December 03, 2009
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Upcoming Events
Poetry Out Loud
The Ohio Arts Council, in partnership with Thurber House, the Ohioana Library, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is offering the national recitation contest Poetry Out Loud in 2009 – 2010. This program provides an exciting avenue for high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. For more details and online registration, click here.
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Articles of Interest...
Inside School Research: Study Says N.Y.C. Charters Help Disadvantaged Pupils Catch Up
For the full article click here
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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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Notes from CEO Bill Sims
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450 Attend Second Annual OAPCS State Charter School Conference
It was an event filled with colorful artistic performances by students from The Toledo School for the Arts, awards for top performing teachers, administrators and high-performing schools, over 40 workshop sessions for participants and a two-day program that included keynotes and panel discussions concerning the state of the charter school movement in Ohio and the nation.
Attendance at this year’s State Charter School Conference (Nov. 16-17) grew from last year’s 315 attendees to 450 this year, forcing our staff to schedule next year’s conference at the Columbus Convention Center’s Hyatt Regency to accommodate further anticipated growth. The conference also realized a doubling in the number of vendor-exhibitors from last year. The 45 workshop sessions were targeted to teachers, administrators and charter school board members. Teachers attending the conference were able to acquire low-cost CEU credits through Ashland University.
Keynote speeches by Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento, Oklahoma Representative Jabar Shumate, and Checker Finn of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute were noteworthy as was a panel discussion on the state of the charter school movement in Ohio. The panel featured Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, Cathy Candisky of the Columbus Dispatch, Rob Hovis of the State Board of Education, Ann Higdon of ISUS, and attorney Chad Readler of the Jones Day law firm.
The remarkable 40% growth in participation (and similar growth in association membership) is likely the result of charter schools maturing as a community of like-minded educators. Case in point was an unmistakable coalescing of charter leaders, teachers and parents in this year’s biennial budget defense of community charter schools. At stake in the budget battle was the very existence of charter schools. Equally reassuring though is the palpable feeling of strength that has come from working together not only for advocacy but also for the sharing of best policy, process, and instructional practices. The conference was a great opportunity for all of these practices and especially for networking opportunities.
The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools was extremely proud to present its annual public service award to Ohio Senate President Bill Harris. Were it not for Senator Harris’ staunch leadership and pointed admonishment to legislators that any legislation during the 128th General Assembly that would diminish charter schools in any way would be “dead on arrival,” circumstances could have been very different for community charter schools this fall.
Look for news about other exciting conference awards in an article below this one. Videos of the conference keynotes and images of the conference will soon be available on the Alliance’s web site: www.oapcs.org. Next year’s conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency at the Columbus Convention Center, November 11-12, 2010.
NOTE: Because of the 2010 OGT testing dates, next year’s conference was moved from the original dates of November 1-2 to Thursday-Friday November 11-12, 2010.
December 1, 2009 Charter-Relevant Legislative Summary
There are several education-related bills that are currently on the docket, some more relevant to charter schools than others. What follows is a brief summary of these pending pieces of legislation from Gongwer News Service along with commentary about the Alliance’s disposition on these.
HB19 DATING RELATIONSHIPS (Harwood) To enact the "Tina Croucher Act" to require school districts to adopt a dating violence prevention policy and to include dating violence prevention education within the health education curriculum. The Alliance has taken no position on this bill.
SB102 SCHOOL DROPOUT PROGRAMS (Turner) To require the State Board of Education to recommend performance standards for dropout programs operated by school districts. Since this bill relates to school district related dropout programs, the Alliance takes no position on this bill.
SB126 SCHOOL BULLYING (Fedor) To prohibit school administrators from knowingly failing to report to law enforcement authorities menacing by stalking of telecommunications harassment that occurs on school grounds, to require a board of education to adopt a policy that prohibits bullying by electronic means, to require a school district's harassment policy to address acts that occur off school property but materially disrupt the educational environment of the school, to require a school district annually to provide training on the district's bullying policy for district employees and volunteers and to require a school district to notify parents or guardians of students if the annual training is not completed. This bill is school district, not charter-school focused; the Alliance takes no position.
SB167 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE RATINGS (Cates) To revise the performance ratings for school districts and buildings. This bill revises the requirement to lower the “excellent” or “effective” ratings of a school district or building that fails to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for three or more consecutive years by specifying (1) that the failure must involve two or more of the same student subgroups each year and that (2) an excellent rating may be lowered only by one level, to “effective,” instead of two levels to “continuous improvement,” as stipulated in current law. The Alliance supports this provision of SB 167. A second provision of this bill would allow a school that has made AYP to be ranked “academic watch,” instead of bottoming out at “continuous improvement.” We have questioned the rationale for this provision of the bill with caucus staff. A third provision of this bill would seemingly allow the ODE to lower a district’s or building’s performance rating based upon just one subgroup not making AYP, which appears to contradict the first provision of this bill. We have again questioned this provision and are seeking clarification from the LSC (Legislative Services Commission).
SB173 SCHOOL FUNDING RULES (Cates) To delay by one year the effective date of rules regarding school districts' expenditure of funds for core teachers and the requirement for districts to provide all-day kindergarten for all kindergartners. Given the current fiscal environment and the flat funding of public schools in Ohio, the Alliance believes that this bill is prudent. The State Board of Education voted 15-1 in support of this bill, but the president of the State Board has since equivocated on the matter creating a stir and a call for her resignation by one Board member for speaking out in apparent opposition to the Board’s vote.
SB180 E-CHARTER SCHOOLS (Husted) To allow new Internet- or computer-based community schools to open under certain conditions, to require the use of student performance data in evaluating teachers and principals for licensure, and to qualify Teach for America participants for a professional educator license. The Alliance is in full support of this bill and the Alliance’s president, Bill Sims, has testified before the Senate Education Committee to this effect. In fact, the Alliance supports lifting the caps for all new charter schools, not just e-schools.
SB190-HB290 OHIO CORE (Schaffer, Turner) To include Junior ROTC as a permitted elective within the Ohio Core Curriculum. There is an amendment to this bill that is important to charter schools as it will allow certain charters that were caught in an unintentional “trap” in the language of HB 1 (and thereby designated for closure) to remain open. This bill has passed the Ohio House 96-0 and is currently in the Senate. The Alliance supports this bill.
SB40 TEACHER TAX CREDIT (Schaffer) To allow a credit against the personal income tax for amounts spent by teachers for instructional materials. Sen. Schaffer said the bill would help reduce expenses that Ohio teachers face, noting that many teachers pay for instructional materials and supplies out of their own pockets. He said the plan limits teachers to claiming a personal income tax credit of up to $100, which would be in addition to the $250 federal credit under the No Child Left Behind Act. Just introduced but the Alliance is predisposed to support.
SCHOOL NUTRITION (Carney, Wachtmann) To establish nutritional standards for certain foods and beverages sold in public and chartered nonpublic schools; to require public school students to have periodic body mass index measurements; to require daily physical activity for public school students and to make other changes regarding physical education; and to establish the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children Council. While the intent of the proposed legislation seems laudable, the cost of implementation is likely to be well beyond the means of charter schools given their current funding. Currently the Alliance has not taken a formal position on this bill but views it potentially as an unfunded mandate.
– Bill Sims
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Teacher of the Year - School Leader of the Year - And Best Innovative Practice Awards
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Congratulations to this year’s “Charter School Teacher of the Year.”
Alicia Sadonick, math specialist at Cleveland’s Citizen’s Academy. Last year, 92% of Alicia’s students passed the math portion of the 2009 Ohio Achievement test, with over 30% scoring Advanced. On the nationally normed Scantron Performance Series, Alicia’s 4th grade students’ fall scores were all below the 3rd grade level. By the spring, their gains were 82% higher than one year’s growth and 97% higher than the average gains for other 4th graders. In addition, Alicia is Citizens’ Title 1 coordinator, chair of their Professional Development Committee.
Congratulations to this year’s “School Leaders of the Year,” Perry White of Citizen’s Academy and Patricia Howard of the Arts and College Preparatory Academy.
Perry White of Citizen’s Academy has been a pioneer in Ohio’s charter school world and has provided charter school leadership on the local, state and national levels for the past 10 years. Citizens’ Academy was one of only 20 Ohio charter schools this year to earn an “Excellent” rating from the Department of Education. It was also one of only 24 schools in NE Ohio selected by ODE as a “School of Promise.”
Patricia “GG” Howard of the Arts and College Preparatory Academy of Columbus, known to friends and colleagues alike as “GG,” has been in a teaching and administration career for 35 years. A 3-time teacher of the year in the Columbus City Schools, GG went to work in 2002 to create the Arts and College Preparatory Academy here in Columbus. ACPA has since earned the distinction of being rated “Effective” seven times, and consecutively the past five years.
Congratulations for this year’s “Charter School Best Innovative Practice” award goes to the Noble Academy of Cleveland. Noble Academy of Cleveland is truly a school of excellence. The school has a Performance Index of 96; however, beyond their goals of student achievement, a successful community school has to build community. The third part of Noble Academy’s mission statement asserts: Maintain a strong working bond with the families, staff and students, insisting that their success stems from the active responsibility of this triad. Behind the leadership of the school’s director, Hasan Kose, Nobel Academy has developed a yearly tradition of “International Dinners,” with food and refreshments from different cultures, international music, exhibitions of students’ art and award ceremonies. Attendees include students, teachers, parents, vendors, custodians, landlords, and other partners and the net effect is a tremendous culture of unity and community.
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2009 School Improvement Award Winners
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2009 School Achievement Awards presentation at the OAPCS 2nd Annual Conference
We were greatly honored to recognize Ohio’s high achieving charter schools at our second annual state conference. Thirty charter school leaders were on hand to receive an award for their school.
Chris Collaros, Wickliffe Progressive Community School and Upper Arlington International Baccalaurete and Marty Porter, Toledo School for the Arts accepted School of Excellence awards, given to schools rated Excellent or Excellent with Distinction for at least two consecutive years.
Next, the Constant Quality award, for schools rated Excellent or Effective for at least three consecutive years, were announced. Recognized in this category were Horizon Science Academy, Cleveland (Cengiz Karatas), Arts and College Preparatory Academy (Paula Lasley), Oakstone Community School (Susie Bone), and The Intergenerational School (Brooke King). It was noted that at both HSA Cleveland (a 2009 National NCLB Blue Ribbon awardee) and at ACPA, 100% of the seniors not only graduated, but were accepted into college, and both Oakstone and the Intergenerational School have received national acclaim for their progressive missions and academic quality.
Then, twenty-four school leaders walked to the stage to accept a School Improvement Award. These awards are given to schools that have increased their academic rating at least two designations in the past two years.
1. Academy of Arts & Humanities, (Lisa Burgess)
2. Citizens Academy (Perry White)
3. City Day Community School (Shonise Carr)
4. Columbus Preparatory Academy (Chad Carr)
5. Constellation-Mansfield Community Elementary (Bethany Scott)
6. Cornerstone Academy (Jamie Scott)
7. FCI Academy (Quianna Jackson)
8. FOCUS Learning of Northern Columbus (Rashaun Holliman)
9. FOCUS Learning of Southeastern Columbus (Rashaun Holliman)
10. Horizon Columbus High School (David Disli)
11. Horizon Science Toledo (David Disli)
12. King Academy (Andrea Martinez)
13. Cleveland LifeSkills (Kelly Alexander for Yolanda Eiland)
14. Southeast Columbus LifeSkills (Andrew Pasquilnilli)
15. Springfield LifeSkills (Karl Perkins)
16. Trumbull County Life Skills (Megan Marino)
17. Mound Street Health Careers Academy (Anne Beane)
18. Mound Street IT Careers Academy (Anne Beane)
19. Mound Street Military Careers (Anne Beane)
20. Summit Academy Secondary Youngstown (Raymond Pallante)
21. The ISUS Institute of Health Care (Ann Higdon)
22. The ISUS Institute of Construction Technology (Ann Higdon)
23. The ISUS Institute of Manufacturing (Ann Higdon)
24. Toledo Preparatory Academy (Karyn Benner)
25. Urbana Community School (Larry Nickels)
26. West Central Learning Academy (Millie Hughes)
27. Youthbuild Columbus (Derek Steward)
The contribution that quality education makes to the lives of the children attending these schools, to their families, to the local communities across the state, and to the citizens of Ohio as a whole, is immeasurable. We thank all of you for your indomitable, courageous spirit and for your contributions to Ohio’s charter school movement.
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New NAEP Questions Tool: Dig Deeper into NAEP Questions for Formative Assessments
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The NAEP Questions Tool, one of the most popular features of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Web site, now makes it easier than ever for school administrators and teachers to locate over 2,000 released NAEP assessment questions. The updated NAEP Questions Tool provides a quick selection of questions from past NAEP assessments, as well as a tutorial and a detailed help menu to assist users. Also, be sure to check out the special Ohio student performance information which gives schools a way to compare their students’ performance on a specific question to that of the students in Ohio and in public schools across the nation. In the updated NAEP Questions Tool, users can:
• Select questions by choosing among different criteria, such as difficulty level, content classification and type of question (multiple-choice, constructed-response and extended-constructed response);
• Access content areas such as reading, math, science, U.S. history, economics, geography, civics, arts and writing;
• See actual student answers to constructed-response questions and learn why the answers were scored as they were;
• Explore detailed data for each question, including percentage of students (p-value) who answered a multiple-choice question correctly or who received full or partial credit on a constructed-response question in Ohio and in the nation;
• Bookmark results or individual questions so you can return to exactly the same place later.
To start using the NAEP Questions Tool, visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrlsx/. To get a quick overview of questions from all NAEP subjects, check out Test Yourself at http://nationsreportcard.gov/testyourself.asp.
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Academic Standards Update
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Ohio has committed to adopting the Common Core in both mathematics and English Language Arts. Regional meetings are being planned for February to introduce the field to the Common Core standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics and solicit feedback about the need to add state-specific content.
State designed standards in Science and Social Studies are available for public comment through the end of December. Science standards and accompanying materials are available here. Social studies standards, examples of model curricula, and other standards process materials can be found here.
Both the Common Core Initiative and Ohio’s revision process are based on similar criteria, including:
• Fewer, clearer and higher standards that are aligned with college and work expectations;
• Standards that have been internationally benchmarked;
• Rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order skills; and
• Evidence- and/or research-based standards built upon the strengths and lessons of the current standards.
A draft of the College- and Career-Readiness Standards has been released for public comment. The draft of the K-12 standards and learning progressions is expected in December with final documents ready by early 2010. Documents can be accessed at www.corestandards.org .
OAPCS is closely monitoring the standards revision process to assure that Ohio’s Charter Schools are provided full and timely information about the coming changes. We will keep you informed when we learn of the implementation timelines and the process for the new state assessments.
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New Membership Benefits
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Hertz Car Rentals for Member Schools, Associations and Their Employees
The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) is offering a new benefit to all their Charter School and Associate Members. OAPCS has partnered with Hertz to offer a discount on business travel rates (a savings of up to 20% depending on the region) and a free membership to their #1 Club Gold Service.
How can your company take advantage of this program?
It is simple.
1. When making a reservation always refer to the corporate identification number.
2. If you book your reservation directly from Hertz, call their dedicated Business Account reservations number at 1-800-654-8216.
3. To receive the CDP promotion code for the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, please contact Jennifer Brzoski at jbrzoski@oapcs.org or at 614-744-2266 ext. 205.
You’re good to go with our rental car business partner – HERTZ!
The Staples Advantage Program
Together, Staples and the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools have developed an innovative program designed to help your school reduce costs, cut paperwork and control spending on the office and school supplies you use every day. Staples National Charter School program simplifies the way you do business and provides you with substantial savings, potentially thousands of dollars per year!
For more information on how your school can benefit from this agreement or to register to start saving today, contact:
Jennifer Brzoski
Senior Manager of Member Services and Community Services
Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools
614-744-2266 or jbrzoski@oapcs.org
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Two New Associate Members
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Mosaica Education Inc.
OAPCS would like to welcome Mosaica Education Inc., as an Associate Member. Mosaica Education, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading operators of K-12 public schools. Mosaica-managed schools utilize a unique school design, which combines a proprietary curriculum Paragon®, with state-of-the-art technology.
Mosaica Education also provides after-school and summer tutoring to students; assists public and private schools in the U.S. in strengthening their operations, professional development and curriculum; and helps other nations create their own schools of choice.
Mosaica:
• A national leader in educational reform
• A superior record of academic innovation and success
• Proprietary Paragon® Curriculum
• Effective use of technology
• Business services for operations of public and private schools
• International Consulting
MBS Services
OAPCS would like to welcome MSB Services as associate members. MSB is committed to providing industry-leading solutions to empower special educators to maximize their time with the children they serve. From efficient special education management to maximized Medicaid reimbursement, their mission is to provide school districts with the tools they need for district personnel to fulfill your ultimate purpose – helping students achieve.
As a leader in school Medicaid billing and administration, MSB™ Services has consistently provided quality service and the best returns to schools for more than 13 years. MSB™ Services is dedicated to partnering with your school to meet the challenges of special education administration. Their focus is solving problems and providing industry leading solutions. MSB™ Customer Care continues to win the confidence of our customers with their proactive support, responsiveness and attention to detail.
Please visit their website at www.msb-services.com for further information.
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