The Education Gadfly Weekly

The Public-Private Collaborative Commission delivered this week its report, Supporting Student Success: A New Learning Day in Ohio (see here). Led by Nationwide CEO Jerry Jurgensen and Columbus City Schools Superintendent Gene Harris, the commission recommended how to prepare Ohio's students, families, schools, and communities to meet the raised expectations of the Ohio Core curriculum. The commission's advice: it takes a village and all residents must be involved.

The commission calls for moving responsibility for public education out of schools and into the community. "In our vision, accountability for learning and student success will no longer be fixed only on schools; rather responsibility for accelerating every student's learning will be shared by the community," according to the report.

The commission's call echoes the position of the national initiative "Broader, Bolder Approach to Education" (see here). The ideas of that group have now apparently become the ideas of the commission in Ohio. These ideas are not new to America or to the Buckeye State. Fordham board member Chester E. Finn, Jr. debated fellow Fordham board member Diane Ravitch and the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, (see here) on these very issues in recent weeks. Some of what was said is relevant here. According to Finn, the pleas of the "broader, bolder" group downplay "basic academic skills and cognitive growth" and "learning that occurs in formal school settings during the years from kindergarten through high school."

The commission, not surprisingly, envisions an Ohio where out-of-school community-based learning opportunities (think internships, after-school care, and summer programs) are integrated with what is happening in the classroom, where social services connect to children through the school system, and where the transition of services from birth through post-secondary education is seamless. This vision is being pushed by heavy hitters nationally and now it has become the agenda of leaders in Ohio, including the state's superintendent of public instruction and higher education chancellor, the superintendent of the state's largest school district, and the head of one of the state's biggest and most successful companies.

Is this the right agenda for Ohio? Not if it comes at the expense of the policy goal of ‘academic excellence' for all children. Yesterday's push for achievement hasn't yet produced the learning gains Ohio needs. But based on recent student achievement gains it may be starting to do so (see here). There is even evidence that the achievement gaps that have plagued this state are starting to close. As noted by Finn in his debate with Ravitch and Weingarten, "The surest way to curb tomorrow's gains is to change the policy focus and ease the pressure." Yet, this is exactly the direction Ohio seems intent on going, and it is a direction taken without much evidence to support it.

Writing is the most difficult challenge for students participating in a two-year, pilot, after-school science program being conducted in nine schools in central and north-central Ohio.

According to an interim report not one teacher in the Young Buckeye STEM Scholars Program said writing went well last year. Overall, activities for the 227 students in the program, fairly evenly divided between boys and girls, were on target. However, communication, specifically in the form of writing summaries of scientific articles or news stories of scientific discoveries, was inadequate.

"All are struggling with writing but that's no surprise to us," said Lynn Elfner, executive director of the Ohio Academy of Science, which organized the program. Elfner noted that participation was not limited to the academically strongest students. In the evaluation prepared for the Ohio General Assembly, one superintendent stressed the value of including at-risk students to create learning chances for kids who would not ordinarily get them. Learn more about the program here.

As part of the $700,000 program, which incorporates hands-on scientific inquiry, technology design, teamwork, communications, and leadership development, students are expected to read, study, and submit 36 reports on research articles and news stories of scientific discoveries over 18 months.

As far as the students are concerned, their top-two activities were working with an oozy, squishy, stretchy polymer called "glubber," which 58 percent rated tops. Activities concerning flight and space-fizzy rockets came in a close second, at 57 percent.

The schools participating in the program are Big Walnut and Buckeye Valley in Delaware County; North Union in Union County; River Valley in Marion County; Teays Valley in Pickaway County; Upper Sandusky in Wyandot County; and Colonial Hills, Brookside, and Slate Hill elementary schools in the Worthington school district in Franklin County.

More than 1,000 preschool and K-12 students with Autism are now using an Ohio state-sponsored scholarship program that provides an educational option for parents dissatisfied with the services their child is receiving in a traditional public school.

The Autism Scholarship Program-worth up to $20,000 per student per year-was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 2003. It allows parents to enroll their child with Autism in private-education programs focusing on the social and academic needs of the students, particularly critical, early intervention therapies.

The Autism Scholarship has made a huge difference for Lori Walter's 11-year-old daughter, Chenedi. "Honestly, I don't know where she would be without this scholarship," said Walter, of Elyria. "Because of the scholarship, we have seen a 90- percent turnaround in her behaviors, without medication. For the first time, we believe that she will eventually be able to live on her own and we couldn't be happier."

Rep. Jon Peterson (R-Delaware), who sponsored the legislation creating the scholarships, said this 1,000-scholarship milestone (see chart below) confirms the importance of alternative-education programs. Peterson is also sponsoring legislation expanding the scholarship option to all students with learning disabilities or other special needs. The Senate version of the bill, S.B. 57, has been recommended by the House Education Committee and is awaiting a vote by the full House. But the bill is controversial. Gov. Strickland has promised to veto it in its current form, although supporters are urging a change of heart and an evaluation of the prospective program.

The scholarship's continued growth comes at a time when the governor is traveling the state to hear feedback from Ohioans in his "Conversations on Education" meetings. One of the governor's primary talking points has been the individualization of education. He might consider what this scholarship program has achieved and seriously consider whether the Autism Scholarship and proposed Special Needs Scholarship may offer the personalization and innovation necessary to be an integral part of what Ohio education needs to succeed in the 21st century.

There is no limit on the number of students with Autism who can participate in the program. A list of participating private providers is available here.

 By Chad W. Aldis, School Choice Ohio

The Public-Private Collaborative Commission delivered this week its report, Supporting Student Success: A New Learning Day in Ohio (see here). Led by Nationwide CEO Jerry Jurgensen and Columbus City Schools Superintendent Gene Harris, the commission recommended how to prepare Ohio's students, families, schools, and communities to meet the raised expectations of the Ohio Core curriculum. The commission's advice: it takes a village and all residents must be involved.

The commission calls for moving responsibility for public education out of schools and into the community. "In our vision, accountability for learning and student success will no longer be fixed only on schools; rather responsibility for accelerating every student's learning will be shared by the community," according to the report.

The commission's call echoes the position of the national initiative "Broader, Bolder Approach to Education" (see here). The ideas of that group have now apparently become the ideas of the commission in Ohio. These ideas are not new to America or to the Buckeye State. Fordham board member Chester E. Finn, Jr. debated fellow Fordham board member Diane Ravitch and the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, (see here) on these very issues in recent weeks. Some of what was said is relevant here. According to Finn, the pleas of the "broader, bolder" group downplay "basic academic skills and cognitive growth" and "learning that occurs in formal school settings during the years from kindergarten through high school."

The commission, not surprisingly, envisions an Ohio where out-of-school community-based learning opportunities (think internships, after-school care, and summer programs) are integrated with what is happening in the classroom, where social services connect to children through the school system, and where the transition of services from birth through post-secondary education is seamless. This vision is being pushed by heavy hitters nationally and now it has become the agenda of leaders in Ohio, including the state's superintendent of public instruction and higher education chancellor, the superintendent of the state's largest school district, and the head of one of the state's biggest and most successful companies.

Is this the right agenda for Ohio? Not if it comes at the expense of the policy goal of ‘academic excellence' for all children. Yesterday's push for achievement hasn't yet produced the learning gains Ohio needs. But based on recent student achievement gains it may be starting to do so (see here). There is even evidence that the achievement gaps that have plagued this state are starting to close. As noted by Finn in his debate with Ravitch and Weingarten, "The surest way to curb tomorrow's gains is to change the policy focus and ease the pressure." Yet, this is exactly the direction Ohio seems intent on going, and it is a direction taken without much evidence to support it.