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Riding the national wave of coverage related to public charter school performance in Ohio, a recent Columbus Dispatch article calls into question whether charter schools in the state are having the intended results of increasing high-quality options, “Charter schools were originally intended to unleash free-market competition and innovation, but their overall performance is making the state’s “Big 8” urban districts appear more competent”.

As national conversation around the performance of public charter schools grows, policymakers in Ohio have experienced pressure to increase accountability for public charter schools. Following a recent scandal where a Department of Education official was found to have removed data in order to increase performance ratings for many charter school sponsors, questions pertaining to the evaluation and performance of charter schools have further increased among stakeholders and media outlets throughout the state.

ACS client, The Ohio 8 Coalition, is a strategic alliance composed of the superintendents and teacher union presidents from Ohio’s eight urban school districts – Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown. The Ohio 8 Coalition’s mission is to work with policymakers to improve academic performance, increase graduation rates, and close the achievement gap for students in Ohio’s urban communities.

The Columbus Dispatch article highlights that of the 19 charter and urban schools rated an A for graduating students on time only two were charters. The other 17 were traditional public schools served by The Ohio 8 Coalition districts.

To further emphasize concerns regarding charter school performance compared to traditional public schools, the article highlights that every charter school in Canton, Ohio earned an F on the state’s K-3 literacy measure and no charter schools in Cincinnati or Youngstown received above a C. These results should call to question whether or not public charter schools are increasing quality options for families throughout the nation.

ACS works to support The Ohio 8 Coalition’s demand that public charter schools be held to the same standards as traditional public schools in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used appropriately to support the educational needs of students.

Recently the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed Congress, replacing the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002. The U.S. Department of Education is now faced with the tricky task of regulating the law, which goes into effect for the 2017-2018 school year. ESSA will have significant implications nationally and at the state level for early childhood and k-12 education.

These articles from Alyson Klein (k-12 focused) and Christina A. Samuels (early childhood focused) in Education Week explores the challenges of turning the law into regulations that “strike a delicate balance between handing power over to the states and reining in the Education Department. . . while also ensuring there some ‘guardrails’ are in place to help struggling schools and traditionally overlooked groups of students.”

Among the many considerations are:

• How the law will shift significant decision-making and authority from the federal level to states.
• Whether the negotiated rulemaking process for standards, assessments, and rules regarding how federal aid can or can’t replace state and local funds will be successful or if Congress will need to review regulations before they take effect.
• How the U.S. Education Department will go about the creation of the newly created literacy grant program that will help states develop or enhance comprehensive literacy-instruction plans that ensure high-quality instruction and effective strategies in reading and writing for children from early childhood through grade 12.

One thing is for sure: Congress will be watching closely to ensure that regulation and implementation are moving forward as the law intended. Regulators are considering concerns from state schools chiefs, teachers’ unions, child care providers, the civil rights community, and others. ACS advocates for equitable, high-quality public education for all students through its work through The Ohio 8 Coalition, which enrolls 11% of Ohio students attending public schools, and through the support of PRE4CLE’s efforts to rapidly increase access to high-quality preschool in Cleveland.

The advocacy experts at ACS are working with high profile early childhood and K-12 clients including The Ohio 8 Coalition, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and PRE4CLE. In the coming months we will monitor the continued evolution of ESSA to fully understand its policy and political implications of ESSA and to best define advocacy activities related to the legislation. If you need help having your concerns heard, or if you have questions on how ESSA will impact your school district or organization, ACS can help.

A new study conducted by the American Educational Research Association titled “Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?” has garnered national media attention from NPR and the Washington Post. The study concluded that elementary schools are expecting more out of kindergarteners academically and providing less time to spend in self-directed and creative play.  The emphasis on academic performance in this age group reflects a shift on behalf of school systems and federal education policy to focus on standardized testing performance rather than social skills and creative development.

The study compared teachers’ responses to a survey conducted in 1998 and 2010. The study’s authors chose these years because in 1998, the federal No Child Left Behind law hadn’t yet changed the school landscape with its annual tests and emphasis on the achievement gap. By 2010, significant changes in school policies and kindergarten became apparent.

The response from teachers during these two years found the following differences:

• In 2010, prekindergarten prep was expected. 33% more teachers believed that students should know the alphabet and how to hold a pencil before beginning kindergarten.
• In 1998, 31% of teachers believed their students should learn to read during the kindergarten year. That figure increased to 80% by 2010.
• In 2010, 73% of kindergartners took at least one standardized test. In 1998 surveyors didn’t ask kindergarten teachers that question.
• The percentage of teachers who reported offering music every day in kindergarten dropped from 34% in 1998 to 16% in 2010.
• The percentage of teachers who reported that their students participated in daily recess increased from 73% in 1998 to 82% in 2010.

ACS understands that now more than ever, preparation for kindergarten increases the chances for student success. ACS is honored to be working with initiatives such as PRE4CLE and The Ohio 8 Coalition and organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), that provide increased opportunity for high quality early learning experiences so that children may grow up healthy and ready to learn.

 

Using digital or online approaches can give your organization a leg up and an opportunity to tell your story in a new or different way. Chances are you digest digital content everyday through online mediums like videos, podcasts, and twitter, to name a few. Why not leverage this for the benefit of your organization?

In light of the New Year, Atlantic Media Strategies posted their top digital and media trends for 2016 on medium.com, a blog-publishing platform. These media trends are especially relevant to anyone wanting to share, discover, and connect to digital or online options.  Here are some of the trends to watch in 2016:

• Website vs. Social Media:

In recent years social media has expanded, but has been used as a secondary means to the more traditional website. But now, many organizations are increasingly investing in their social media as the primary means of communication.  While websites offer the opportunity to dive deep into content, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram offer the ability to instantly connect with your key or target audience.

• On Demand Content:

For years, media, especially television, has focused on the anticipation of an event to draw in an audience.  The excitement surrounding a media event, such as a televised awards show, sporting event, or season premiere has been a surefire way to increase viewership. But how will the rising popularity of on demand content on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon affect television viewership?  The binge watching trend has shown no signs of stopping, and platforms are consistently adding new shows and creative ways to keep their customers on computers and off TVs. In 2016, this trend continues as we consider media as an event or as omnipresent content to consume when we want.

• Opportunities for Storytelling:

Online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, offer tremendous opportunities for dimensional storytelling, which allows the user to incorporate varying levels text, pictures, and videos. These provide a richer and more visual story to share with your audience. Consider digging deeper on your website while weaving brief and interesting parts of your narrative into your social media content.  If your organization does not utilize social media, there are an array of opportunities to advertise or appear on popular podcasts relevant to your audience.  You could even create your own, tailor the discussion to your target audience, and upload it to SoundCloud, a free music and audio streaming site, so listeners can sonically survey your content. There’s no limit to how much you can reinforce your brand or message when using multiple online platforms.

Looking to building an advocacy strategy for 2016? Want to know how to make the most of this election year? Check out our newsletter for our best advice on how to elevate your message and work during an important election year.

Every year around this time, ACS reflects on the impact our work has for our clients’ stakeholders and constituents. We take into account changing realities and policies that help, and harm, how our efforts help children, youth, and families grow, learn, and thrive.

Much like our annual reflections, John Corlett, Executive Director of the Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland, reflects on his work and the realities for families living on $2 a day in his article published in October for Third Sector Today.  Corlett explains that while the number of Clevelanders receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits was ten times higher in 2007 than it is today, the number of persons in the City of Cleveland living in extreme poverty has grown by 40 percent since 2007.

Corlett asserts that a growth in deep poverty has persisted even as the economy has improved. A decrease in public assistance coupled with an increase in poverty (an increase of roughly 30 percent of individuals below 50 percent of the federal poverty level in Cuyahoga County) has left many struggling.   For an individuals and families in these circumstances, they live on less than $16 a day.

Corlett introduces us to Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer, who recently published $2 a Day, a book that reveals how economic hardships have gotten worse for many families despite the overall improvement of the economy.  Edin and Shaefer explain that there now are one and a half million American families living on $2 per day, and that these households include three million children. The authors visited Chicago, Johnston City, Tennessee, and Cleveland to interview families in an effort to put a human face on extreme poverty in the United States.

Corlett offers a number of solutions to lift families out of extreme poverty.  He proposes using accumulated unspent TANF dollars to create subsidized jobs for those unable to find work. He also advocates increasing investments in behavioral health services, as many of those experiencing extreme poverty experience higher rates of substance abuse, depression, and other forms of mental illness. Corlett also suggests investments in literacy and adult education that could help the 66 percent of Cleveland adults who are functionally illiterate.

ACS continues our deep commitment to improving social issues that impact children, families, and communities through our work on early childhood, K-12 education, workforce development, Medicaid, and health and human services. We are proud to be working with clients who share that commitment.

Restorative justice models are gradually replacing zero-tolerances discipline models in schools across the country as awareness of the school-to-prison pipeline increases. Zero-tolerance policies remove students from the classroom based on mandated predetermined minimum penalties (such as suspension and expulsion) for a wide degree of rule violations, and place them in the hands of the justice system.  ACS is a committed partner to ending the school-to-prison pipeline, as outlined in a recent report, ‘Better than Zero’ that details how alternative discipline can zero-tolerance policies to break the school-to-prison pipeline and through our work with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Forward Promise grantees.

After coming under scrutiny through evidence that one in five students in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) was suspended during the 2013-2014 school year, school officials have moved toward restorative justice practices to replace their zero-tolerance discipline model.  IPS’ racial disparities around discipline came under investigation by Indiana University professor Brea Perry. Perry’s research on this topic was published in the American Sociological Review in November 2014. In September 2014, representatives from the Greater Indianapolis NAACP, the Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, and Indiana University spoke before a panel of Indiana lawmakers sitting on the Interim Study Committee on Education to report high suspension rates of black students.

Following the release of Perry’s research and the testimony of education experts at the Interim Study Committee on Education, IPS developed a new code of conduct, released in late July 2015, aimed at reducing the number of suspensions and expulsions and supporting positive student behaviors.

Some of the new discipline policies found in IPS’ code of conduct include:

• Students will be prohibited from recording cell phone videos of violence of fights in school.
• Students may be disciplined for serious inappropriate behavior off school property and during non-school hours if the behavior will interfere with teaching and learning at the school.
• No student shall be restrained and/or placed in seclusion by school staff unless the student’s behavior poses an imminent risk of injury to him/herself or others. Previously, teachers had been encouraged not to involve themselves physically if students were fighting.
• Talking back can get a student kicked out of class, but the out-of-school suspension is capped at two days

The Gates Foundation released an extensive report in September 2014 titled Lessons from Research and the Classroom: Implementing High-Quality Pre-K that Makes a Difference for Young Children. This report explores what makes programs successful and how best to spend early education dollars. Most importantly, this report narrows in on the most effective way to invest in early childhood education; by directing dollars to high quality preschool programs for low-income children.

Findings suggest that not enough of the available funding is being spent on high-quality preschool programs. A critical finding, because the report finds that low and middle performing early childhood education programs have either a negative or no impact on school readiness for children.

The Gates Foundation’s Early Childhood Learning initiative works to ensure that every child has high-quality early learning opportunities that support kindergarten readiness and elementary school achievement to ultimately break the cycle of poverty.

ACS understands the significant impact of high quality early childhood education. Our client, PRE4CLE, works to expand access to high-quality pre-K to children in the City of Cleveland. PRE4CLE will work with the community to connect parents and families to available high-quality pre-K opportunities. Read more about PRE4CLE here.

PRE4CLE released its first annual report yesterday showing that Cleveland has made major strides toward expanding access to high-quality preschool for all of its children after just one year of implementation.

ACS’ deep knowledge in early childhood issues across the country, as well as expertise in facilitation, communication, advocacy, and strategy development, helped guide Cleveland, Ohio’s plan for preschool, PRE4CLE. This roadmap is directing the City of Cleveland towards the implementation of a voluntary universal preschool program for all three- and four-year-olds throughout the city. The ACS team led and facilitated nine separate working groups, consisting of a total of more than 60 participants, to delve deeply into aspects ranging from finance, to teacher quality and transportation. Once the PRE4CLE plan was approved, ACS led, developed and implemented a multi-faceted communication plan, including media relations, website content development, social media strategy, and development of print collateral materials to help PRE4CLE reach its target audiences with the right message, vehicle, and outreach strategy.

After PRE4CLE’s first year, enrollment has grown by 10 percent with over 1,200 additional children enrolled in high-quality preschools; 80 percent of children in high-quality PRE4CLE classrooms are on track to be ready for kindergarten. Twenty-one preschool programs were newly-rated as high-quality, serving 750 additional students. ACS helped PRE4CLE share their success story through a national media pitch, including EdWeek, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post.

If you want to know more about how PRE4CLE realized such success after just one year, contact ACS at info@advocacyandcommunication.org.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS), was named a Weatherhead 100 Upstart winner as one of the fastest-growing companies in Northeast Ohio. ACS is an all-female, minority-owned firm that has provided communication, advocacy, and strategy development services to early childhood education, K-12 education, Medicaid, health and human services, and workforce development organizations across the country for nearly 12 years.

ACS was awarded the number 16 spot in the “Upstart” category at a ceremony on December 3rd. Sponsored by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio, the Weatherhead 100 awards ceremony recognizes Northeast Ohio’s fastest-growing companies based on revenue from the past five years.  Upstarts are fast-growing companies with fewer than 15 employees and net sales of less than $5 million last year. In the past five years, ACS has increased its staff from two to six employees and has grown revenues from $600,000 to nearly $1 million a year.