Parents For Educational Freedom NC

Recently during National Charter School Week, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools invited teachers, leaders, parents and advocates from all parts of the country to tell why they are a part of the charter schools movement. PEFNC’s Parent Liaison Initiative Coordinator Kwan Graham shared why this topic is personal for her and what prompted her to get involved in the movement.

As a mom of two boys, I see the distinct differences in their personalities and learning styles. I began looking for schools that could meet both their academic needs while respecting their differences. I found my solution in the charter school philosophy.

Being a supporter of the charter school movement is very important to me. I believe that charter schools are a vehicle to educational reform. Charter schools are very unique in looking at a child’s academic and social needs, and then meeting those needs through a rigorous curriculum and a diverse set of programs and activities.

Educating parents on the benefits of charter schools is now a personal goal. I feel that parents are a child’s first and most important advocate. Empowering parents with the tools they need to make an informed decision on which path is best for their child is essential to the charter school movement. Charter schools are an option for parents that enhance and challenge a child’s educational experience.

Through my work as the Parent Liaison Coordinator with Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, I am able to provide new ways for parents to become more actively engaged in their children’s education. In order for parents to truly exercise parental school choice and become stronger advocates for their children, they must understand how the school system works. Also, being on the NC Public Charter School Advisory Council, which is a 15-member council that recommends to the State Board of Education public charter school policies, approval, rejection, or revocations of public charters, I have the opportunity to serve the parents and children of North Carolina.

The blog entry is available here. We also recommend adding the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools to your bookmarks and using them as a resource for national public charter school news and information.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined the state’s education superintendent yesterday to sign a bill that expands public charter schools across South Carolina.

The bill allows boys-only and girls-only public charter schools and requires traditional public schools to allow students who want to do extracurricular activities not offered by their charter school to participate. Universities can also now sponsor public charter schools.

Currently 17,000 students attend South Carolina’s 47 public charter schools.

“We will no longer settle for what we think education has to be,” said Haley at the signing. “We will start to lead in all the country on what education should be. And that is options. That is innovation. That is creativity and that is putting the child and the teacher first.”

Read more here. What are your thoughts on this measure?

Governor Perdue unveiled a $20.9 billion budget proposal today that includes a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase and a 1.8 percent average salary increase for teachers and state employees. The plan adjusts the second year of a two-year budget the Legislature approved in 2011.

The budget proposal also includes the following:

• $503 million to reverse flex cuts to public schools
• $92 million to reduce class size in kindergarten through third grade
• $10 million for hand-held reading diagnostic tools

For the full budget proposal, please click here.

A proposed measure in South Carolina that would offer tax credit funded scholarships to children from working class families to send their children to private schools moved out of a Senate subcommittee yesterday. It now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for further debate and evaluation.

The bill mirrors similar programs already operating in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.

Kathy Lord, a former public school teacher who homeschools her children shared her thoughts on the measure. “Even the so-called best public or private school may not be the best match for each student seated in it,” said Lord. “Parents are the best ones to make that call, and this program lets them keep a tiny portion of their own [tax] money to do just that.”

Read more about this here. Do you think this type of proposal will work to offer parents more options in their child’s education? Leave us a comment.

Milagros Torres, a parent in New Jersey, shared her personal story about a recent bullying incident in which her daughter was assaulted at school. The students who attacked her daughter were suspended for three days and are now back at school. The incident has prompted Milagros to pull her daughter out of the school in concern for her safety.

She is now homeschooling her child, but is concerned that she is not getting the comprehensive education that is needed. Milagros believes this could be helped through the Opportunity Scholarship Act – a program that would allow her daughter to attend a private/parochial school through a scholarship or attend a different traditional public school.

“My daughter is a perfect example of someone who could thrive in a different environment where she is not concerned for her safety. But I can’t afford to send her to a private school,” Milagros wrote. “I’ve heard there are some who oppose this legislation. I hope they’ll consider the experience my daughter had in her public school and reconsider their positions. Children like her can’t afford to wait any longer for other options.”

Read the full story and learn more about the Opportunity Scholarship Act here. And leave a comment with your thoughts below.

Over the last decade, Louisiana increased its private school enrollment from 16.6 percent (2001) to 19.1 percent. These figures make the state third in private school enrollment nationwide, just behind Hawaii and Delaware. Jefferson Parish had the most children attending private school at 36.6 percent.

Many would think that enrollment in private schools would drop given the economic downturn, yet some attribute the growth to the strong relationship between Catholic and independent schools.

“I feel like we are authentically Catholic,” said Jan Lancaster, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. “Parents want schools that are faith-based and that have a proven track record with academic excellence. I think that is the culture here.”

View the chart below to see where states rank in private school enrollment:

Read the full article here. What do you think? Are parents seeking private schools for religious reasons despite a slow economy? Leave a comment.

“I’ve got a chance to set the standard high enough so that my sister and my kids and generations after me will see that and want to achieve that.”

These are the words of Sharnell, a senior who will be attending the University of Arkansas in the fall after graduating this month – the first in her family to go to college. She has been enrolled at St. Agnes Academy in Memphis, TN thanks to the help of the Memphis Opportunity Scholarship Trust (MOST), a program that provides partial private school scholarships to students.

MOST is a privately funded, nonprofit organization that helps families in Memphis afford to send their kids to private and parochial schools. The organization is supporting 537 students at about 70 local private schools. They have awarded scholarships to about 2,700 students since it started in 1998.

Sixteen graduating seniors who received scholarships were honored this week at a reception. Trent Williamson, MOST founding executive director, encouraged them to make the most of the their upcoming college education.

“In many ways, you are the hope of the future of Memphis. It’s your obligation to go out and give back,” he said.

Read more about this scholarship program and how it is changing lives here.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform package is headed to the Senate floor for debate. One bill would establish a statewide scholarship program helping low-income children attend private or parochial schools of their choice.

Bill sponsor Rep. Steve Carter said it offers “more educational options for low income children” and is “likely to achieve a financial savings for the state” because the scholarship cost for private and parochial schools could be lower than what the state pays public schools.

In addition, the Senate will look at a measure to expand more public charter schools. Non-profits may become “authorizers” of new charters, but the charters would still be subject to the same open meetings and public records laws as traditional public schools.

Read more about what’s happening with Louisiana’s education reform efforts here.

Jennifer Watson, who lives in Jackson Springs, chose to homeschool her two teenage children because, while intelligent, they struggled in a regular classroom. Her 16-year-old daughter has difficulty writing while her 14-year-old son has challenges memorizing names and dates and was unable to focus in a noisy classroom. Since homeschooling her children, Jennifer has seen improvement in their schoolwork.

Oak City Academy is a Raleigh Christian classical school currently serving students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. Oak City’s vision is to “create a community of justice through an academically-rigorous, Christ-saturated education so that the students might bring about change in their local and global communities for the glory of God.”

Dionne Lester is a Raleigh mother with a 10-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy and a rare brain malformation causing physical and cognitive challenges. The 10-year-old is considered a “hybrid child” because she doesn’t fit the typical criteria for a special education classroom but a regular classroom presents many challenges. Dionne and her husband are currently evaluating middle schools for their daughter. The challenge is finding one that can meet her unique needs.

The legislative and policy updates section will be your resource for parental school choice news and information coming out of the North Carolina General Assembly. PEFNC will provide you with updates coming out of the session, committee meetings, hearings, and more so you can know what is going on in Raleigh.

Asheville city schools are close to reaching a settlement over past funding for three public charter schools. Earlier this year, a judge ordered the school system to pay back $791,900 that he determined was owed to the charters for years 2006-2009, in addition to some unresolved funding issues for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

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A new report evaluated the Milwaukee school scholarship program - the oldest and largest in the country, operating since 1991 - and found that school choice options did indeed help Milwaukee students.

Key findings:

1. "Enrolling in a private high school through the voucher program significantly increases the likelihood that a student will graduate from high school, enroll in a four-year college, and stay in college."

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New Jersey Assembleyman Gary Schaer offered several points on how an Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA) will benefit students in an op-ed published by North Jersey.

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Several school choice measures are picking up speed in the South Carolina General Assembly.

The state Senate is looking at a bill that would enhance public charter schools. According to Myrtle Beach Online, it would:

• Allow charter school students to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at nearby traditional public schools. This would apply only if those activities are not offered at the student’s charter school.

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PEFNC President Darrell Allison recently spoke to NBC 17 about the need for public charter schools in North Carolina's 50 counties who currently do not have charters. This came after the state Board of Education approved 9 new public charters through a fast track process - the first charters to open since the cap was eliminated in 2011.

"Only 47 counties in North Carolina have charter schools," Allison said. "This means the vast majority of counties in our great state don't have a charter, so I think we need to be moving forward at geographic placement."

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The New Hampshire Senate is looking into a program that would provide scholarships for students to attend private or public schools in other districts. These scholarships would be funded by businesses who would receive a tax credit of 85 percent equal to their contribution.

The funds would be distributed through scholarship granting organizations with an average award of under $2,500. Home school students could receive up to one-fourth of that amount for educational expenses.

The Senate will vote on this measure on Wednesday, while the House is set to vote on it later this month.

Read the full article here.

Joel Medley

Director of state Office of Charter Schools

Read how Medley’s diverse background and experience lead to his appointment as the director of the state Office of Charter Schools.

The New Hampshire Senate is looking into a program that would provide scholarships for students to attend private or public schools in other districts. These scholarships would be funded by businesses who would receive a tax credit of 85 percent equal to their contribution.

The funds would be distributed through scholarship granting organizations with an average award of under $2,500. Home school students could receive up to one-fourth of that amount for educational expenses.

read more