- While every public school and district in the state is required to have a school safety plan on file, these are not generally public knowledge, much to the chagrin of some reporters. And, it seems, none of them really include details on what to do in case of a sudden multi-week shutdown due to a pandemic. I feel like that should be the main point here, but do remember that a Columbus City Schools staffer told us earlier in the week that her district at least had already been planning for such a thing. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/25/20) The real point is that most schools—and the state education hierarchy—are making this up as they go along. I predict that we will see some parallels in this response to other education issues we follow here. To cite just a few of examples from current reportage, Mansfield City Schools is said to be preparing a second packet of school work to be delivered to its home-sheltering students to work on. (Richland Source, 3/22/20) Meanwhile, Lorain City Schools still seem to be working toward their first one. (The Morning Journal, 3/23/20) And Warren City Schools is already halfway to its goal of getting laptops to all their middle and high school students. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 3/24/20)
- All this winging it will have knock on effects, of course. One which we have mentioned before is the putative cancellation of all state testing for the year. Innovation Ohio’s Steve Dyer sounds pretty giddy about that prospect here (as you might expect); but there is also the matter of unfinished College Credit Plus courses to consider. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/23/20)
- The General Assembly is supposed to get to grips today with their response to all this mess; including the education stuff. Not just testing but also graduation, report cards, third grade reading, and vouchers. Oh, and the matter of what about teaching during the remainder of the school year. Patrick O’Donnell gives a nice overview of the issues here. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/24/20)
- In News from a Different Universe: Families attending and living around Colerain Elementary School in Columbus are celebrating victory after a three year effort to get an accessible, multi-use Wellness Path built. (ThisWeek News, 3/20/20) An Athens County multi-age, all outdoor homeschooling co-op called a “nature school” was apparently going gangbusters in its first year before, well, you know. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/24/20) Mike Petrilli and Pedro Enamorado tell us that getting into a selective college via SAT scores has become harder over a generation. Explains a lot of what I’ve experienced over the last year of college searching with my kids. (EdNext, 3/24/20)
- In Editorializing from a Different Universe. The Dispatch editorial board opined on the topic of for-profit charter school operators. Or, as they call it: “profiteering”. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/24/20)
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