Nina Rees released the following statement in response to the release of a new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Bellwether Education.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement in response to the release of a new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Bellwether Education, titled The Road to Redemption: Ten Policy Recommendations for Ohios Charter School Sector:
"We commend the Fordham Institute and Bellwether on the release of this new report about improving the policy environment for public charter schools in Ohio. The reports recommendations are the logical follow-up to Turning the Corner to Quality: Policy Guidelines for Strengthening Ohios Charter Schools, a 2006 report that Fordham, the National Association of Charter Schools Authorizers, and the National Alliance produced. If enacted, the new reports recommendations will boost the quality of the states public charter school movement.
"We are particularly encouraged to see relatively strong alignment between Fordham's new recommendations and those in our own model public charter school law. We urge Governor Kasich and Ohio legislators to move these recommendations into law in 2015. We look forward to supporting them, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and others as they work to create more high-quality public charter school options for Ohio's families."
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many independent research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.