As I mentioned last week, we’re asking Congress to appropriate $500 million for the CSP in the next fiscal year. The current $440 million appropriation for the CSP amounts to less than 1% of spending on K-12 education at the U.S. Department of Education. With this modest investment, numerous studies have shown that students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, in particular, benefit from attending charter schools.
I know I don’t need to explain the power of charter schools to you. You see it every day. But we do need to keep explaining it to members of Congress. As policymakers look to close equity gaps and give more students access to high-quality public schools—especially as we begin to recover from the pandemic—the CSP offers a proven way to increase opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to great schools.
Families need high-quality public schools in their communities and lawmakers need to hear how CSP funding can make that possible. Please take action today and share the take action link with your networks. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Nina Rees President & CEO National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
ADVOCACY
Protect Charter Schools
This is not the time to shortchange public education. And it is certainly not the time to shortchange charter schools. Contact your representatives to make sure they don’t forget what’s at stake.
Biden Administration Releases Overview of FY 2022 Budget
The Biden Administration released an overview of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget on Friday, which serves as an initial budget to signal overall priorities. The budget includes increases for Title I, Head Start, IDEA, and Community Schools. See this memo from our partners at Penn Hill Group for more information on the education-related provisions in the President's budget.
A Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs
The U.S. Department of Education released the COVID-19 Handbook, Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs to provide additional strategies to support the safe reopening of school buildings. Volume 2 includes research-based strategies to address the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students and staff.
The U.S. Department of Education is looking for schools that have led and innovated on school reopening—and we know that includes many charter schools. This is a time for us to shine a light on the amazing work happening in the sector and share lessons with the larger education community. Send best practices around school reopening to bestpracticesclearinghouse@ed.gov.
WEBINARS
Improving Student Engagement and Learning
As an educator, what do you think is the most challenging part of virtual teaching? If you said student engagement, you’re not alone. Districts, schools, and educators have made Herculean efforts to track down missing students—even going to their homes—and still report an alarming number of absences.
Join the National Alliance and Great Minds for a webinar on Wednesday, April 14, at 4:30 p.m. ET to explore how to reach every student and apply best practices for student engagement in any environment.
Financial Strategy: Keep an Emergency from Becoming a Crisis Engagement and Learning
If there's anything we've learned in the last year, it's that the only thing we can expect is the unexpected. Strategic financial planning can prepare your school for whatever the world brings. A prepared-for crisis is just an emergency. An unplanned-for emergency can become a crisis.
Join the National Alliance and Charter School Capital on Tuesday, April 20, to discuss how strategic financial planning can make or break a school in times of uncertainty.
Match Charter Public School will host a Zoom webinar on Wednesday, April 14, at 12 p.m. ET to discuss its tutoring program, the Match Corps. With many schools looking for innovative ways to increase student achievement following this challenging year of remote and hybrid learning, Match wants to share more about the documented impact of high-dosage tutoring, the history of its tutoring program, best practices for tutor recruitment and training, and how they've leveraged their tutors during the pandemic. Register for the webinar.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Match's Director of Development & Communications Genevieve Dusing.
New Resource on Addressing Unfinished Learning
In school districts and charter school networks nationwide, instructional leaders are developing plans to address the enormous challenges faced by their students, families, teachers, and staff over the past year. To help kick-start the planning process, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute is proud to present The Acceleration Imperative, an open-source, evidence-based document created with input from dozens of current and former chief academic officers, scholars, and others with deep expertise and experience in high-performing, high-poverty elementary schools.
This resource is a living document that will continue to evolve with the input of readers. Practitioners can download and use it as a starting point or an aid for their own planning purposes, share their comments and experiences, and suggest edits for it on a new wiki-style website.
JOB CORNER
Work at the National Alliance
EVP, National Advocacy and Charter Schools Action Fund Director
The EVP will be primarily responsible for the design and implementation of strategies to: (1) protect federal funding and advance charter schools federal policy; (2) support diverse state coalitions to align their advocacy efforts with the organization’s federal goals; and; (3) lead, raise funds for, and build a nationwide advocacy and political strategy for the 501(c)(4), the CSAF. Apply today!
The National Alliance is a non-profit organization that relies on generous partners like you. Please consider supporting the growth and sustainability of charter schools by making a tax-deductible gift or adding your name to our advocacy list. Thank you!
