Choice issue
Also see Voucher issue and Charter Schools on this site
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. The board voted unanimously Monday night to change Cincinnati Public Schools into a “district of choice,” which will offer a variety of schools and educational options to students in grades K-8.
. Currently, all CPS’ high schools are schools of choice, meaning students from around the district can attend any of them. But most CPS elementary schools are neighborhood schools, which admit students who live within a geographical boundary.
. . The “district of choice” plan is intended to create more special programs and even more district-run charter schools to attract students back to the 33,000-students district. The plan includes creating an online school, a boarding school, a gifted academy and other options.
. The plan also would create “dual schools”-schools that are neighborhood schools but also house a special program to attract out-of-neighborhood students.
. Hyde Park Elementary also will reopen as a neighborhood school in August 2012. Superintendent Mary Ronan said district officials are considering putting an autism program at the school, which can hold about 500 students.
. Other schools will be phased in over time. Parents for years have clamored for more alternatives to neighborhood schools.
. “If you’re going to look at how the state grades schools, you want to have the opportunity to flow to where the schools are excelling,” said Denise Cargile, a Bond Hill parent. “Students don’t want to be at a school that is perceived as poor or where the staff is turning over all the time because they have not met standards.
. Cincinnati’s district of choice plans
. Choices now for grades K-8: Foreign Language Magnets; Montessori Magnets; STEM Magnets: Paideia Magnet; Fundamental Magnet; College Preparatory Magnet.
. New choices under exploration: SEED boarding school; Harlem Children’s Zone; Charter schools; Gifted Academy: Cincinnati Digital Academy, an off-site program; Students with disabilities; Fitness/sports, nutrition, medicine academy; Gender-based school.
Source: CPS to open schools to all. Every K-8 ‘school of choice’ By Denise Smith Amos The Enquirer 7/13/11 B1
Last-minute charter-school provisions that House Republicans added to the budget should come out, Gov. Kasich’s top education advisor said Tuesday.
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Robert Sommers, director of the Governor’s Office of 21st Century Education, told the state Board of Education that the administration supports expanding school choice, but not at the expense of strong oversight and accountability.
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Both charter schools and traditional public schools alike must be accountable for student performance and public financing, he said, and poorly performing schools must be shut down.
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He also cited the need for “more transparency about funding for charter schools.”
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The administration’s overall education focus is on “performance and transparency and cost-effectiveness,” Sommers told the board.
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Source: Charter school changes criticized By Catherine Candisky The Columbus Dispatch The Enquirer May 11, 2011 B5