Making the case, part 1
In a detailed piece published in National Affairs this week, Fordham Institute’s David Griffith and Mike Petrilli summarize the findings from dozens of studies over the years, showing improvements in academics and social-emotional outcomes for students in urban charter schools with effects generally far above those of comparable traditional district schools. Additionally, while the findings are still not conclusive, studies of charter schools’ effects on segregation show moderate to null effects—more in line with longstanding race-influenced housing patterns and far from the cries of “re-segregation” routinely leveled at charter schools. There’s more to learn in this piece, and the read is worth your time.
Making the case, part 2
Results of a new poll conducted by The American Federation for Children indicates a strong increase in popular support for parental school choice—from 67 percent of public school parents in April to 77 percent in August. AFC President John Schilling credits the rise to the “inflexibility” of the traditional K–12 system which has been “on full display” in the wake of last spring’s coronavirus school closures and has continued into the disrupted start of the 2020–2021 school year.
Change coming to Kentucky?
Kentucky has a new education commissioner. Jason Glass sat down with a reporter from Louisville public radio station WFPL last week to talk about his vision for the future in the Bluegrass State, shaped by his stints as superintendent for a large suburban district in Colorado and as the top education official for the state of Iowa. On the topic of charter schools—a long-standing sore spot in Kentucky—Glass said in part, “The charter school structure is really just a different governance approach. It moves the control and authority of the school away from the school district into a more independent body. I think that charter schools have brought innovative approaches, a lot of more focused or mission-specific schools have come into being in states that have had charter schools.”
Identifying early indicators – report and upcoming event
A new report from the National Charter School Resource Center aims to label and categorize the “indicators of distress” that charter sponsors may encounter as a school’s quality begins to decline. It is the product of extensive qualitative research and formal interviews with nine sponsors across the policy spectrum and representing a variety of authorizing entities. The authors and a number of contributors will be presenting a virtual event to discuss the report on Wednesday, September 30, at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. You can register to attend by clicking here.
Blue ribbon
A total of sixteen schools across Ohio were recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2020, including Constellation Schools’ Westpark Community Elementary School in Cleveland. Congratulations to all of these great schools.
