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School Choice

Thanks to Supporters of School Choice Like You, California AB 1316 is Dead

on June 3, 2021 | By Mark Holley
As noted earlier, California Assembly Bill 1316 (AB 1316) would have had a tremendously negative impact on charter school students in our state, including our own Method students and families. But thanks to thousands of California families and organizations who believe parents should have a say in where their child attends school, AB 1316 is dead. 
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School Choice

Statement on California Assembly Bill 1316

on April 26, 2021 | By Mark Holley
California Assembly Bill 1316 (AB 1316) will have a tremendously negative impact on charter school students in our state, including our own Method students and families. In recent years, various bills have been introduced and passed that have severely impacted and limited our ability to serve students. AB 1316 is undoubtedly the biggest attack on charter schools - and school choice for families - since the inception of charter schools through the Charter Schools Act of 1992. Assembly Bill 1316 further entrenches the "education based on zip code, not by choice" mentality in California. It also perpetuates harmful myths about charter schools - and particularly non-classroom based schools.
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School Choice

District v Charter: Two Solutions For California's Public School Turf Wars

on November 12, 2019 | By Mark Holley
Now that some of the dust has settled on the worst California legislative session imaginable for school choice proponents, maybe it's time to talk actual solutions rather than bills that put politics first and hurt students by eliminating options and educational freedom. I spent 14 years at a school district, mainly in a business capacity. I started in the district warehouse, graduated from college, and moved up into the finance department. Graduated again, moved up to a better position in the finance department. My educational background is actually in marketing, and during this time I moonlighted as a marketing consultant for mostly education clients but also a pizza restaurant, where, yes, I was paid in free pizza and the best board room imaginable to meet with clients at night and sometimes on weekends. Best client ever, by the way. Thanks always to my buddy from Boston Nicola DellaCioppa! 
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School Choice

Why We Need School Choice

on October 14, 2019 | By Dr. Jessica Spallino
Your child’s education is likely one of your top priorities as a parent. But unfortunately, the amount of control you have over your child’s education can largely depend on where you live. Traditionally, where you send your child to school is dictated by schools assigned to you based on the neighborhood boundaries you live within. Where school district lines are drawn can divide communities in half, and where your home is located can determine the quality of education your child receives. Even if you live right on the border of a school district, you may be forced to send your child to an undesirable school. Even worse, your child's grades may start to suffer because they are not receiving the care and attention they need. 
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Online Learning

Even in Virtual Schools, Teachers Make the Difference

on October 3, 2019 | By Mark Holley
I'm not a teacher. I've never been a teacher. But this is my 20th year in K-12 education in finance, marketing, and product development, and I've had some thoughts lately about how education has changed in my time and what it will look like in the near future. While there have been some changes to how students are taught in recent years, schools operate in relatively the same way as 100 years ago. But change is accelerating due to the proliferation of school choice, online learning, and other technology advances.
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Innovation

The Time Is Now For Fair Charter School Authorizing Reform In California

on August 19, 2019 | By Dr. Jessica Spallino
 
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Small Class Sizes

Back to the Roots of Independent Study Public Charter Schools

on July 23, 2019 | By Dr. Jessica Spallino
I've worked in the independent study public charter school space since 1999 back when they were far more utilitarian than they have become today. There were no funds for families to spend, no selecting and purchasing preferred curriculum, and no desire for freedom from the requirement to demonstrate work completed and academic progress.
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School Choice

Introducing Our New Transparency Web Page

on July 16, 2019 | By Mark Holley
Charter schools are the only mechanism for free educational choice in California and most states. However, rapid expansion due to parents choosing charter schools has created growing pains. Some laws are vague and others are clearly intended to damage charters and, in doing so, educational choice for K-12 families. And sadly, a small percentage of charter operators have acted unethically and illegally. 
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School Choice

The Negative Cycle of Student Immobilization

on June 20, 2019 | By Dr. Jessica Spallino
During a time of heated intolerance of public charter schools, we are reminded of those who ultimately suffer the consequences of limited school choice. The potential decline of school choice due to struggles over student revenue are sharpening the impact on those trapped in the poorest of neighborhoods.
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Method Schools

We Don't Cut Corners: Quality, Ethics and Choice in California Public Education

on May 28, 2019 | By Mark Holley
As a charter school today it feels like we're fighting a battle on two fronts. The first is well-known: traditionalists who are against individual choice in education. Everyone needs a boogeyman, and for public education it's been things like perceived lack of funding, the digital divide, new and changing academic standards, politicians, and now, charter schools. But charter schools aren't why school districts are losing revenues. It's the fact families choose charter schools. That's a distinction that districts should focus energy on.
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All Rights Reserved. The school name “Method” includes two California K-12 charter schools: Method LA, authorized by Acton Agua Dulce Unified School District, and Method Schools, authorized by Dehesa Elementary School District. Method is committed to equal opportunity for all individuals in education and in employment and does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, immigration status, race, or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, parental/marital or family status, primary language, medical condition, genetic information, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. The Method Schools Board of Directors prohibits all unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying of any student based on the protected characteristics named above. For more information, please contact Title IX Coordinator Tracy Robertson at trobertson@methodschools.org or Jade Fernandez at jfernandez@methodschools.org. 

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