- Our own Chad Aldis was busy yesterday. Here he is reminding us of the subtle irony of district-sponsored online charter schools looking for an exemption to the rule that other online schools – like Ohio’s largest such school – must currently follow regarding attendance audit findings and potential return of funds to the state. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/6/16) Here he is lamenting the impending closure of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools after 10 years of work on behalf of charters statewide. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/6/16) And here is saying lovely things about RaShaun Holliman, who started Monday as the new head of the Office of Community Schools at the Ohio Department of Education. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/6/16)
- Speaking of ODE – the department informed Parma City Schools late last week that the district’s proposed fiscal recovery plan had been accepted. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/5/16)
- And speaking of accepted plans – the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission this week approved a revised version of CEO Krish Mohip’s turnaround plan. Additions from the original submission include updating the student code of conduct, educating students on appropriate school behavior, providing high-quality professional development to all staff members and providing character education teaching to all children. Good luck to all in this important endeavor! (Youngstown Vindicator, 12/6/16) One last note from Youngstown – the Ohio Education Research Center this week released a report looking at the effect of Project PASS, a reading intervention program for second and third graders at risk of failing the district’s chosen third grade reading test. Students who participated in the Project PASS intervention were 29 percent more likely to pass the test than were their peers who did not participate in the program. Nice! (Youngstown Vindicator, 12/7/16)
- Louisville (Ohio) school parents and other district residents appealed to the Stark County ESC this week for their help in healing the community divide following the recent teachers strike. (Canton Repository, 12/6/16) There’s no word from the ESC as to whether they’ll try to help out, but allow me to humbly suggest that (alleged) shenanigans like these on the part of striking teachers – 10 of whom are still on leave pending an investigation – are not conducive to community cohesiveness either before or after a strike. (Canton Repository, 12/2/16)
- A bill intended to address chronic absenteeism in schools across Ohio was recommended unanimously by the Senate Education Committee yesterday, despite some amendments on which the bill’s sponsors weren’t so keen. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/6/16)
