Cleveland Charters, Cleveland Municipal and Federal Title I Funds
Something went wrong in the calculation of Title I funding for Cleveland’s public schools. The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools has been in contact with the State Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, a representative of the State Board of Education from the Cleveland area, and Cleveland charter-school leaders regarding this situation. We have tried to talk directly with the Cleveland Municipal School District’s chief financial officer and deputy in charge of federal programs but they have not returned our phone calls.
What happened? Somehow there was a miscalculation or incorrect reporting of numbers of students qualifying for Title I resulting in disproportionate allocations of funding that evidently will impact both CMSD and Cleveland charters. The OAPCS has been invited to attend a meeting at the Ohio Department Education next week about the situation. The purpose of the meeting, according to the ODE is: “To further clarify issues surrounding the reallocation of the FY09 initial Title I estimate recalculating Title I, Title II A and the Title II D allocations to community schools enrolling students from the Cleveland Municipal SD.”
There is of course an understandable level of anxiety about the short and long-term impact on Cleveland- area charter schools who receive their federal Title funding through the CMSD. As soon as we have definitive answers about what happened and what the consequences may be, we will report them to our members. Stay tuned.
Charter School Champions: The First State Convention in Years
The first convention of charter school teachers, administrators and corporate supporters in several years is coming next month. The conference is a “don’t-miss” convention of like-minded school-choice colleagues. Speakers include the Honorable Jon Husted, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Nelson Smith, president of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, Dr. Rita Pierson, national expert on curriculum development, culture, and community involvement in education, Joe Williams, national president of Democrats for Education Reform and Bill Sims, president of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Broad-based support for the conference has been gratifying from an array of sponsors and exhibitors.
The extensive support for the conference is a testament to the growing sense of unity and community within the charter school movement. Conference sponsors include: Imagine Schools; EdVantages; Edison Schools; White Hat Management; Charter School Specialists; Connections Academy Ohio, K12 Inc.; Partners for Success in Innovation (PSI); law firms- Buckley King and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease; Ohio Council of Community Schools (OCCS); ConnectEd; the Ohio Department of Education; and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA).
Feel the power of common commitment, interest, and unity. For more about the conference, see below and visit the conference registration site.
The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) is proud to present the OAPCS Annual Conference on October 14-15, at the Crowne Plaza - Columbus North.
This year’s theme, “Charting the Course to Quality,” is one that the OAPCS hopes will continue on as the inspiration for the 2008-2009 school year. The OAPCS Annual Conference features quality educational programming, networking opportunities, exhibits and an opportunity to come together to celebrate our shared commitment to provide Ohio families with a choice in education. Be among the who’s who in the charter school movement as the OAPCS brings together charter school stakeholders from across the state of Ohio. Attendees at the conference will be as diverse as Ohio’s charter schools: charter school leaders, nationally recognized exhibitors, charter school management companies, sponsors, attorneys and representatives from the Ohio Department of Education will be among those in attendance. Take a break from your daily routine by sharing with your peers, exchange contact information with your counterparts across the state and take advantage of reviewing products and services offered by exhibitors.
The Conference Planning Committee has put together a comprehensive educational program. It is designed to help sponsors, charter school leaders, lead teachers and board members with new and exciting ways on how best to improve the quality of education throughout the state of Ohio. E-rate funding, increasing parental involvement, boosting enrollment numbers, legal compliance and lessons in public relations are a few of the dynamic peer-lead sessions that will be offered at this year's conference. CEU credits will be available.
As indicated in previous editions of Insight Online, the conference will close with a celebration of charter school stakeholders. The OAPCS will recognize academic performance, teachers, charter school leaders and the year's most innovative sponsor during the last general session, which will be on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Register today (don't forget the code MBR1014). Your support of this year's conference is the key to its success, and will impact future offerings by the OAPCS.
It's been said that by offering parents and students a choice, charter schools help put positive pressure on traditional schools to raise their students' achievement levels. While this idea has been widely debated, recently the head of the Washington DC teachers union George Parker acknowledged the effect in an interview with the National Council on Teacher Quality.
When asked how his views on the role of the union have changed over time, Parker's answer pointed to public charter schools first: ...we are in a competitive market here in D.C... Previously our main concern was bread and butter issues -- to make sure teachers have good benefits and working conditions. We didn't have to be that concerned about keeping children... But now around 21,000 of our students are in charters and around 45,000 in public schools. We lost 6,000 students last year.
The charter schools have created a competition where the very survival of the union and the job security of our teachers is not dependent on the language in our contract. It is dependent on our ability to recruit and maintain students because we are funded pretty much by the number of students we have enrolled in the public system." How does Parker plan to meet this competition? He says, "...we are expanding our professional development because that impacts student achievement and if parents perceive we improve student achievement then we stand a better chance of getting students back who moved to charter schools."
The Buckeye State is key to this year's presidential election. The following are statements directly from the campaign sites and speeches of John McCain and Barak Obama about school choice. The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools is not endorsing one candidate or the other, simply communicating what candidates are saying about school choice and charter schools.
McCain
If a school will not change, the students should be able to change schools. John McCain believes parents should be empowered with school choice to send their children to the school that can best educate them just as many members of Congress do with their own children. He finds it beyond hypocritical that many of those who would refuse to allow public school parents to choose their child's school would never agree to force their own children into a school that did not work or was unsafe. They can make another choice. John McCain believes that is a fundamental and essential right we should honor for all parents.
Obama
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will support high-quality schools and close low-performing charter schools. They will double funding for the Federal Charter School Program (from $200 to $400 million) to support the creation of more successful charter schools, particularly in high-needs school districts where students continue to be trapped in under performing schools. An Obama-Biden administration will provide this expanded charter school funding only to states that improve accountability for charter schools, allow for interventions in struggling charter schools and have a clear process for closing down chronically under-performing charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will also prioritize supporting states that help the most successful charter schools to expand to serve more students.
