David H. Nordyke (February 4, 1952 – December 29, 2003) was an American educator who co-wrote the Charter School Bill for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

Background

Born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

, Nordyke earned a degree from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

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and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

. He took graduate courses at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, and he also worked toward a doctoral degree at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

in Ohio. After teaching in public and parochial schools, Nordyke founded Harmony Community School in 1998. He died in the school in 2003 over winter break, but the school still worked to achieve Nordyke's vision and mission.

Harmony Community School

Harmony Community School (located in Roselawn, a neighborhood of

), was one of the largest charter high schools in the state of Ohio. The school's slogan was "One size fits few," which was a shortened form of Nordyke's educational philosophy. It closed on December 31, 2008.

Charter schools

Ohio has emerged in the top ten list for states with the most Charter schools. The issue has been politically divisive, with Republican lawmakers tending to side with Charter schools, and Ohio teacher unions vehemently opposing the concept. The current Ohio law pertaining to Charter schools can be foun
here

Controversy

During his career, Nordyke became a lightning rod for controversy, engaging in publicized disputes with local politicians, oversight agencies, his own school board members, and even the local public library system. In 2001, David Nordyke's organization received $460,000 in public funds to cover the costs of salaries, supplies, and the rental of a facility. However, after complaints from the local library system, the government officials learned that Nordyke had previously left the facility while owing $40,000 in back rent, and had been secretly teaching the students at a local library without notifying his funding sources or the library itself. Despite calls from then-State Senator and current Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory to revoke the school's funding, Nordyke was able to secure a local warehouse to house the school and thus preserve its identity as a school.

External links

David Nordyke, 51, leader of charter school
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordyke, David 1952 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American educators Miami University alumni University of Dayton alumni Xavier University alumni Educators from Ohio