- In case you missed it, an era ended in Cincinnati when the school board cancelled the infamous “magnet school campouts.” A longstanding first-come, first-served enrollment policy in two of the district’s highest-performing schools led to families camping out, “Survivor”-style, on school grounds for weeks. Citing safety and equity issues, the board voted unanimously to replace first-served enrollment with a lottery. The vote to stick a fork in the campout tradition took place back in July, but the public only caught on in late August—probably when they were heading to the store to get s’more camping gear. Call it the “Cabela’s Grapevine.”
- Discussing a charter school on Columbus’s north side, which suddenly ceased operation just before the scheduled first day of classes, a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch observed, “The district’s schools don’t suddenly disappear the day before the school year starts.” He’s right about that. All the district schools which have poor student achievement, low student growth, and spend scads of public money opened right on time.
- On a more positive note, it appears that the projects funded in the first round of Ohio’s Straight A grants are showing promise in terms of student and public engagement. This is according to a first look at the projects conducted by independent analysts. The real test will come in future evaluations of student success, of course, but these early results seem to argue against the legislature’s decision to reduce the fund to bare bones in the 2016–17 budget cycle.
- Step one: Read this piece from the Youngstown Vindicator, which highlights the similarities between the state takeover of the Newark, New Jersey, school district and the impending governance changes to Youngstown’s district schools. Step two: Read this review of The Prize, a new book by Dale Russakoff about the powerful opposing forces whose actions and rhetoric have stymied any attempt at changing the status quo in Newark. Step three: Copy “Youngstown” and replace “Newark” to better grasp the uphill challenge of school reform in Youngstown.
