- Starting today’s report with an interesting piece I missed last week. Ross County continues to be the epicenter of debate on the topic of open enrollment in Ohio – that is, allowing students to attend schools across traditional district boundaries. There is discussion of current net “losers” and “winners” of students and of the funding that follows those students. Most importantly, it seems that some districts are actually surveying the students who leave in order to find out why. A huge development in the ongoing discussion. (Chillicothe Gazette, 11/12/15)
- On Friday the 13th, all five members of the new Youngstown Academic Distress Commission were finally named. (WYTV – Youngstown, 11/13/15) There’s no information in this piece on the individual appointed by Youngstown’s mayor. Here is a nice profile of that appointee – a retired dean from Youngstown State University. (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/13/15) Meanwhile, the school board’s sole appointee to the commission has irked the local teachers union, who state that while the retired administrator chosen has a long track record in the district and substitutes regularly, she is “not a current teacher in the Youngstown City Schools.” Next up – assuming there isn’t some effort to change the appointee roster – finding a CEO. (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/14/15)
- But we’re not done in Youngstown just yet. The school board is tussling over the services – and the qualifications and the hiring process – of a contractor providing services for the district. (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/15/15) Finally, here’s what I believe is an editorial (unlabeled as such, but almost unmistakable in tone and language) from the Vindy opining on how awful Ohio charter schools are. (Youngstown Vindicator, 11/14/15)
- Speaking of editorials, here is a clutch of them from the weekend. The formerly-Big D opined on the topic of rules for gifted student services in Ohio. (Columbus Dispatch, 11/14/15) Editors in Cleveland opined on their requirements for a new state superintendent…should they be allowed to choose. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/14/15) And Toledo’s resident commentarial curmudgeon opined on Candidate Kasich and how his Ohio education efforts should play nationally. But aren’t. (Toledo Blade, 11/14/15)
- Finally, back in the real world, Ohio teachers are heavily involved in the creation of the state’s post-PARCC tests in math and English language arts. Try not to freak out, but the term “excellent” is thrown around several times in this look at a couple of those teachers. (Lancaster Eagle Gazette, 11/15/15)
