its students and boasts former Ohio State University football standout Braxton Miller, a Springfield native, as a supporter. Have a great year, everyone!
Taking steps toward that first first day
Southeast Ohio Classical Academy recently took two significant steps toward its impending opening in Hocking County: Acquiring a building—a former district school in Haydensville—and naming its founding principal. Tim Allen grew up in nearby Vinton County and has an extensive background in education, including teaching American history, English language arts, and American government in grades 7 through 12. Kudos to school leaders as they continue to work toward opening their doors for students next fall.
Two tales of the charter school boogieman
Parma City Schools’ superintendent has been working to right-size his district’s building capacity in the face of steadily-falling enrollment and a clear message from voters that levy passage is not the answer. Unfortunately, outside interests are interfering with his effort to fully decommission a high school building, citing the terrible possibility that a charter school would locate on the property if the district doesn’t hold onto and continue to use it, no matter the cost. Despicable. Meanwhile, the editorial board of the Toledo Blade has come out strongly against a recent vote of the city council to deny a permit for a long-established charter there to open up a new daycare and preschool. It is clear to them that the project is worthy and the services needed in Toledo. They are also clear that there exists no proper reason to deny the permit except that the applicant is a charter school. They call on council members to explain their opposition clearly and urge the mayor to intervene in support of the project. Amazing.
Innovation IRL
“School needs to be different for these kids to be successful and that’s what we hang our hat on.” That’s the mission statement of Bart Banfield, superintendent of Epic Charter Schools in Oklahoma, as he explains why his virtual charter school is offering a raft of new in-person learning opportunities this year. “We are going to have students meeting multiple times a week for face-to-face meetings in all four quadrants of the state,” Banfield added, noting that the new “Schoolhouse Model” was created based on feedback from parents whose students craved more social interaction. Sounding a similar note of innovation: Paramount Schools in Indianapolis. The network began as a single building in 2010 whose D and F ratings placed it in danger of being shut down. That original location changed its learning model, subsequently chalked up nine straight A ratings from the state, and launched a network of six schools across Indy. What’s the key? Maybe it’s the unusual learning opportunities like an in-school planetarium or an on-site farm with goats. But families, staff, and partners suggest it’s also about a focused academic mission that uses data, including color-coded charts on the walls, to keep track of how each student is faring in reading and math skills—to make sure students are mastering the material or getting the additional support they need to get there. Says one community partner: “There’s a culture, there’s a vibe, there’s a climate that is palpable.” Sounds fantastic.
Charter school support steady, but “quiet”
In the high-profile national discourse on school choice this year, private schools, homeschooling, and ESAs are far more prominent topics than charter schools. So says an interesting piece recently published in Education Week. Charter schools maintain their traditional popularity, supporters say—buoyed a little more by pandemic-era interest—but much more quietly than vouchers and other options. The biggest difference, says Tulane University’s Douglas Harris, is that charters no longer have to prove to most lawmakers that they should exist. Now the story is more mundane, about how they’re serving students, what new models to try, and where to expand. “Those sorts of things are more in their own hands,” Harris explains. “It’s not really about what policymakers are saying anymore.” Not a bad state of affairs if true.
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