- We’ll start today with my favorite riddle (heard here many times before). When is a charter school not a charter school? When an Ohio newspaper wants to say something nice about them! Buckeye Community School in Marion, here referenced as an “alternative” school, is a dropout recovery charter school whose older students are often dealing with stark realities of life while also working hard to complete their reality-delayed high school education. Given this, and given that I know that charter schools receive far less funding than traditional district schools—and thus their staff members generally receive far less pay than those in traditional district schools—this act of huge generosity by BCS staff to buy Christmas presents for students using their own money and charitable contributions is even more lovely to me. Too bad the readers of the Marion Star couldn’t have that realization as well. (Marion Star, 12/17/20)
- Speaking of charter schools: While only a passing reference is made to them here, make no mistake that the putative lawsuit being discussed—in prep for filing in the new year—is aimed just as squarely at charters as it is at vouchers. The same gang that brought you 23 years of “school funding is unconstitutional” (is it still?) will soon be arguing that school choice has “drained” $20 billion from the coffers of traditional district schools. That is, if this opening salvo/PR effort manages to shake enough student funding away from those districts into the coffers of the lawyers ready to fight that case. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/17/20)
- But let’s step out of La La Land and get back to talking about the pandemic. Multiple reporters for The 74 took a look absenteeism rates in their local school districts during remote learning this fall. This includes Patrick O’Donnell, who tried to make sense of CMSD’s reported 8,700ish “missing” students. An eye-opening number, for sure, if true. Unfortunately, what he really uncovers is that the number of enrolled-but-not-regularly-attending students is likely far far higher, given was appears to be automatic marking of “100 percent present” in many schools according to his data. Yowza! (The 74, 12/17/20) No such juiced-up hundos in Columbus City Schools. It is also experiencing thousands of “missing” students, a surge on chronic absenteeism among those they are fairly sure are still enrolled, (Are they, doc? Are they?) and a ballooning cache of failing course grades for kids who actually do attend. In fact, there seems to be very little varnish put on this news at all. The superintendent reports that she has no idea where students have gone or why, the Chief Accountability Officer says “…as you know we have not had an attendance plan” before now (but they’re going to get one eventually), and a school board member says it will take “creative planning for years to come” in order to mitigate learning losses for students with special needs alone. The only positive thing I can see in this piece comes from the newest member of the team, the Chief Academic Officer (a.k.a. She of Just One Job). In discussing the possible need for a new grading policy, she notes that “You have to be very careful when changing grades” under the current policy. “We have an approved process.” Oh yeah you do! (ABC6 News, Columbus, 12/17/20)
- While this is the first time I’ve ever clipped a story from this news outlet, The People’s Defender has been serving West Union, Ohio, for more than 150 years. I assume they’ve never risen to my attention before because the people in that part of southern Ohio seem to be no-nonsense, nose-to-the-grindstone types who likely don’t know or care much about whatever shenanigans are going on in Columbus. To wit: Students in the Adams County Ohio Valley School District returned to fully in-person classes on December 10 after learning remotely since March. The teachers interviewed here believe that they have done a good job with virtual education this fall, even though the spring was rougher. The abrupt nature of the shutdowns in March left them unable to contact many students or to access curricular materials from their buildings (sound familiar?). Over the summer, though, the entire district staff worked together to find, launch, and train on a number of remote learning platforms and scheduling plans designed to replicate their previous ways of teaching in the virtual space—details of which they provide freely and clearly here. It is fascinating. They also found their kids and handed out hundreds of WiFi hotspots and learning devices. Even students’ (and parents’) relative lack of experience in online learning was dealt with using some clever nerdiness. (“Just get to the internet and we can launch your learning platform for you remotely.” Just like my professional IT guys do!) There is a whiff of sadness in the teachers’ words even as they were happily preparing to welcome their students back in person. They know they made the very best of a though situation. Better yet: they are all ready to adapt again at a moment’s notice if necessary. “We know what we’re doing, we will get them there,” said one teacher, summing up the entire district’s attitude to the families they serve. “Do not get overwhelmed, or stressed, don’t feel like you have to do it.” I don’t know what this district’s last report card was, but I’m willing to bet that their families were pretty darn happy. Amazing. (The People’s Defender, 12/17/20)
- On the other side of the state, killer HVAC has been installed in the Erie Huron Ottawa Vocational Education Center (EHOVE) in Milan, Ohio. Pathogen-killing, that is. The folks that installed the Bi-Polar Ionization System called Needlepoint (?) swear that it floods the entire building with a high-concentration of ions and that certified testing has shown that the system kills 99 percent of airborne viruses and bacteria within minutes. Dang! Masks, social distancing, hand washing, and all the rest are still in force for all students. (Fox 8 News, Cleveland, 12/16/20) Not far away, elected board members of Orange City Schools in Pepper Pike voted this week to purchase the Reme Halo air purification system for all of their buildings. It is said to use “an advanced oxidation technology that minimizes and neutralizes indoor air bacteria, viruses, mold and organic compounds called BOCs.” The sales dude told the elected board before the vote that “Any airborne particulates that travel through supply-and-return duct work are neutralized by this product.” The system, he said, “is a superior product on the market when it comes to air purification.” However, even though a third-party study provided to the elected board indicated that Reme Halo has “99.9 percent efficiency against the SARS-CoV-2 virus”, the sales dude said outright “I cannot guarantee that it kills COVID-19.” The vote to approve was unanimous. (Cleveland.com, 12/17/20)
- Nerd alert! After all that hard-science-y HVAC talk, I’m glad to have this interview with Ohio Department of Education data guru Chris Woolard to chew on. Much more my speed. One of the geeky questions included here is “If you could wave a magic wand and have any data or evidence, what would it be?” Woolard’s wonky analysis of the question is good (and humorous), but the answer he gives is even better: “I would be really interested in how we can get at a more robust set of indicators of school quality.” You and me too, Poindexter! (Results for America blog, 12/17/20)
- If you need something more mundane after all that nerdity, here’s a story about two school districts bickering over an empty plot of land. And, yes, it’s all about money. (The Daily Record, 12/16/20) Too tame for you? Too “been there, read that?” How about this one, then? A democratically-governed central Ohio township (yes, we have those) apparently offered to give Southwest Licking City Schools $150,000 of its CARES Act funding if its elected board members voted to approve a particular tax abatement on the docket before them. It’s only money, right? Plenty more where that came from, I’m sure. (Newark Advocate, 12/17/20)
- Speaking of presents, House Bill 409 passed the state Senate this week, after being amended. Those amendments added a stocking-full of pandemic-related provisions to a bill which originally dealt with student attendance issues in online charter schools. (Well, I guess it still does that…) The House must concur in those amendments before the bill can move to Governor DeWine. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/16/20)
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