Shawgi Tell: New York State: 50 Charter Schools Closed in 20 Years | Dissident Voice

New York State: 50 Charter Schools Closed in 20 Years | Dissident Voice

New York State: 50 Charter Schools Closed in 20 Years

According to New York Charter School Fact Sheet (January 2021) from the New York State Education Department, the number of charter schools issued in New York State since the passage of the state’s charter school law in 1998 is 397. The total number of privately-operated charters permitted statewide under 2015 legislative amendments is 460. It is worth noting that a conversion of an existing public school to a charter school is not counted toward the numerical limits established by Article 56 of Education Law. This amounts to about 10 charter schools.

A separate but related document from the New York State Education Department, New York State Charter Schools (January 2021), claims that 46 privately-operated charter schools closed or never opened in the state. Fifteen of these charter schools closed since 2010.

It is not unreasonable to assume that more investigation and more recent data would reveal that more than 46 charter schools have actually closed in the state over the past 20 years. For example, the Buffalo School Board voted in April 2021 to close two failing charter schools in Buffalo.

Broken Promises: An Analysis of Charter School Closures From 1999 – 2017 provides a more comprehensive picture of the high failure and closure rate of charter schools nationwide. Equally problematic, persistently poor oversight CONTINUE READING: New York State: 50 Charter Schools Closed in 20 Years | Dissident Voice

A long-awaited federal survey highlights challenges ahead for schools - Chalkbeat

A long-awaited federal survey highlights challenges ahead for schools - Chalkbeat

The federal government finally has data on schooling during COVID. Here are 3 key takeaways.

The federal government has released its first, long-awaited snapshot of schooling during the pandemic.

A newly released federal survey shows that a huge swath of American school children — particularly students of color — were still learning remotely in January. Of those students, a small but substantial share were getting little or no live instruction from a teacher.

The information was collected as part of President Biden’s push to get more schools reopened for in-person learning. The Trump administration had rejected the idea of such national recordkeeping.

The survey questions were given to a representative set of schools in 44 states serving either fourth or eighth grade. The data will be updated monthly through July.

In the months since schools answered these questions, more school buildings have opened as COVID case rates have fallen. A more recent estimate suggests that 80% of students now have access to in-person instruction.

But the federal survey highlights two major, continuing challenges facing school officials: the fact that tens of millions of students have received virtual instruction for months, and have missed out on learning and crucial support, and the continued reluctance of some families to return for in-person instruction, even when it’s available.

“We have a huge and long road of recovery and restoring instructional support to CONTINUE READING: A long-awaited federal survey highlights challenges ahead for schools - Chalkbeat

The Brief, Distressed Life of a Virtual School | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

The Brief, Distressed Life of a Virtual School | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

The Brief, Distressed Life of a Virtual School

In July 2020, my school district unveiled its “virtual school” as one means of educating students during a pandemic.

At the time, I was surprised to read that the district had planning to open a virtual school anyway. The pandemic just sped up the process. From the July 11, 2020, Nola.com:

The St. Tammany Parish Public Schools system already planned to unveil its new online school this year to meet the needs of families living in an increasingly digital world. But the surge of coronavirus cases has the program on a fast track. …

STPPS Virtual School is a software platform that allows teachers to work directly with students via an online connection. The school will adhere to the same educational standards of the district’s 55 brick and mortar campuses….

Teachers will use instructional videos and modules to teach students and will monitor their progress through daily interaction. Classes will be held on an online platform such as Zoom. The counselor will ensure older students are taking the right classes to graduate and help them with necessary transcripts and other paperwork as they prepare for college. …

Students who enroll in the virtual school will be asked to remain enrolled for the entire semester.

As for remaining enrolled for the entire semester:

Not so much.

During the first quarter of the school year, I began receiving students who were CONTINUE READING: The Brief, Distressed Life of a Virtual School | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog