• • Insights from President Bill Sims
• • United States Department of Education Designates Horizon Science Academy 2009 Blue Ribbon School
• • Poetry Out Loud
• • Professional Development Opportunities
• • A New Benefit for our Member Schools!

OAPCS Quality Workshop Series
Using the SUCCESS website to address student needs and improve student outcomes

Friday, September 25, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The Ohio Department of Education’s Success Site (also known as Ohio’s Online Assessment Reporting System or OARS) is a FREE resource that provides teachers with the ability to connect classroom teaching with preparation for the Ohio Achievement Tests. This workshop will help schools analyze Ohio Achievement and Graduation Test data so that instructional interventions can target areas of need at the student, classroom and school levels. The trainers will demonstrate the use of formative assessments and practice tests so schools can gauge ongoing student achievement.

For more information, click here


World-Class Academic Standards for Ohio

Presented by Ohio Grantmakers Forum and Thomas B. Fordham Institute with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Co-hosts include
KidsOhio.org, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy
 
Learn. Share. Move Forward.   
What do efforts to create national academic standards mean for the Buckeye State, its children and its educators? We've convened state and national experts to explore this question. Join us October 5 for World-Class Academic Standards for Ohio.

For more information, click here


2nd OAPCS Annual Conference, Transforming Education

November 16 - 17, 2009
Crowne Plaza Columbus North
Registration information is available here.
For other conference questions, please email Becky Leija at BLeija@oapcs.org.


COBIDA Fall Reading Conference
Imagine Every Child Reading!

Friday, October 16, 2009
8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Columbus Convention Center

Afternoon breakout sessions
Afternoon workshops

Contact Mary Damer or call COBIDA at (614) 538-9878 or (614) 899-5711
Sponsored by The Central Ohio Branch of International Dyslexia Association

For information, click here

Six Northeast Ohio schools honored for Blue Ribbon performance

For the full article click here

Charter Schools Gain Support from 64% of U.S. Adults in Survey

By Molly Peterson

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Public support for charter schools, a component of President Barack Obama’s $100 billion education overhaul, rose to almost two-thirds of Americans this year even as most remained confused about what they are.

Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults said they favor charter schools, up from 51 percent a year ago, Gallup Inc. and Phi Delta Kappa International, a public-school advocacy group in Bloomington, Indiana, found in a poll released today. More than half of the survey’s 1,003 respondents didn’t know charters, which operate under contracts with districts and are exempt from many state and local rules, are public schools.

For the full article click here

Advocacy

Events

Quality Values and Principles

I’ve always liked William A. Foster’s quote about quality:

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution.”

On that note, CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Horizon Science Academy Cleveland.  Education Secretary Arne Duncan just announced this year’s “2009 Blue Ribbon Schools,” and Horizon Science Academy Cleveland was one of 10 charter schools nationally to receive this prestigious honor. You can view the announcement here. Last year’s winners included the Toledo School for the Arts.

Anyone currently involved with charter schools has to be incredibly aware of the movement’s interest in and commitment to quality. Over the past decade charter schools have grown from seed to a systemic element in public education, providing new and innovative choices for parents. Charter school attendance is growing because charters tend to fit the needs of parents and the promise of alternative choices for students stuck in untenable school circumstances. But being an alternative is not enough. Charters have to be excellent alternatives. Quality matters for students, parents and the movement.

Who are the bellwethers? Last year there were 27 charter schools rated “effective” or “excellent” by the Ohio Department of education. This year there were 42 effective or excellent charter schools, a 55% increase.  Better yet, in every report-card grade category, charter schools substantially improved their numbers.

The quarterly OAPCS Insight Magazine will be out next week. Look on page 4 for our “Salute to Ohio’s High Performing Charter Schools” for a complete listing.

Henry Ford was famous for this: “Quality is not an act; it is a habit.” -- Henry Ford

P.S. Two events coming up that deserve your attention and participation:
1. SUCCESS – the OAPCS September 25th SUCCESS workshop on how to make full and free use of ODE’s SUCCESS website system to assess student learning needs and systematically test and measure student learning outcomes. Register here.

2. World-Class Academic Standards for Ohio – October 5th at the Columbus Athletic Club, sponsored by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, the Knowledge Works Foundation, the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy.  Register here.

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Horizon Science Academy Cleveland (HSA) was one of only 314 schools nationwide designated today as a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The schools – 264 public and 50 private – will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. For the past 27 years, more than 6,150 of America’s schools have received this coveted award.
 
 “These Blue Ribbon Schools have shown that all children can learn with appropriate supports,” Duncan said. “They are producing outstanding results for their students. Some have shown dramatic improvements in places where students are overcoming the challenges of poverty, and others serve as examples of consistent excellence that can be a resource for other schools. They are places where improved teaching and learning benefits every student, and where students are challenged to meet high expectations with the active support of teachers, parents and the community.”
 
The award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior, or have made dramatic gains in student achievement and helped close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students. Each year since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals. Using standards of excellence, as evidenced by student achievement measures and the characteristics known from research to exemplify school quality, the Department celebrates schools, including those that beat the odds.
 
Said Cengiz Karatas, HSA Director, “We are thrilled to accept this award. It is wonderful to receive this recognition of the fine work of our staff and students.”  HSA is the only charter school in northeast Ohio to win this award and only the second charter in all of Ohio to do so.
 
In its first decade of operation, HSA has long list of accomplishments including:
    •    the School of Promise Award by ODE for 2007-2008,
    •    a Bronze medal for outstanding achievement by US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT news magazine – best Charter School for 2008
    •    a 100% college acceptance rate for the class of 2008 and 2009
    •    National Title I Distinguished School Recognition 2009
    •    Accreditation through AdvancED, representing 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65 countries
 
Horizon offers creative and unique programs that have proven highly successful. They include Saturday school, free after school tutoring for each class, a Summer Academy, and home visits by staff to families.
 
A list of the 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools is available here.

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The State Support Team, Region 11, at the Educational Services Center of Central Ohio, is proving the following professional development opportunities. Registration is through STARS.
 
October 27, 2009
Transition to College: Preparing Students with Disabilities
This session will provide high school and middle school personnel and parents with information regarding requirements and considerations in college planning for students with disabilities. Panelists include Margo Izzo (OSU), Wayne Cocchi (Columbus State CC), Tim Conrad (former Ohio Guidance Counselor), Lydia Block (Ohio Wesleyan University), and Lois Burke (OSU). Learning targets include: (1) planning for successful transition to college (including course of study, accommodations for college entrance exams, instruction and technology); (2) self-advocacy and self-determination skills; (3) legal rights from IDEA to ADA; (4) required admissions documentation; and (5) accessing disability services.
 
February 25, 2010  8:30 am – 3:30 pm 
Demystifying Secondary Inclusion
Dr. Lisa Dieker, University of Central Florida, will provide middle school and high school personnel with information that will (1) enable more students with disabilities access to general education settings and curriculum; (2) establish inclusive classroom climates; and (3) prepare them to work collaboratively. She is the author of Demystifying Secondary Inclusion and Making Inclusion Work at the Secondary Level.

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Staples and the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) have developed an innovative program designed to help your school reduce costs, cut paperwork and control spending on the office and school supplies that you use every day. By enrolling with the Staples Advantage program, each school will be able to access programs to help you save money, and work with a dedicated customer care team, a technical support team, and a Staples Account Manager.
 
If you are a new school in 2009-2010, you can take advantage of an additional 10% for the first 90 days. This new program is currently only available to OAPCS member schools. For information on how to join OAPCS, please contact Jennifer Brzoski at jbrzoski@oapcs.org or at 614-744-2266 ext. 205.

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