We’re back from vacation and snarkin’ about pieces from 2/17 – 2/23. Glad you’re still here reading it all!
- Quite an interesting headline on the Dispatch version of this piece (if I do say so myself), looking at some of the Republican-sponsored education bills pending in the General Assembly. My boss Chad Aldis, who knows a few things about this stuff, tells the reporter early on, “I think the smart money is on there not being much going on until next January when there’s a new General Assembly in place. Nothing seems to be moving rapidly through either chamber related to education.” Sadly, there are still nearly 1,300 words left in the reporter’s story after that. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/23/22)
- Speaking of odd political flexes (were we?), the folks at Cleveland Scene were curious as to why the local teachers union had not spoken out regarding Mayor Bibb’s new education chief. You know, the Teach for America one? So, they asked. The response was, I suspect, not what they expected. (Cleveland Scene, 2/17/22)
- From the Statehouse to the CLE to the hinterlands. We cover it all here at Gadfly Bites! Here’s a great story from Steubenville in which two district graduates appeared before the elected school board to announce their intent to give back to the community to help support other young men growing up in the same circumstances that they did. “If I can take what I’ve learned through my life and make them into prudent young men, then I've done my job.” Nice. (WTOV-TV, Steubenville, 2/16/22) Meanwhile, Ohio University has launched a new STEM enrichment academy intended to boost access to science and tech education resources for students in the state’s Appalachian region. Yes, it’s a fully online effort. Why do you ask? (Ohio University, 2/22/22)
- Back in the big city (but still remote), here’s another nice look at Akron City Schools’ after hours student help line. (Spectrum News 1, 2/21/22)
- We end our wrap up where we began: right here in Columbus. Columbus City Schools’ staffing issues this school year sound nightmarish…for kids and parents. But they rank low on the list of considerations in this piece. There’s a lot to digest here, but I was left with two questions. What, exactly, is causing all these teachers and other staffers to be absent? I see a lot of buzzwords but not much evidence that anything now is different than the pre-Covid absenteeism problem which is noted. And also, how can you call it an “all hands on deck” situation when the very absence of a crap ton of hands is the problem? On the upside, today appears to be another one of those very rare days when no Columbus schools are in remote mode due to excessive absences. Hopefully the four-day weekend staffers just enjoyed helped a lot with whatever type of “flu” has been keeping so many of those folks home for so very many days. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/20/22)
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