Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Fordham Sponsorship 2010-11 Year in Review
Terry Ryan, Kathryn MullenSince their inception in 1997, charter schools have been at the center of some of the most politically contentious debates about education in Ohio. The past year offered yet another example of charter school controversy, but this time with a twist. The 2010 elections were very good for Buckeye State Republicans, with John Kasich winning the governor?s race (replacing Ted Strickland who had been a charter adversary throughout his four-year term). Republicans also took control of the House while expanding their majority in the Senate.
Suffering schools should learn to do more with less
As school levies fail across central Ohio, I am concerned and disappointed to see so many school districts quickly threaten to reduce the quality of our children?s education. Providing an excellent education for our children may be the single most important thing we can do as responsible citizens.
From talking the talk to walking the walk of urban school choice
Emmy L. PartinFordham has been involved in the arena of school choice in Ohio at virtually every level for the past decade, except that of a parent. Issues of school choice and the quality (or not) of urban schools have been a big part of my professional life the last five years. Now, they are front and center in my personal life, too.
Is school choice a worthy end in itself?
Bianca SperanzaThe Columbus Dispatch ran competing op-eds by School Choice Ohio's (SCO) Chad Aldis and Fordham's Terry Ryan on the expansion of vouchers in the Buckeye State. Both Aldis and Ryan support the expansion of school choice programs in Ohio, but how the state should hold these new programs accountable for their academic performance and even whether it should do so is contentious.
E-school performance in the Buckeye State
Bianca SperanzaThis week we took a look at what impact, if any, charter authorizer type (e.g., non-profit, educational service center, school district, or university) has on a school's academic performance, how
Academic achievement & growth: a fuller picture of urban school performance
Emmy L. PartinYesterday, Jamie wrote about both the academic achievement and progress of students in Ohio's urban public schools.?? Today's analysis marries these two performance metrics together.
Head of Cleveland NAACP to turn around failing charter school
Jamie Davies O'LearyFile this under pieces of news that confuse my emotions. Rev. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP, is leaving that post to take on an area charter school ? a very terrible one to be specific (Marcus Garvey Academy). I am equal parts inspired by this move (Rev. Miller is a 63-year old whose heart is undoubtedly in the right place) and cynical.
Ed reform victories in Ohio budget
Emmy L. PartinA legislative conference committee has reported out its version of Ohio's next operating budget.?? The Senate and House are expected to approve the committee's report today and tomorrow, with Governor Kasich signing it into law Thursday.??
Setting the record straight: The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and charter school sponsorship
Terry RyanThere has been a lot of controversy in Ohio in recent weeks around House-proposed legislative changes to the state's charter law that would decimate an already weak charter school accountability system (see here,
Parent trigger in Ohio: Much ado about very little
Terry RyanOhio is in the midst of its biennial budget debate and there has been much angst and ink spilled about a proposal in the
KIPP and Baltimore Teachers Union solve pay dispute
The bickering between the Baltimore Teachers Union and the KIPP charter network involving overtime pay for teachers in two KIPP schools has come to a close.?
Congratulations (Columbus, Ohio) KIPPsters!
A big congratulations to KIPP Journey Academy students McKeala Hudson and Michael Robinson, who were recently accepted into the KIPP STEP Summer Program at Deerfield Academy! Yes, that Deerfield Academy ?
Fordham's Kathryn Mullen Upton testifies in support of charter school serving incarcerated youth
Jamie Davies O'LearyYesterday Fordham's Kathryn Mullen Upton, director of charter school sponsorship for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, testified before the Ohio Senate Education Committee in support of SB 86.
Fordham-authorized Columbus Collegiate Academy wins highest honor for student achievement
Jamie Davies O'LearyColumbus Collegiate Academy, a Fordham-authorized charter school in one of Columbus's poorest neighborhoods (Weinland Park), has just been awarded the Gold-Gain EPIC award by New Leaders for New Schools for dramatic gains in student achievement.?
What's missing from the "Akron mom" conversation
Emmy L. PartinIn today's Ohio Education Gadfly, Jamie, Bianca, and I explore what's missing from the debate around Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Akron mom who was jailed for nine days and convicted of tampering with documents in order to send her two children to a school outside their home district.
Ohio voucher program begins to accept applications for the 2011-2012 school year
Bianca SperanzaOhio's EdChoice Scholarship Program, a voucher program for students attending chronically underperforming schools, will begin to accept applications for the 2011-2012 school year tomorrow, February 1.
School choice events set positive tone for Ohio
It's National School Choice Week ? the first of its kind. And now, thanks to Gov. Kasich making it official, it's also Ohio School Choice Week. Close to 1,000 Ohioans have attended events across the state this week to celebrate.
Congratuations to Andy Boy!
Congratulations to Andrew Boy, the co-director and founder of Columbus Collegiate Academy, one of the six charter schools Fordham authorizes.
Should federal dollars be used to try to turn around failing charters?
Terry RyanCharter schools are different from traditional district schools in that they are free of many regulations and operating constraints, but in return for their freedoms they are held accountable for their results. Those charter schools that fail to deliver results over time are closed, the theory holds.
Today's Ohio Education Gadfly: find out why Ohio might be a trailblazer in charter accountability
This week's edition kicks off with a great piece by Terry discussing the unprecedented move by the Ohio Department of Education to close a charter school sponsor (aka authorizer) for fiscal mismanagement.
Buckeye State holding charter school sponsors accountable
Terry RyanThe Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is seeking to close a troubled charter school sponsor (aka authorizer), the Cleveland-based Ashe Culture Center, Inc.
The latest Ohio Education Gadfly ?????' who knew decreasing class size was so expensive?
It's no surprise that Ohio's economy is in crisis, but you might be amazed at the price tag for some of Gov. Strickland's new education mandates. Terry points out the implications of decreasing class size in grades K-3 alone (to 15:1), which will cost $784 million per year by 2014.
Re: Cleveland teachers union: If you can't beat ???????em, join ???????em
Emmy L. Partin???????The overriding question is how will having a teachers union improve on our ability to educate all of our children and make sure they're ready to graduate from college? We respect that they represent the interests of teachers; we represent the interests of students.???????????
Romeo and Juliet have nothing on Ohio charter schools
Terry RyanSince the troubled birth of charter schools here in 1997, school districts have had a love/hate relationship with them. Some district officials have sought to embrace them as part of their larger reform efforts, while others have done everything in their power to kill them off. A few leaders have actually done both simultaneously.
Cincinnati: We'll sell you a school building, just don't use it for a school
Kathryn MullenCan a school district sell a school building and prohibit the buyer from opening a school in that building?