- Answer eliminator function. Highlighting tool. Line-reader option to read passages one line at a time. Answer review buttons. Cross-page navigation. Everything but the “phone a friend” lifeline. Are we talking about the latest electronic game? No; it’s the online PARCC exams being administered for real for the first time in Ohio soon. Sounds fantastic. Not only that, but this year schools have the option of going all-electronic, all-pencil, or a split among their tests. It is fascinating to note which districts took which option. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Walnut Township Schools in Fairfield County is facing the possibility of fiscal emergency status, despite being the 42nd-richest district in the state (out of 600+). What’s the issue? Some fancy lakefront property in an otherwise rural district and a series of failed levies. This is not a unique situation across Ohio, but what is different in this story is the nuanced discussion of how state and local funding combine to fund districts in Ohio. It is a nuance largely lost in most newspaper stories about school funding, replaced by unsupportable claims of charter and voucher poaching of “our money”. Some hard decisions ahead in Walnut Township, for sure, but it seems that their leadership is clear-eyed and properly focused. Best of luck to them. (Lancaster Eagle Gazette)
- As we noted last week, the new list of EdChoice-eligible district schools was released by ODE. The bottom line is that more schools (and likely more students) are eligible than last year due to persistent underperformance. And another grade level of low-income students are now also eligible. Gongwer Ohio’s piece is very punitive-sounding on the part of eligible schools. The Big D at least tries to frame it in terms of what it means for students, despite the long list of Columbus City Schools eligible, yet again.
- The Akron teachers union surveyed its teachers just before the end of the year. Results were published in an internal newsletter and now they’re all over the news. You can check out coverage in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which focuses on responses related to teacher morale and standardized testing, or you can check out coverage in the Akron Beacon Journal, which digs deep into some serious issues such a discipline policies and trust/collaboration with district administration. Fascinating and nuanced. Likely fodder for many more stories – and an editorial or two – from the ABJ.
- To end with a bit of cool tech, check out The Hub, newly opened in Mentor High School. Us old fogies may object to the loss of the term “library” or even “media center”, but there’s no denying that this is a cool and useful space that fits far more appropriately with the way kids work in schools today. Fully funded by a Straight A Fund innovation grant as well. Nice. (Willoughby News-Herald)
