Technology is a theme in this week’s Charters & Choice news roundup with stories featuring an innovative tech-heavy private school chain in the Bay Area, and a virtual charter school in Ohio.
The latter is raising questions about how to track truancy in a school where students don’t go to a brick and mortar building. This comes after allegations arose that the Ohio Virtual Academy is collecting money for students who are no longer attending the school. More from Karen Kasler for StateImpact Ohio:
The two ranking members on the Ohio House Education Committee each got an anonymous e-mail showing 402 students were truant for months at Ohio Virtual Academy, which has more than 13,000 students. But only 14 of those students have been withdrawn."
From online schools to techie schools... Take a tour of the private school “anointed by the top minds in Silicon Valley as the best hope for the future of education,” as Wired’s Christie Hemm Klok writes:
Great article about Alt Schools http://t.co/ND6yf0k93a
— Heather French (@HeatherFrenchie) May 8, 2015
Supply and demand... according to this report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the two are grossly out of whack in many urban areas. The study examines the number of students on waitlists in 10 different cities.
Meanwhile, another report released this week from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers looks at how authorizers can better partner with lenders to provide facilities to charter schools. And a philanthropic advocacy and research organization released a report on the Walton Family Foundation saying that the foundation’s market-based education initiatives are missing the mark—details here.
And now for the kicker... Speaking of demand, according to yet another report, the Atlanta test-cheating scandal may have actually driven up enrollment at local charter schools. You can read more about that from my colleague Corey Mitchell.
Have a story idea to include in a future Charters & Choice news roundup? Share it here: