Spring Forward
Days, Hours and Minutes Matter
I don’t know about you but losing that hour is killin’ me. Or it could be all the travel. Either way, we were able to squeeze in some major accomplishments over the past ten days and I’m grateful to those who’ve made it possible!
We’re Back in Piazza!
This week I am back, in Piazza, discussing with two amazing guests how strong entrepreneurial thinking is helping create more effective education for children in more ways than one. I am joined by Yass Prize 2023 Semifinalists Brenaea Fairchild, Founder & Executive Director of the Melanin Village, a national model of support for a growing population of non-traditional parents who want to customize what their child’s academic experience looks like; and Heidi Treu, Executive Director of West Virginia Academy, a charter school in Morgantown, WV who are the first to give students in the state's third largest district an education that caters to student needs and not top-down mandates.
After a short hiatus while we reviewed the potential and the receptivity of this podcast (yes, there are tens of thousands of them but that’s okay!), it was clear that a voice that profiles the people and organizations who are less likely to make major news were precisely those who should. So we will gladly help!
Listen to these Moms on a Mission @In Piazza, on Spotify!
Wake Up Tarheels!
It was great to be back in Raleigh, where CER helped kick off the charter school movement and its first law in 1996! It’s been a long, hard-fought and sometimes very successful journey, thanks to groups like the NC Coalition for Charter Schools and the state’s pioneering founders.
I learned last week how state advocates have moved with speed to remove barriers to fulfilling parent demands and giving schools the authority to request the facilities funding they need. My brief time with them last week reminded me that while this is a long game, those minutes, hours and days matter when it comes to serving kids especially. It’s not easy to wake up and fight every day. Those who don’t do so, however, may lose what was provided for them. Too many people running or working around charter schools today do not know the battle that was fought for them. They need to tune in and turn on as they say...or kids will lose. That’s what I shared last week. Hope people take heed! Thanks to Lindalyn Kakedelis and so many others for graciously hosting me.
N.B. What’s also great about NC is not only the rapidly expanding charter school law but the state’s 100% state-funded Opportunity Scholarship program, because it shouldn’t matter what choice one makes - only that it’s right for the child. The program has set records for demand.
DC Charters Need To Do Their Own Tuning In…
Mischief is afoot amidst the highest levels of leadership in Washington and I don’t mean the U.S. Congress. The Mayor’s office - and some members of the City Council - are working to roll back the freedom and flexibility charter schools have enjoyed which is the main reason nearly half of all DC public school students attend them. Their success is a huge contributor to the city’s education and economic resurgence after a lengthy period of dysfunction that carried through the 90s. But the once very progressive (in the real sense of the word) City Council joined forces with Congress then to give families a chance to break out of a system that was rarely opened on time, lost materials, overpaid bureaucrats and undervalued students. The opportunities created lifted all boats and coupled with the city’s business leaders, the economic and educational efforts turned around the city.
Yet, the Mayor’s office now wants to control (see above screenshot) when students come and go because the systems’ schools can’t keep up with the quality of charter middle schools so they want to draw boundaries that prevent kids from leaving and charters from enrolling in certain grades. You can’t make this stuff up. And it’s only the beginning - if they get their way.
Unfortunately, most DC charter school leaders seem to be asleep at the switch. Complacency? Maybe. If you know one of them, tell them they should not let the hours go by thinking someone else is going to fix their issues. Time to #Engage!
Board Meetings That are Productive - and Fun!
Finally, it was great to be with our Board of Directors last week, led by the incredible Donald Hense, civil rights pioneer and a key founder of DC’s charter movement. Check out the story on LinkedIn!
I ran out of room before I could tell you about Alabama. Well, next week!
Jeanne