High-quality academic offerings. Distance from home. Campus culture. Student safety and supports. Access to the arts, sports, and cultural opportunities. Price tag.
With thousands of Columbus students in need of a world-class education, it’s painful to see school district officials impeding the expansion efforts of a top-notch charter network by refusing to offer a vacant facility for sale or lease.
Sorry we have to tease out the updates on the voucher groucher saga a bit today. That’s the trouble with not posting daily (and don’t you dare suggest doing that either!).
NOTE: Today, the Primary and Secondary Education Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives is hearing testimony on House Bill 409 which would, among other thing
One of the most talked about education policy proposals during last year’s busy state budget season was the c
With little fanfare, Columbus Preparatory Academy regularly appears near the top of the charts when it comes to state test scores. In 2018-19, for example, its performance index score ranked twelfth out of 3,225 Ohio public schools.
This is the last edition of Gadfly Bites for 2019. Thank you for reading and for subscribing. We’ll be back on January 2 with a 2019 wrap up; back to regular service for 2020 on January 3. Happy New Year to all!
NOTE: This is our last edition of the year. Thank you so much for reading and for subscribing. We will be back with you on January 3, 2020. Happy Holidays!
School districts, let’s face it, are the giants in K–12 education. Because states traditionally awarded districts “territorial exclusive franchises”—a gentle way of saying monopolies—they enroll the vast majority of Ohio students.
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
In the spirit of giving thanks, we offer you not the usual charter school related news clips this week but a look back at some of the things happening this year for which we as charter school supporters should be grateful.
In our 2019 annual report, we provide insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools. We are also pleased to highlight the good work of our colleagues on Fordham’s policy and research teams.
In the United States, there are more than 34,500 private schools. Tuition-charging high schools run the gamut from small religious institutions that serve dual academic and social purposes, to larger schools centered around a certain pedagogy, to elite academies that draw highly-motivated students from far and wide.
Since 2005, Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program, or EdChoice, has allowed tens of thousands of students to attend private schools via a state-funded scholarship in the form of a voucher.
Parents, when surveyed, routinely tell us that safety is one of their top priorities when choosing a school. Although what exactly constitutes a “safe” school likely varies, for many it means a place where children feel welcomed and accepted.
Ohio charters get the cold shoulder from lawmakers
Congratulations to Ohio’s high quality charter schools!
Note: This is the fifth in a series of blog posts on school funding in Ohio; for the previous posts, see here,
The best charter school-related story you’ll read this week
Digging into charter school ratings across the state
