- Editors in Toledo opined on HB 2 – the charter school law reform bill – citing Fordham’s recent reports while doing so. (Toledo Blade)
- HB 2 is not the only mechanism by which charter school quality can be improved. The new state budget – to be unveiled later today – will include a number of proposals designed to do just that via funding mechanisms, including facilities funding and access to local funding for operations for the first time. But with those new sources of funding would come increased accountability, especially for sponsors. Bellwether Education Partners’ recent policy recommendations – a report sponsored by Fordham – are cited as part of the basis for these budget proposals. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- School districts may be in line for some funding changes as well in the governor’s new budget. The Big D takes a look at this among other items in their budget preview. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Lest you think that improving charter sponsor quality is a new endeavor for the state of Ohio, this story should be a good reminder of the work that the Ohio Department of Education is already undertaking in this regard. The Portage County ESC has been under scrutiny by ODE for more than a year for its poor sponsorship practices, despite having a couple of high-performing individual schools in its portfolio. It is already barred from adding new schools and now it seems that it will be going out of the sponsorship business entirely at the end of this school year. The Cleveland Plain Dealer focuses on the future of those schools currently sponsored by the ESC, especially the high-performing ones, and especially those in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the Akron Beacon Journal focuses on the very real likelihood that the Portage County ESC will go out of business entirely. Not only is its sponsorship situation bleak, most if not all of its school district clients chose not to renew their contracts as well. No clients, no money, no ESC.
- Sticking with Portage County charter schools for just a moment: we told you a couple of weeks ago about the plight of Falcon Academy for the Arts. It is sponsored by a local district, is largely an adjunct of that district (building, teachers, services, etc.) and was seemingly created in order to tap a new funding source for the cash-strapped Field Local Schools. This is not an unusual situation (hello Upper Arlington), nor is the dropping of the other shoe when the school becomes too popular and successful for its own good. The district has announced its intent to drop its sponsorship of Falcon (and kick it out of its district-owned building for good measure). The charter’s board will get a chance to appeal the decision to the district’s board tomorrow. Anyone interested in taking wagers on the outcome should seek help. I’ll let you know what happens. (Akron Beacon Journal)
- In other news, editors in Columbus opined on the subject of PARCC testing over the weekend, arguing restraint. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Why do you suppose the Big D decided to opine on this topic now? Probably because of the introduction of HB 7 last week – a bill ostensibly designed to “shield” students from “consequences” of PARCC test results. Call it the “sigh of relief” bill, or the “slippery slope” bill, depending on your perspective. Dang, that’s a lot of quote marks. (Gongwer Ohio)
- I know that last week was School Choice Week, but the real work of choosing schools gets underway in earnest for parents today, with the opening of the EdChoice voucher application window. Last week I had a Twitter conversation with a journalist who “wished he could reach everyone eligible” to tell them about EdChoice. Here is a piece about the application window opening from a tiny television station…in Wheeling. No offence intended to tiny TV stations…or to West Virginia. (WTRF-TV, Wheeling)
- This is more like it. A story from Springfield that presents the essential information on the opening of the EdChoice application period – including which schools/students are eligible and which private schools are accepting students with vouchers. This is a thorough story, talking to district and private school leaders as well as an ODE official. But seriously, was I the only one who thought it a positive for the district that fewer Springfield schools were eligible AND that fewer students were leaving on vouchers from 2013-14 from 2014-15. Unless something other than academic improvement led to those favorable numbers... (Springfield News Sun)
