Finding the Place Where Your Student Can Thrive
In the Fall of 2023, our Executive Director, Dr. Cynthia Knight, was interviewed by Dan Smith, Director of Development at Josiah White’s Quakerdale Foundation, to discuss the educational landscape in Iowa. This Blog Post provides an overview of their conversation on how Parents and Families can find a school where their Students belong and can thrive.
Without further ado, let us dive into this conversation!
Conversation Topic: Voucher System in Iowa
Vouchers give Parents and Families more choice as they navigate where they send their Student(s) to school.
When the Voucher System rolled out, many feared that many traditional Public School Students would flee to Private Schools. Although there were many more applicants for Iowa School Vouchers than expected, Families with Students previously enrolled at Private Schools now have financial assistance to send them there in the upcoming years.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the Voucher System in Iowa was available to Students living in households with incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. In the 2024-2025 school year, the guidelines expand and make Vouchers available to Students with household incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. When the 2025-2026 school year starts, Vouchers will be available to all Iowa Students without any regulations surrounding income levels. Legislators have implemented this tiered rollout method to level the playing field for Students. For instance, throughout the first year, Students with the least financial access to an alternative educational option will have first choice, and so on, until the third year of the rollout. Using this method, Students who can typically afford alternative educational options cannot apply for a Voucher before Students with low access take advantage of the process.
Parents and Families with questions about the Voucher System should visit the Iowa Department of Education website to learn more. Their website outlines who is eligible, what circumstances qualify, and how the Voucher System operates.
Conversation Topic: The Concept of School-of-Choice
School-of-choice means that Students and their Families should have the right to choose a school that has the best educational opportunities for them.
Promoting a school-of-choice mindset empowers Families and Students by providing a variety of educational options and giving the decision-making power back to them!
Conversation Topic: What is a Public Charter School?
A Public Charter School receives public funds, which are limited, similar to traditional Public Schools. Iowa Choice Charter School is considered a Public School and is open to Parents and Families who want to send Students there. Since the funds that support Public Charter Schools come from a public source, these schools are FREE and open to Students at no cost, meaning that there are no fees for enrollment, tuition, or anything else.
Public Charter Schools exist for many different reasons. While some Public Charter Schools may be STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) oriented, some center around the Performing Arts or other subject areas. One thing that most Public Charter Schools have in common is that a driving force leads to their establishment, such as the presence of unmet needs within the traditional Public School system.
Our Executive Director, Dr. Cynthia Knight, kept seeing thousands of Students in Iowa drop out every year. She wanted to serve these Students and went on to establish Iowa Choice Charter School.
In reflection on how school systems worked fifty years ago, the idea of alternative schools did not exist. Students typically had two choices: the Public School in town or the local Private School, which was quite expensive. Either way, there seemed to be little difference in the educational format. That said, the Public School system is innovating to find alternative educational models that will better address the different learning styles and abilities of Students who, right now, are just not making it in a traditional Public School. Creating Public Charter Schools should be seen as effective compared to continuing to do the same thing in education while expecting different results.
The graduation rate in Iowa is relatively high, averaging 85-90% in recent years and showing that our traditional Public School system successfully serves many Students. Traditional Public Schools teach the masses. Public Charter Schools allow Students to thrive and find a niche. Additionally, they go above and beyond to offer more than a traditional Public School, meant to serve and meet the needs of the masses, can offer.
Conversation Topic: Education and Access to Transportation
Many Students in any state, Iowa particularly, may want to take advantage of an alternative educational option other than a traditional Public School. Low access to transportation, especially in rural areas, may cause Students to feel stuck at a school that does not best meet their needs.
Curriculum Director Dan Smith mentions examples of High School Students and their Families struggling to choose between Home Schooling and attending school in person since where they live outside of town could require 60-80 miles of driving one-way. Virtual education programs may be a good fit for those with this experience.
The online, 100% virtual option at Iowa Choice Charter School opens up a door to Students who may not otherwise shift gears in their education because of transportation issues. It also opens a door for transient Students who typically move households and regions throughout the school year. An online option allows transient Students to consistently continue their educational journey instead of stopping and restarting repeatedly.
Iowa Choice Charter School is 100% online. However, most Public Charter Schools, traditional Public Schools, and Private Schools are in-person and hold classes at a brick-and-mortar location that Students must physically travel to.
Conversation Topic (Q & A): The Positive Impact at Iowa Choice Charter School
Question | What types of Students may struggle in the traditional Public School classroom and typically find traction and encouragement through Iowa Choice Charter School?
Answer | A majority of our Students have been bullied and harassed. They find themselves tired of the constant barrage of negativity that they feel is going on at their traditional Public School. When Students are not having a positive experience at school, their mental well-being, physical health, attendance, and academic performance can suffer. These Students thrive within our environment. Other Students of ours continuously get behind on their coursework for many reasons, including but not limited to caretaker responsibilities at home, gaps in physical abilities, and mental health issues. No matter the reason, Iowa Choice Charter School is here for them. Most traditional Public Schools operate on a 90-day cycle during which a Student must earn a certain amount of points. Within this system, a Student fails a class and has to restart it when the minimum points expectation is unmet. At Iowa Choice Charter School, Students can work at their own pace and get ahead or fall behind on coursework without consequence. If a Student misses class or is showing gaps in completing assignments, we work with them one-on-one to provide whatever it is they need to continue moving forward in the right direction toward their High School diploma. We do not spend much time on it. Our response is usually; Okay, you could not make it today or did not complete your homework for some reason. How about we make sure you get here and keep going tomorrow? We also have some Students who come to us with their end goal in mind. Their earning a High School diploma at our school is the piece they are missing. These Students enjoy the self-led, autonomous environment because they can come in and get what they need, graduate, and move on to achieve their higher goals.
Question | If a Student wants to enroll at Iowa Choice Charter School, must they take an entire grade? Do they have the ability to take a few classes, like Science and Math, at Iowa Choice Charter School while taking other courses at another educational institution?
Answer | Students can enroll at Iowa Choice Charter School any time during the school year. Our open enrollment application is available online year-round to Students who reside in Iowa, are under the age of 21, and need to complete any parts of any grades 9-12. Although we do not have any Students implementing this option, we would have the capacity to allow a Student to dually enroll at our school and take the classes of their choice while enrolled at another.
Question | Has there been any feedback from the Home School community related to Iowa Choice Charter School and the impact it has had?
Answer | Iowa Choice Charter School accepts Home School transcripts, which differs from most traditional Public Schools, where they are often unaccepted and unrecognized. Some of our Students transitioned from a Home School environment and enrolled with us. It seems like the Parents and Families of these Students successfully homeschooled them throughout their education, and around 7th-10th grade, they want their Student(s) to engage with an educational program that is more rigorous than what they can offer at home.
Question | Are there any Students who may fare better in a traditional Public School environment?
Answer | Yes, the traditional Public School System has worked for 85-90% of Students in Iowa. Students who can sit still, adequately pay attention to instructions, and produce results within set guidelines do well. Schools like Iowa Choice Charter School serve the 10-15% of Students who are not succeeding in that environment and would prefer self-led, individualized, project-based learning. Plus, facilitating school online does have limits. One of those is the lack of access to in-person extracurricular activities. For instance, theater clubs and group sports are unavailable outside the brick-and-mortar educational environment. Iowa Choice Charter School has been working with the Iowa Department of Education to try and shift this so that Students who would like to have the opportunity to attend our school and participate in some of these opportunities in their local areas. However, there is no movement where this is concerned quite yet.
Question | What strategies does Iowa Choice Charter School implement to guide Students toward a brighter future?
Answer | Some of our strategies include -
We offer free open enrollment year-round and free access to online education. We also provide a computer, wifi, and all other resources a Student may need to attend our school.
We incorporate personalized instruction and mentorship to ensure Students stay moving in the right direction while feeling supported. We notice each Student and let them know we care about them. Our virtual platform is highly interactive and founded in project-based programming. We do not facilitate an environment where Students solely engage with the curriculum and then take a test to continue. Additionally, our Teachers, Educators, and assigned Mentors interact with Students via scheduled live video instruction, adding a personal touch.
We work directly with Parents and Families to create future-focused plans for every Student. We review what is happening with Students and implement a plan for them to reach success. Our planning often goes above and beyond the High School years! We arrange for Students to enter the workforce, prepare them for a journey in higher education, connect them to apprenticeships and internships, and set them up for the military - whatever they desire! From there, we continue to review that plan to evaluate performance and make adjustments as needed. At Iowa Choice Charter School, Students can work with us for any duration. If they decide that our school is not the one for them, they can make changes and switch schools again. Above anything else, we stay focused on what is in the best interest of each Student here at Iowa Choice Charter School!
We hope that reviewing this conversation via our Blog proves educational and insightful! Those interested in viewing the video interview can find it here, and others interested in listening to the conversation in podcast format can find it on Spotify.
