Weekend greetings, CharterFolk.
We’re not sure what to attribute it to—maybe it was that Derrell’s column and chat continue to draw attention, or perhaps it was Lyman’s insightful piece on the impending enrollment decline that CharterFolk will have to navigate nationwide. Maybe it was North CarolinaFolk responding to a tribute to post-storm resilience, or my own edgy take on the final days of the Biden Administration.
Whatever it was, last week CharterFolk had its first day with over a thousand visitors to our website. And across the entire week, we had more visitors than in any previous one-week period.
We’ve also had more InsightfulFolk express interest in publishing here at CharterFolk than we’ve ever seen before.
So, we’re making a few changes.
Clarifying My Biden Piece
Before we get to that, I wanted to acknowledge that reactions to my recent piece on the Biden Administration were all over the map. Some said I was too harsh, arguing that the administration actually did us a favor by getting the call for CSP applications out early. Others said I wasn’t critical enough, pointing out that the administration never even awarded funds for last year’s CMO competition. The largest group felt I had struck the right balance.
Regardless, I want to clarify one thing:
Nothing the Biden Administration did last week made CSP applications worse or substantively more difficult. The rules released last week are the same ones in place since 2022. It’s fair to question how much improvement the new administration could have achieved without a lengthy regulatory process that might have delayed the funding round.
That said, I take at face value comments from those close to the process who believe the administration could have made things marginally easier for us. So, I stand by my statement that this was a “parting shot”—though just how much damage it inflicted is open to interpretation.
Six Days a Week
In my Year in Review Post, I noted that the growing number of Folk submitting Contributor Columns was beginning to squeeze out my own writing. Now, even more great submissions are coming in, and I can’t wait to share them with you. So, here’s the plan for the foreseeable future:
- Instead of one Contributor Column per week (typically on Tuesdays), we’ll now have two—adding another on Thursdays.
- CharterFolk Extraordinaire posts and WonkyFolk recordings will continue on Fridays.
- I’ll reserve Wednesdays for a short post for myself.
Meanwhile, I’m considering a move to a daily publishing schedule to see if we can turn a thousand daily visitors into a regular occurrence.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll introduce CharterFolk News Roundup, a Monday feature providing a quick rundown of national updates on the stories we follow.
As for my longer-form pieces, we’ll see. My regular work responsibilities keep growing, but so much is happening in CharterLand that deserves deeper analysis. I’ll aim to publish at least a couple of long-form pieces per month on the weekends when more of you have time for New Yorker-like length. Meanwhile, I’ll also sprinkle in a few Sunday celebrations meant to cast even more light on the remarkable contributions that many are making to the CharterFolk community.
That would mean delivering content six days a week.
We’ll see how it goes.
Keep the Support Coming
This increased output is only possible because of the incredible support from CharterFolk across the country. Please keep it coming!
- If you have a column idea, reach out to me directly at jed@charterfolk.org.
- If you can join hundreds of other CharterFolk across the country who offer us paid subscriptions, I would greatly appreciate having the additional resources needed to keep CharterFolk growing
- If your organization can join our many institutional subscribers, let’s connect—we’d love to bring on another dozen before our 5th anniversary in June.
On we go.