School choice supporters won big in the 2014 midterm elections this week, and new federal numbers show the charter sector continues to grow. For this Charters & Choice weekly news roundup, I have stories on what the elections mean for school choice policies, but first let’s start with some articles that speak to the new roles charters are playing in the changing education ecosystem.
A high-performing charter school chain in New York City hosts a training for district teachers only...
The burden is on all of us to learn from each other," [ ... ] "There's nothing proprietary here" Uncommon Schools' CEO told the New York City-based online publication, Capital. Critics charge that charters have abandoned their original mission to be laboratories for educational innovations for the broader school system.
And in the world of school choice, some parents choose both...
Interesting perspective: “Charter and district schools should not be at odds; my family relies on both” http://t.co/MaPK5q8Hvf #parentvoice
— Green Dot (@GreenDotSchools) November 6, 2014
In school voucher news... enrollment in Indiana’s program soars, while achievment drags in Louisiana.
Your parents can teach you math, but they can’t necessarily provide you with a football team... A bill that would allow home-schooled students to play on public school sports teams is likely to re-emerge in the Missouri legislature, according to The Columbia Missourian.
Now, how did those midterm elections shake out for school choice?
Several state-level victories went to charter school and voucher supporters which may lead to an expansion of school choice.
I think in a few of these places it was an issue that may have helped push some of these folks over the finish line," Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools told me in a post-election Q&A.
The good news for school choice advocates doesn’t stop there.
Traditionally school choice has been far more of a state policy issue, but two GOP heavyweights at the federal level, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader (and presumptive Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), are listing school choice as a top priority for the now Republican-dominated 114th Congress. School choice policies have become signature issues for several other high-profile Republicans (and presidental hopefuls) writes my collegue, Lauren Camera for the Politics K-12 blog.
An education system that denies choice to parents and denies a good education to too many children" is among one of the most "pressing challenges facing the country" Boehner and McConnell wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
If you see a good story you think should be included in the Charters & Choice weekly news roundup, tweet it to me @ChartersNChoice.