- Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is among the folks commenting on certain provisions of House Bill 583 in this piece. (You will recall that HB 583 was the Christmas in June legislation filled with treats for good little boys and girls…and their lobbyists.) The two items Aaron talks about: an expansion of EdChoice eligibility (Yay!) and a change in charter sponsor evaluations (Boo!). (Dayton Daily News, 6/16/22)
- Another day, another wodge of Covid-relief money committed. The elected board of Warren City Schools is spending $12.5 million of their ESSER funding on an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink wellness center. It will include robotics and e-sports areas among lots and lots of other goodies. (Warren Tribune, 6/15/22)
- Speaking of Covid relief (were we, really?): While I—and probably most of the rest of the country—had forgotten entirely about Ohio Learns 360 (the collaborative effort by PBS stations across the state to do something something about pandemic learning loss blah blah blah), national public broadcasting folks have not. In this piece from their industry’s rah-rah mag, they are already patting themselves and their pals on the back for the “success” of the efforts. (Current, 6/15/22)
- On the same topic, it seems that moms and dads are (gasp!) less adept at accessing and utilizing Covid-relief funding than are public broadcasters and elected school boards. The state board of education this week got an update from ODE on the earliest usage of Afterschool Child Enrichment Savings Accounts in the state. By the end of last week, $106,749.80 in claims had been approved for the 6,129 families that have opened ACE accounts. FYI, there is $50 million dollars available for this program for the first year and another $75 mill coming next year. If you guessed that either “plethora of hoops” or “lack of social media presence” was to blame for this low utilization rate, you’ll be happy to know that ODE is working to deal with one of those potential blockers. (Gongwer Ohio, 6/15/22).
- Meanwhile, here’s a great-sounding summer program—week two of which starts Tuesday on the amazing campus of KIPP Columbus—aimed at “introduc[ing] underserved children ages 6 through 12 to sports they may not be exposed to otherwise.” It costs $250 per child for the week. But still sounds great. (Columbus Dispatch, 6/16/22)
- Finally this week—and what a way to go out—here’s a look at the farm-to-table lunches served at one bougie middle school in Parma City School District and the Mid-Range Bureaucrat Photo Op Day orchestrated around it back in May. (Cleveland.com, 6/16/22)
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