- Editors in Columbus opined on Fordham’s new school closures report. The findings “make logical sense” and districts should “make a priority of explaining these findings to the public, whether or not a round of closings is imminent.” Nice. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/2/15)
- The president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership opined on efforts to strengthen charter school law in Ohio. The changes will result in “a profound improvement” for charter school students and families and he urges the legislature to fast track passage of the various bills before them. Nice. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/3/15)
- The Ohio Senate’s advisory panel on testing made its recommendations last week. In a nutshell: Testing only once per year (near the end of the year), shorter testing time overall, extended “safe harbor” timeframes for everyone involved, and prompt response from vendors to change/tweak the tests at state request (or risk being dumped). Check out initial coverage from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (4/30/15) and the Columbus Dispatch (4/30/15). More to come on this, I’m sure.
- The Ohio Department of Education last week gave a preview of the new reading proficiency grades that schools and districts around the state will receive in the next round of report cards. (Gongwer Ohio, 5/1/15)
- We told you last week about proposals afoot to speed up improvement of the lowest-performing schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. These proposals to add features to established Corrective Action Plans already in place have not been well-received by the local teachers union. Patrick O’Donnell took a look at just how those lowest-performing schools have done in the last two years, including attendance, suspension rates, grades, and performance index scores. The bottom line appears to be that schools are making improving in areas of culture and atmosphere while having mixed results academically. Worth a read. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/1/15)
- Cincinnati Schools’ Superintendent Mary Ronan opined last week in praise of the Ohio House of Representatives. Specifically, of a provision in the House-passed budget bill that would create a school transportation study commission. She also advocates for some tweaks in the Senate version of the bill to ensure that “student transportation funding concerns are comprehensively addressed”. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/29/15)
