Education: Making the Choice - Charter Schools

MAKING THE CHOICE

Educational options beyond private and traditional public schools abound in Central Ohio.

Choosing a school for your child is a big decision, with many factors to consider. Fortunately, Columbus boasts many great school systems, including community schools, also known as charter schools. Community schools, according to the Ohio Department of Education’s definition, provide a public, K-12 education thanks to state and federal funds and are nonprofit and nonreligious. ODE’s 2020-21 Community Schools Annual Report, the most recent available, notes that the state had 315 community schools during that school year, with 77 of them in Franklin County. Elsewhere in the Columbus Region, Licking County and Morrow County have one community school each, and Marion County has three.

Community schools operate in three formats: site-based community schools function like most other brick-and-mortar schools; blended programs provide both in-person and webbased lessons; and e-schools function exclusively through online learning. ODE reports that during the 2020-21 school year, 70 percent of community school students in Ohio were enrolled in a site-based school. The department also notes that community schools have the same graduation requirements as all other public schools.

Lacey Snoke, the interim chief of communications for ODE, encourages parents to search the interactive community school directory on the department’s website, education.ohio.gov, to see which schools are in the area. A visit to a school itself can help guide the decision, too.

One notable community school in the Region is KIPP Columbus, part of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) that has nearly 300 schools across the country.

“We create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the path they choose—college, career and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and create a more just world,” says KIPP Columbus superintendent Ciji Pittman.

KIPP Columbus has made great strides since its inception in 2008; the Northeast Columbus school began with 50 students in fifth grade and now teaches more than 2,000 from infancy to high school, with nearly 1,500 children on its waitlist. Its partnerships with local organizations like Battelle, the YMCA of Central Ohio and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio allow the campus to develop; with an expansion in the works, the school aims to educate almost 4,000 students through 12th grade annually in the coming years.

Like many area schools, college preparation is a high priority; the KIPP Forward program (formerly known as KIPP Through College) ensures that KIPP students go to and through college. In 2020, the high school celebrated its first class of graduating seniors, boasting a 100 percent graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate.

”We want students to really tap into the passions that they have, and we believe it’s our responsibility to cultivate those,” Pittman says. “And then we are also ensuring that you’re equipped with the skills, academically and socially, to be successful.”