- Our own Chad Aldis is quoted in this Q&A piece about the upcoming state tests in Ohio. No, Chad isn’t answering the questions. Journalist Ben Lanka is asking and answering based on his research. Chad is just a reasonable voice among the rhetoric. (Newark Advocate, 4/1/16)
- The 70s and 80s were a turbulent time in central Ohio. The City of Columbus was annexing any land it could get its hands on to forestall becoming landlocked in the future. At the same time, a desegregation decision rendered the city school district toxic to many in outlying communities where annexation was taking place. (I know, right?!) The result was a thing we like to call “Win-Win” around here. (Ironic, yes?) Y’all can keep your suburban schools but your land belongs to the City of Columbus and you owe Columbus City Schools money every year for that privilege. That agreement renews automatically every six year…as long as the school districts involved in the pact don’t object. Well, like the 17-year cicadas, Win-Win renewal time is back again. Seems like it might not be challenged again this cycle, but the clock is still ticking on that. The last renewal time was a rare exception to the tacit agreement of the last 30 years, when one state legislator (who is still sitting today) tried to eliminate the leverage that Columbus has should anyone think of non-renewing. Complicated. Just like central Ohio. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/4/16)
- Lots of opining on education issues in Ohio news outlets this weekend. First up, Charita Goshay’s wide-ranging commentary on reading scores in the Canton area included references to basketball, Ray Bradbury, real-life immigrants, and the TV series “Fresh off the Boat”. What’s the point? Your guess is as good as mine. (Canton Repository, 4/3/16)
- Editors in Columbus presented some interesting historical research before opining that the State Board of Education should return to being an entirely elected body. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/2/16)
- Editors in Akron opined against online schools. All of them. Forever. Amen. (Akron Beacon Journal, 4/3/16)
- Editors in Cleveland opined on the topic of quality preschool, summarizing the PD’s multi-part series about pre-K from the week before and encouraging families in the CLE to attend an informational meeting this week. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/1/16)
- Finally in terms of opinion pieces, editors in Youngstown opined on the topic of parenting in their community, especially in relation to education. It is…problematic. (Youngstown Vindicator, 4/2/16)
- In better news, the Vindy gave us a brief snapshot of Youngstown Early College School, a rare bright spot in the district as noted in these very clips last week. Seems like a very interesting model but I am struck by how small the school actually is. In a district whose students need so much more than they have, this little bright spot looks even smaller than it is. Just sayin’. (Youngstown Vindicator, 4/3/16)
- Finally, a similar story from Springfield. Global Impact STEM School (GISA) is consistently top rated in the region and the state. And it is now full and a lottery was required for next year’s incoming freshman class. Unlike Youngstown Early College, GISA is already far along in its expansion plans – both space-wise and grade-level wise. Just sayin’. (Springfield News-Sun, 4/1/16)
