On March 12, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), held a hearing entitled, “Raising the Bar: The Role of Charter Schools in K-12 Education.” During the hearing, members discussed ways charter schools are empowering parents, pioneering fresh teaching methods, encouraging state and local innovation, and helping students escape underperforming schools.
Alan Rosskamm, CEO of
Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland, described Breakthrough’s success in raising the bar on student achievement.
“In 2012-2013, Breakthrough students, on average, outperformed their peers across the city, county, and state in every subject,” Rosskamm said. “Nationally, Breakthrough Schools were recognized as 1st in reading growth and 4th in math growth among urban charter school networks in the United States in a study by the CREDO Institute at Stanford University.”
Mr. Rosskamm’s remarks underscore the unique relationship that Breakthrough Schools has with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The district sponsors eight of Breakthrough’s 10 schools, including Lakeshore Intergenerational School, which will open in Collinwood this August. Four of Breakthrough’s schools are housed in former district buildings and a fifth, Near West Intergenerational School, is in space leased from the district for $1 a year.
“Half of Cleveland’s top performing schools are public charter schools,” John Zitzner, President of Friends of Breakthrough School, added in a release. “Replicating high performing charters like Breakthrough Schools is critical to turning Cleveland into a championship city for education.”
Read more about the hearing
here.