- Our own Aaron Churchill is briefly quoted in this piece tap-dancing on the grave of NCLB. In cleats. (Columbus Dispatch, 12/9/15)
- Speaking of children being left behind, the first meeting of the new Youngstown Academic Distress Commission has been blocked from occurring by another judicial ruling. The commission cannot meet until the issue of the district’s appointee has been resolved. You’ll recall that said appointee has been barred from being impaneled (by the same judge and due to the same plaintiff) because of some disconnect over the definition of “teacher”. There are too many ironies in this situation to note. But practically-speaking, the 60-day clock for the selection of a district CEO has been paused until the appointee and meeting issues are resolved. No sooner than Monday of next week. We can all smell the smoke – all that’s missing now is the fiddle. (Youngstown Vindicator, 12/9/15)
- Speaking of job openings, the head of the state teachers union opined this week on what she’s looking for in the next state supe. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/8/15)
- Ohio’s school report cards have been a work in progress since 2013. Thanks to wide-ranging “safe harbor” provisions for schools, districts, teachers, janitors, food-service workers, and parking lot monitors (I exaggerate, of course), most consequences of not meeting acceptable performance levels on said report card are paused until 2018. Hasn’t stopped the Ohio Department of Education from moving forward on the final pieces of those work-in-progress report cards. In fact, safe harbor is being touted as something of a gift. Schools and districts will know how they’re going to do on the report cards long before it actually means anything, “sanctions-wise”. “This is not a time for anyone to panic,” says State Senator Peggy Lehner. “It's a time for people to sit back and calmly look at what the data is showing us and anticipate that we're going to make improvements over the next couple of years.” (Gongwer Ohio, 12/8/15)
- As loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers know, those state report cards are at the forefront of journalist Bradley W. Parks’ mind. In the last part of his remarkable series, Parks discusses the “Prepared for Success” measure. That is, school districts’ efforts to put their students on a path for college or career. The piece is focused on Maysville Schools as their offerings in this area are described by Parks as “some of the most robust in the county”, although no letter grade for the district on this measure is reported. Honestly, it sounds pretty good as described here, but likely the point is not how well students do who get into and pass things like dual enrollment or AP courses, but what is done for those who don’t quickly and easily do so. Again, there is no discussion of that aspect. Quotable: “What I hope the Zanesville community takes from the Report Card is continued growth. … I think people don’t want their schools to be static.” Amen, supe. (Zanesville Times Recorder, 12/5/15)
- Loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers will also recall their humble compiler’s fascination with the magnet school campouts in Cincinnati. Those curious Survivor-like contests for seats in highly-coveted schools in the Queen City were scrapped earlier this year in favor of a traditional lottery. And the results were eye-opening for the district. When one doesn’t have to abandon life, work, and family to live in a tent for two weeks, trying out for a better school is much more do-able. Predictably, the lottery drew far more interest than the limited-availability campouts ever did. This has accelerated talk about expanding the two traditional “campout” schools as well as several other very popular district schools. Parents at one of those former campout schools are livid at the changes they see on the horizon and have threatened legal action against the school board to get more of a voice in the proceedings. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/7/15) They have also penned a detailed letter explaining what they fear will happen should expansion go forward without having their own voices heard. Such as what, you ask? “They talk of ‘quality seats,’ ” [the lead parent] said of the board. “They’re just pushing kids in there and assuming these seats will stay quality. … How do we get them to just stop? Just stop and think and analyze.” Yes. Just stop. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/8/15)
- You heard it here first: the Ohio School Boards Association resolved at its annual conference last month that it would ask the legislature to ban low-performing charter schools from advertising. Maybe independently (but maybe not), a legislator has upped the ante by proposing a bill that would ban all charter schools from using state funding for "advertising, recruiting, or promotional materials." Maybe surprisingly (but maybe not), the OSBA folks are very supportive. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/9/15)
- Last but not least, here’s an interesting commentary piece from the Education Post blog, written by Alan Rosskamm of Cleveland’s Breakthrough Schools and Nina Rees of NAPCS, predicting a bright and successful future for Ohio’s high-quality charter schools. (Education Post, 12/9/15)
