- We start today with updates on teachers union/administration relations in three school districts. Seems like all three are in the double dog dare phase of
public relationsnegotiations. First up, North Ridgeville in Northeast Ohio. Negotiations seem to be slow, riddled with cancellations, and conflicting details provided to the media from the two sides. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/16/17) In Dayton, things are heating up as the school year winds down. Despite the fact that a federal mediator is now involved, the union is going the route of currying favor with the general public. This week, members held a public event at Old Scratch Pizza for that purpose. It seems that the two sides are quite far apart after five months of formal negotiations and an August strike date has been bandied about. Given that, it is probably never more appropriate to note that the devil is in the details in these types of things. (Dayton Daily News, 5/17/17) Finally, in Youngstown, we’re not even at the point of formal negotiations and everything appears to be going pear-shaped, regardless of the optimistic-sounding headline. Not sure how the Dayton union’s public event as noted above is OK and Krish Mohip’s April op-ed is not, but the Youngstown teachers union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint against Mohip for “manipulating the media” using said op-ed. Even though there are no negotiations going on. The CEO/ADC paradigm in Youngstown does not seem to have altered the traditional double dog dare tactics. Yet. (Youngstown Vindicator, 5/17/17)
- Speaking of teachers unions, the statewide union has teamed up with the Ohio Department of Education (the deuce you say!) to fight against elimination of the state’s resident educator summative assessment program (RESA). The program is marked for elimination in the proposed state budget as it currently stands. State supe Paolo DeMaria says that would “leave a gaping void in our system of supports for new teachers”. Snap! That’s poetic. (Gongwer Ohio, 5/15/17)
- Akron City Schools’ efforts to create small career academies within its high schools received recognition and a serious financial boost that will benefit higher-performing students from the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company. Nice. (Akron Beacon Journal, 5/16/17) Within that piece was brief reference to a different type of academy coming soon to a high school near you. Here is a second piece which covers the Kent State/Akron City Schools arts-based partnership in more detail, along with info on the Ford grant. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/16/17)
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District has taken a step toward free college tuition for all of its high school graduates, ramping up a partnership with the Say Yes to Education organization, which is already active in a few cities around the country. Cleveland would be by far the largest of Say Yes’ operations should the partnership go into effect, and the announcement by the district this week puts it ahead of other larger cities in the planning process. However, there are a number of outstanding questions, kindly enumerated by district CEO Eric Gordon. Take a look and see if you can guess which one on his list is most pressing to your humble clips compiler. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/17/17) Seemingly coincidentally, editors in Cleveland chose today to opine on the topic of college affordability in Ohio. The legislature was urged to act; the aforementioned partnership was not noted. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/17/17)
- Finally today, rural school districts in Southern Ohio are adamant that not only should cuts not be made to their state transportation funding, but more funding for transportation is needed. There are some interesting numbers presented relating to the geographic reach of some of these large and rambling districts, but I would suggest that including transportation mileage for varsity sports is not necessary to add. (Marietta Times, 5/17/17)
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