Good day, CharterFolk.
I start today with a chance for CharterFolk to pitch in:
Javier has given so much to kids, communities, and the charter school movement, having started at MATCH in Boston and now leading Aspire’s presence in the Bay Area. Recently, he has been confronted with a major health challenge and CharterFolk have stepped up to create a GoFundMe. If you can help, please do.
Secondly, I resurface the WonkyFolk chat Andy and I had with Pat Brantley, the CEO of Friendship in DC, and our latest inductee into the National Charter School Hall of Fame.
We released it on the Friday afternoon heading into the Memorial Day Weekend – not the optimal time. So I highlight it again. Rarely do we find a leader who has contributed as much to both school excellence and advocacy excellence as Pat has. If you can find the time, it would be an hour very well spent.
Finally, from a housekeeping perspective, I provide a final reminder that we’re in our last day of voting for the first round of the Brian’s Voice Award.
We cut things off at midnight Pacific Time. It’s been fun to see how many votes have come in this year. Get them in while you still can.
More CharterFolk Taking the Mound
Last week, it was great to profile Ariel Johnson pitching strikes at the Nationals game while also hurling impressively in the advocacy realm.
But she’s by no means the only one.
Check out Daiana Lambrecht from San Antonio Futuro speaking before the San Antonio City Council …
… after the council had chosen to learn about charter schools by soliciting information only from charter school adversaries, rather than from the thousands of charter school families who are delighted by the services that charter schools are providing.
This testimony happens at the exact moment that the Texas Public Charter Schools Association has released new analysis showing that San Antonio charter schools – and many others across the state as well – are greatly increasing access to A-and-B-rated schools.
Advocacy organizations at state and regional levels tag-teaming to drive home the charter school narrative.
Pure gold.
As it is pure gold to see Colleston Morgan and Howard Fuller tag-teaming across the generations …
… to call out the tragic circumstance of public education in Milwaukee and the desperate need to take on a “Marshall Plan” to bring about something new and better.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cassandra St. Vil, CEO of Philadelphia Charters for Excellence, has been leading the charter school community in Philadelphia to bring the heat against the district’s clearly unlawful and patently unfair authorizing practices.
Now schools are making it a tag-team by bringing forward litigation of their own.
All this tag-teaming happens against a national backdrop of charter schools continuing to grow.
K-12 Dive did a deep dive on the latest trends.
They find it to be a tough environment for growth.
True.
But from the four corners of the country –
From Hawaii, where the Volcano school is growing …
To Alaska, where school districts are contesting new charter school growth …
To Maine, where the frontrunner for governor has distinguished himself from the field by expressing support for charter schools …
To Florida, where we now have over a million students in charter schools and other forms of publicly supported school choice.
CharterFolk, in more ways than one …
… charter schools are taking the mound.