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Celebrating role models
Here’s a great story on Horizon Science Academy Lorain’s second annual Role Model Breakfast event. Students nominate individuals who are mentors, heroes, or otherwise important to them, and the event brings the school community together with as many of these influential people as can possibly be gathered—including one young scholar’s uncle, who drove all the way from Texas to attend—so that the community can thank them for their positive impact. Incredible!
Truth bombs
All of the various reasons given—officially and otherwise—to explain transportation exclusion for charter and other choice-exercising students in Columbus City Schools so far this year got a full airing in the first forty minutes of the All Sides radio program on Tuesday. The conclusion at that point appeared to be that “districts have tried everything” and that the declarations of “impractical to transport” that ended bus service for nearly 2,000 such students were inevitable and understandable. Then, in the last 20 minutes, Ohio Senate Education Committee Chair Andrew Brenner came on and proceeded to debunk them all with facts and data. No idea if his truth bombs will do anything to help the difficult situation families continue to find themselves in, but it felt like an important moment in the current discussion. Meanwhile, a second lawsuit was filed against Columbus City Schools this week over their transportation decisions—specifically on behalf of a private school family, but whose travails mirror those of charter students in Columbus.
Big moves in charter funding
Futuro Academy, a K-5 school in East Las Vegas, will be the first to receive a loan from a new state fund designed to help improve school facilities for charters across Nevada. The loan will enable Futuro to purchase the building they have been leasing for years, saving the school approximately $130,000 annually in rent payments. Those savings will be redirected toward providing even more services for the 450 students attending. Awesome news! Meanwhile, in East Chicago, Indiana, Urban Enterprise Academy was awarded nearly $117,000 from the Indiana Department of Education—specifically for making significant academic gains for its students over the past year. The charter school, one of just three recipients statewide, celebrated the award at the Indiana Educational Excellence Award Gala in Indianapolis. Huge kudos to the school staff, students, and families!
More funding moves…with more food for thought for Ohio
Speaking of funding boosts for charter schools, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds this week announced the first recipients of $4 million in grants from the state’s new Charter Start-Up and Expansion Grant program. Six new schools will receive $500,000 apiece for facilities, transportation, curriculum, and other equipment. And five established schools will receive $200,000 each to expand their career and technical programing. “Public charter schools provide yet another school choice for parents and guardians looking for the education that’s best suited for their children’s abilities and needs,” said Reynolds in a press release. “I applaud these industrious charter school administrators, board members and community leaders for expanding educational opportunities for students and families in their local communities.” This is fantastic, and the Buckeye State could learn a lot from these great stories.
No need to Show Me; it’s very clear
University of Missouri–St. Louis professor James V. Shuls (also a fellow at the Show-Me Institute) published an op-ed in St. Louis Today this week, summarizing the woeful report card showing for St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) and making the case that charter schools in the city are far more accountable than the district. If charters were similarly low-performing (in 2023, SLPS graduation rate was less than 70 percent, just 21 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in ELA, and a woeful 16 percent were proficient in math), they would either be closed by the state or face an exodus of students which would likely cause them to close. The same cannot be said of district schools in Missouri…or anywhere else!
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