- The list of individuals whose personal wallets the state can tap to claw back funds from the moldering and far-more-extensive-than-you-might-have-though remains of ECOT seems nearly endless when you read this piece. The attorney general (and his successor too, I imagine) is drawing up a list. Fordham’s own Chad Aldis sounds a little skeptical of this approach. I certainly wouldn’t blame him if he were. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/10/18)
- The topic of chronic absenteeism in brick and mortar schools is tangentially related to the above, of course. But let’s leave behind the “active learner” nuance and return to the more familiar business of “butts in seats”. New-ish rules about tracking and reporting chronic absenteeism (hours missed vs. full days) have got some schools and districts working hard to intervene before certain butts are out of seats for too long. The most interesting thing here, as usual, is the difference between urban and suburban districts, especially in terms of why kids are absent. (Dayton Daily News, 8/13/18)
- Speaking of school districts with a history of attendance tracking problems, here’s a nice profile of the central enrollment center in Columbus City Schools. Looks great, cost a bunch, and took five years to get this far. Kudos to former supe Dan Good, I guess. As a bonus, the D got an opportunity to take a swipe at a charter school in the process. Although, thinking about it, if the charter school in question had just a fraction of the taxpayer money that this enrollment center cost to build out, it could have built a gym and Mom wouldn’t have had any reason to visit the enrollment center at all. And don’t forget that she didn’t leave the center with a school she liked anyway. So, yeah. Kudos, gang. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/12/18)
- The superintendent of Canton City Schools published a commentary piece in the Rep this weekend on the topic of student discipline and used his own youthful misanthropy and misbehavior as a frame. Times are a-changing, aren’t they, yerhonor? (Canton Repository, 8/12/18) Meanwhile, down south, the superintendent of Cincinnati City Schools was proselytizing like an education evangelist. Columnist Byron McCauley’s depiction of her speech laying out the future aims of the district (college, military, or workforce for her graduates) is an equally thrilling read. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 8/10/18)
- Out in the central ‘burbs, Dublin City Schools last week cut the ribbon on its new Emerald Campus. It’s not a school, per se, but a centralized location for a number of programs and services such as College Credit Plus courses, some special needs classrooms, and CTE programs. Appropriately to that last item, a robot actually did the ribbon cutting. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/10/18)
- Finally today, here is a very novel argument against state testing. Or at least, the scheduling of it. From our good friends in Lorain County. (Elyria Chronicle, 8/12/18)
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