- Having failed, thus far, to scupper Ohio’s $71 million federal Charter School Program grant award, opponents of charter schools seem to be pivoting toward begging for additional oversight of whatever money Ohio’s charter schools might receive. Unfortunately for Sen. Brown and those feeding him information, our own Chad Aldis is here to set their mistaken arguments straight. First, the “smoking gun” report that purports to show previous CSP grant money went to “failed” charter schools actually shows that the money went in large measure to traditional school districts who founded over 40 percent of those closed schools. Second, Ohio’s charter reform law (HB 2) is already starting to have its desired effect. Poor-performing schools are closing and sponsors are proactively pruning their portfolios, making it even more likely that CSP grant funds will go to the high-performing charter schools they are intended to help. What could be wrong with that? (Columbus Dispatch, 6/21/16)
- Speaking of dispelling myths, none were during last week’s meeting of the Columbus City Schools’ citizen millage committee. Instead, the group was treated to a line-toeing presentation (from the district treasurer no less) that oversimplified the topic of school funding yet again. As reported by the Dispatch’s E-Team, committee members heard one important nugget of truth at their meeting: the district’s funding cap—a long-standing bad idea in Ohio that the Kasich administration has railed against—did indeed cost Columbus more than $90 million last year. Unfortunately, this was followed by the predictable whopper that charter schools were making out like bandits in the transaction as the cap doesn't apply to their funding. Why erroneous? Because charters receive NO LOCAL FUNDS, even though their students’ parents pay local district taxes. (Columbus Dispatch, 6/21/16). How much local funding are we talking about for Columbus? Hundreds of thousands of dollars every year; soon to be more if the millage committee does what it is expected to do. Remind me again who's making out like a bandit? (Columbus Dispatch, 6/21/16)
- Since we’re talking so much about money today, let’s check in with Cuyahoga County school districts’ spending. I love the fact that the opening sentence of Patrick’s story is “What does it cost to educate a child?” It evokes a simple faith in these numbers—not, I suspect, unlike the citizen millage committee in Columbus—that they could actually answer that question in any possible way. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/20/16) As promised at the end of that first piece, here is the follow up looking at teacher pay in Cuyahoga County districts and a few charter schools as well. I’m not sure what anyone has learned from this excursion either. Although folks must think they’ve learned a lot as both pieces generated considerable online commentary. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/21/16)
- Inexplicable, but probably good news: Summer school registration is way up in Youngstown City Schools. The interim supe doesn’t know why and I don’t either. (Youngstown Vindicator, 6/21/16)
- Another thing about which I know very little is Ohio’s new-ish Resident Educator Program. Thanks to the good folks in Portsmouth, I know a little more now. This is an interesting read explaining the program (meant to increase the supply of high-quality teachers) and especially the summative assessment part of the process. Note: the headline about improving scores is actually the least interesting part of the story. Check it out. (Portsmouth Daily Times, 6/21/16)
- We close today with two stories about kids doing awesome things. Seriously, this is my favorite part of the Gadfly Bites gig. First up, more awesomeness from the Dayton-based robotics team called BONDS. First place in a huge invitational? Check. We’ve told you about these magnificent nerds before: especially how their diverse team is made up of students from district schools, a charter school, and a student who is homeschooled. Briefly noted in this piece is that the team and their accomplishments will be profiled as part of a documentary from the BBC to air in November. Fantastic! (Dayton Daily News, 6/20/16) Finally, the outcry over the southern Ohio girl who was unexplainably denied a chance to compete in a national masonry competition has engendered a response. From another national masonry competition. SkillsUSA remains silent on the “scoring situation” that resulted in Shania Clifford being demoted from her apparent superlative win in the Ohio state competition in April. Instead, she has been invited by the Mason Contractors Association of America to compete in their national event in 2017. Honestly, she may be too busy with actual work by then. She clearly rocks. (Columbus Dispatch, 6/21/16)
