Gadfly Bites 12/21/20 – Getting a clearer picture

1. While there isn’t anything good—if you ask me (which, thankfully, no one ever does)—about the plan to induce school districts across the state to pay a bunch of lawyers to execute what will likely be a years-long court battle against school choice, the launch of the public induction effort to that end late last week did (if you ask me, which no one, assuredly, did) have one positive point. It generated some media attention for Fordham’s most recent report looking at the constitutionality of school funding in Ohio today. Our own Aaron Churchill is thus quoted in this piece. Thanks, gang! (Gongwer Ohio, 12/18/20)
    
2. Speaking of school funding, while the hotly-debated bill which included the Cupp-Patterson overhaul plan did not advance in the Senate before the end of the lame duck legislation session, one aspect of that bill—a raft of studies looking at the specific funding processes for special education, gifted services, incentives for rural districts serving gifted children, educational service centers, English learners, e-schools, and charter schools—was incorporated into the capital budget bill, which did pass. If signed by the governor, the bill requires the Ohio Department of Education to complete those studies by December 31, 2022. The idea is that the data from the studies would give legislators a clearer picture of the current funding system so as to inform the next iteration of a revamp. (Ohio Capital Journal, 12/21/20)
   
   

3. Here’s a nice look at the independent STEM school in the Youngstown area—the one with the great reputation and the faintly ridiculous name (Valley STEM + ME2 Academy). While I kind of feel my previously-unbounded love for Ohio’s STEM schools receding a tad due to their seeming pivot from math/science-centrism to a project-based learning focus (at least in the picture they have been presenting of themselves in the media lately—including this one), Valley STEM is still probably a better option than a lot of other schools in the area if I do say so myself. You can get a snapshot of how they’ve handled their hybrid learning model this year and their plans for next school year from this piece. Applications for next year are being accepted now if you’re interested. (Vindy.com, 12/20/20)
    
4. Here’s an interesting piece discussing the results of a transportation survey conducted by West Holmes Local Schools in Millersburg. The survey was conducted in response to some unrest among transportation staff that the district was perhaps working them too hard for not enough pay. The survey indicates that, compared to a number of local (and similar non-local) districts, West Holmes ends up about in the middle in terms of pay, benefits, and workload. This picture of the busing landscape seemed to make the district folks happy, but it also seemed that the mileage of the transportation staffers may have varied on this. (See what I did there?) (The Daily Record, 12/17/20)
   
   

5. The main thrust of our last story today is an increase in failing course grades among students in Akron City Schools—and in a number of other nearby districts—this semester. This is something we’ve heard elsewhere, including two pieces clipped last week, and there are once again a lot of pieces to the puzzle as discussed throughout this one. But there are also a couple of other points made in this piece that, while peripheral to the main story, are to me both far more interesting and far more positive than the “sky is falling” headline may suggest. First up, it is undisputedly given here that Akron City schools has “largely tackled internet connectivity issues” for its entire student body. Seems kind of huge, doesn’t it? Second, it is noted in the piece twice that some students who previously struggled in traditional classrooms are now thriving in the online environment. Don’t know who’s responsible for that, but kudos…and keep up the good work! Third (and perhaps related to the first two), Akron City Schools is not one of those districts with large numbers of “missing” students either, having maintained nearly identical attendance numbers from last year’s all-in-person first semester and this year’s all-remote first semester. They could probably do better on both counts, but the lack of a precipice seems a point worth touting. Fourth, about a quarter of Akron students are still earning As in math and English while working remotely, consistent with the number of top grade-getters during last year’s traditional learning model. Excellent work on behalf of reporter Jennifer Pignolet for getting all of this information into her story. I point out all this out to suggest that the idea of all-remote learning as a total failure/dumpster fire/apocalypse (choose your favorite meme!) is not completely accurate and should probably not be thrown around without some better and more accurate context. While that slogan might be true, it doesn’t have to be true. And it some places, it likely isn’t at all. Here is some vital context from which to start building the accurate portrayal. (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/20/20)

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