June 12, 2009
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Upcoming Events
June 21-25, 2009
National Charter School Conference, Charter Schools: Leading Change in Public Education
Washington, DC
June 30, 2009
Know Your Accountability Data Workshop
2009 Community School Training
August 14, 2009
The University of Akron
Student Union
303 Carroll Street
Akron, OH 44325
Or
August 18, 2009
Courtyard by Marriott
Springfield Downtown
100 South Fountain Avenue
Springfield, OH 45502
Register here
Click here for a list of course descriptions.
November 16-17, 2009
2nd OAPCS Annual Conference, Transforming Education
Crowne Plaza - Columbus North
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Contact Us
Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools
33 N. Third Street,
Suite 600
Office: (614) 744-2266
Fax: (614) 744-2255
www.oapcs.org
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The Budget Bill: From Backstretch to Homestretch
This year’s biennial budget bill promises to be historical. Not only are there pivotal issues regarding public-school funding in the budget but there are life or death issues related to charter schools- and all within the context of devastating state revenue circumstances. It’s been a long run since the beginning of the year. The process and procedures can be difficult to follow. But here’s the historical navigation chart:
1. The governor submitted his executive budget at the beginning of the year. It had hard consequences for charter schools, potentially suffocating a large percentage of them, even some of the highest performing charters, by cutting their funding to impossible levels.
2. The House took the executive budget and turned it into a bill, H.B.1. The education part of the House budget bill has some key elements. First there’s the governor’s “evidence-based model,” which it fully supports, funding school buildings through a standard model. Second, there’s the “educational challenge factor” (ECF) that provides more money to challenged school districts but essentially leaves charter schools out. Third, there remain deep cuts to the funding of charter schools and segregates them to a separate line item in the budget. There are other provisions that put charters at a disadvantage as well.
3. Next, the Senate reviewed the House passed bill and rejected the building-based, evidence-based model, restored charter school funding to FY2009 levels for all charters and rejectd other anti-charter provisions such as the loss of charters’ first right of refusal of district school facilities when districts want to divest themselves of certain properties. The Senate passed its version, of the biennial budget: Amended Substitute H.B. 1.
4. Now the differences, of which there are hundreds, have to be worked out in the Joint Budget Conference Committee. These issues have to be resolved by law by June 30 and on the governor’s desk for signature by July 1.
5. As if there aren't enough issues… The updated state revenue projections (this week) for FY 2009 now show a possible $3 billion shortfall which will have to be comprehended in whatever the conference committee come up with.
6. The General Assembly announced members of the Conference Committee on Wednesday of this week:
I. Senate (2 majority Republicans; 1 minority Dem):
· Finance & Financial Institutions Committee Chair John Carey
· Majority Whip Mark Wagoner
· Ranking Minority Member of Finance & Financial Institutions Committee Dale Miller
II. House (2 majority Democrats; 1 minority Rep):
· Finance & Appropriations Committee Chair Vernon Sykes
· Majority Whip Jay Goyal
· Ranking Minority Member of Finance & Appropriations Committee Ron Amstutz
The window of time between now and June 30 is crucial. Mobilizing your parents and teachers to communicate with state legislators about the potential legislative impact on your schools is critical. Contacting your legislators is as easy as clicking HERE. You better believe that you can make a difference. Separate and unequal treatment of charter schools is a legacy that no one wants for a state like Ohio with a hallowed history of educational leadership and innovation.
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Pending Legislation speeds up Charter School Closure Provisions making it critical that Charter Schools thoroughly know their Accountability Data. Attend this hands-on workshop to work directly with ODE Staff to assure your school’s accountability data is complete and correct. Participants will log onto the Secure Data Center and work with their school’s 2009 data, including the Preliminary Report Card.
Attending this workshop will enable you to proactively address reporting errors prior to the close of EMIS reporting on July 17th and avoid any fiscal penalties for EMIS Out of Compliance.
The Workshop will be held June 30, 2009, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the State Library of Ohio, 274 E 1st Ave, Columbus, OH 43201.
Click here for registration form, or call Marianne at (614) 744-2266 ext. 201. A limited amount of seats are available, so please confirm your reservation as soon as possible.
Cost:$50 for OAPCS members, $100 for non OAPCS members.
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New Analysis: Ohio’s 8 Large Urban Districts and Charter Schools Rank Higher on Educational Progress than on Absolute Test Scores
Published June 9th, 2009 in Academic and Schools, Featured, General, Reports, State Education Policy
KidsOhio.org’s new analysis of state education data shows that many of the state’s lowest-rated schools, both Ohio 8 schools and charter schools, rise to near the middle among schools statewide when ranked according to the state’s own “value-added” measure of annual educational progress. The full report is now available.
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As your fiscal year comes to a close and a new one begins, don’t forget to make plans to attend our 2009 State Conference “Transforming Education” on November 16-17 in Columbus. This year we are offering a full CEU credit to anyone who attends all sessions of the conference and are excited to offer even more workshops especially designed for teachers.
The cost of this year’s conference remains the same as last year, $250 for early-bird OAPCS members, $350 for early-bird non-members. When early-bird registration ends October 26th, registration fees will be $350 for members / $450 for non-members)
For some schools planning to bring several staff and/or board members, your savings in “member” costs could override the cost of membership. For information on becoming an OAPCS member please visit our website. Registration for the conference will open later this summer. For information on exhibiting or sponsorships, please contact Becky.Leija@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more exciting details!
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Stanford, CA - CREDO at Stanford University is proud to announce the launch of the innovative online Performance Management Institute. The online Institute provides web-based training to enhance the ability of charter school operators and authorizers, as well as others, to adopt and apply performance measurement practices to charter schooling and oversight.
“Everyday people look to the Internet and online community for resources and guidance, this is why we made an online version of the successful Institute a priority thereby extending the reach and access for this unique opportunity,” says Margaret Raymond, Director of the Center for Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University.
Performance Management puts the intention of strategic planning and the importance of daily activity to the test by examining results on a regular basis.
Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to arm your organization with a sound, proven and dynamic Performance Management practice that will enable you to respond to performance mandates, accreditation requirements and the demands of stakeholders.
Learn how to gather relevant data and transform it into relevant measures of performance, thereby making the jobs of everyone around you easier, more efficient and more productive by aligning daily activities with overall organizational performance.
The website can be found at www.BCSQ.org
For more information on bringing the Performance Management Institute to your organization please contact Meg Cotter Mazzola at mcotter@stanford.edu
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A Framework for Operational Quality: A Report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Operational Quality
Stanford, CA - CREDO at Stanford University in partnership with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the Colorado League of Charter Schools announces the release of A Framework for Operational Quality: A Report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Operational Quality.
The framework calls on public charter schools to maintain high standards for financial performance and sustainability, parent and community involvement, and governing board stewardship. Designed as a guide, the report is geared for charter school leaders, authorizers and support organizations as they establish and grow operational and governance practices of high-quality public charter schools. The framework recommends that leaders adopt a specific series of essential indicators, measures, metrics and targets for their operations. The report also serves to advise authorizers, philanthropists and lenders in monitoring the operational practices of high-quality public charter schools.
"Recent reports indicate that two-thirds of mid-term charter revocations have happened for reasons other than academic performance,” said Margaret Raymond, Director of the Center for Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University. “This may be because financial and organizational failures are often evident before academic shortcomings, but it confirms that sound operations must be in place to ensure charter school success. The framework provides all different constituencies within the movement a common basis from which to examine the performance of charters in these important areas.” Without a sound infrastructure in place, education will fail.
This framework builds on the previously published Framework on Academic Quality which made four recommendations for establishing a strong academic foundation. Both reports can be found at www.BCSQ.org
The project’s National Consensus Panel is composed of more than two dozen education reform professionals and foundation executives playing leading roles in the charter school movement nationally. A Framework for Operational Quality is the second publication in a series of initiatives of the three-year Building Charter School Quality project funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
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