- Having already had the image of ECOT rising from the dead like Dracula put into our heads this week, I guess you could call House Bill 707 a garlic-crusted-crucifix-sprinkled-with-holy-water-and-attached-to-a-wooden-stake kind of bill. As Chad says: “The political debate surrounding this issue should inspire us to act to make sure this never happens again.” (Columbus Dispatch, 6/19/18) So what exactly would this talismanic legislation do to prevent another ECOT-style “issue”? Bram O’Donnell says it mainly is about creating a study commission to review possible funding changes for e-schools, but those bullet points included in his piece seem a bit more substantial than all that. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/19/18)
- Is the “psychogeography” of Cleveland changing so as to attract more young families to the city after decades of population loss? This lengthy article tries to make that case. Yet it takes over 2,100 words before the topic of schools is discussed in any depth. Probably should have been at the top, gang. Anywho, the president of a community development funding organization says that the number of high-quality schools in the city is increasing, resulting in an increase in the number of young people in some areas. How many of those schools are charters, I hear you asking? Answer: most of them. (Cleveland City Scene, 6/20/18)
- The Dayton Daily News takes a look at the state’s proposed strategic plan for K-12 education, newly approved by the state board of ed. You will note that the DDN headline is almost identical to the one used by the Plain Dealer last week. Thus I will recycle my analysis as well: however well your school does at math and ELA is how well they’ll do at the social emotional and soft skill stuff. It is entirely possible to suck at more than one thing at a time. (Dayton Daily News, 6/18/18)
- The elected school board in Lorain met this week and continued devising new ways of saying they would dearly love to fiscally hamstring the CEO without using those exact words. But I urge you to forget that levy nonsense for the moment and concentrate instead on what is intended by the last line of the piece. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 6/18/18) Meanwhile, the CEO was busy pitching his “Lorain Way” plan to his bosses on the Academic Distress Commission. It is a subplan that explains how the “Lorain Promise” will be enacted using support and love…I think. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 6/18/18) The “Lorain Way” is big on teacher support (and love). One part of the effort that has drawn the interest of the Chronicle is a plan to give teachers an early release day once a month so they can spend that time without students “digging deeper” into student work and data. (Elyria Chronicle, 6/19/18)
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