Donald Trump is traveling to swing-state Ohio on Thursday to speak at a public charter school in Cleveland.
Around 2 p.m., Trump will speak at the Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy. The event is open to media but not the general public.
Trump’s choice may seem a little odd, given that the state of Ohio gives the school an F in terms of students passing state standardized tests. The school also gets an F in making progress for students in grades 4-8 in math and reading. However, the standardized test those grades are based on was suspended after one year due to validity issues.
Battelle for Kids ranked the school the ninth-best school district in Ohio and the No. 1 charter school in terms of value-added.
The school serves grades K-8 and is managed by Accel Education, a for-profit education management organization.
The school has 330 students enrolled, with 13 teachers and 10 support staff. According to the federal Department of Education, as of the 2013-14 school year, more than 98 percent of enrolled students were African-American.
In addition to typical academic classes, the school offers weekly art, dance and gym classes. In a typical school day, students may also spend 30 minutes in music or Spanish classes.
According to Cleveland.com, “the school is in the predominantly African-American Woodland Hills neighborhood on the city’s East Side.”
The school asks parents to volunteer at the school in various areas for at least two hours per month.
Charter schools are publicly funded and do not charge tuition, but they are privately run. Compared to traditional public schools, charters have more independence and flexibility in their operations and curricula, which is why many families find them desirable. They are open to all students, but due to demand they must often use a lottery system to allocate spaces.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
