- Some dude was busted last week for receiving and selling public transit bus passes stolen from Columbus City Schools and intended for students in lieu of yellow bus transportation. As a parent who has relied on said passes for years, I hope they throw the book at everyone involved. As someone who has seen multiple similar attempts by adults to literally steal education from kids for their own financial gain, my reaction is less benign...and less printable. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/25/17)
- Despite some Herculean efforts by folks to stem the tide, families are still opting to send their kids to online charter schools across the state gosh dang it, including more than 3,800 such students in the Dayton area. Not heartened enough by either the drop in enrollment numbers last year (assuming those are right, of course) or the likely drop in this year’s numbers since ECOT is planning to change its metaphorical spots, Jeremy Kelley decided to try and find out why so daggone many families are still opting in. No answer was readily forthcoming in his discussion with Ohio Connections Academy. In fact, kids who have been persuaded by the news to leave ECOT seem to be gravitating toward other online schools. Whodathunkit? (Dayton Daily News, 8/25/17) Dogged and determined, Jeremy sought out one particular OCA family who live in Kettering to ask them what the heck is up with that and lo and behold, they’re happy. It works for them and the kid seems to be doing well enough to suit everyone after three years. Crap dang it. (Dayton Daily News, 8/25/17) Editors in Columbus meanwhile opined against ECOT’s efforts at “rebranding” as alluded to above, but just in case that effort actually works they also opined against the current low accountability bar for dropout recovery schools. That should do it. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/27/17)
- The start of the school year in Youngstown seems so smooth and problem free (as compared, say, to last year) as to barely register in the Vindy. No reports of transportation problems, no board members calling emergency meetings, and no teachers airing grievances. Perhaps it is events like this one – at which U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D- 13th) joined district CEO Krish Mohip to extol the virtues of social emotional learning to Youngstown teachers who already agreed with him about the topic – that are responsible for the seeming harmony. No word on how many verses of Kumbaya were sung during the event. (Youngstown Vindicator, 8/26/17)
- Finally today, we take a nice look at the innovative work of Dan Jones, a middle school teacher at the Richland School of Academic Arts charter school in Mansfield. He has implemented a “flipped classroom” model in which students become the teachers and lessons move in the way and at the pace that students need them to. Lots of tech-enabled learning as well. Sounds fantastic to me. Wonder why the reporter didn’t mention RSAA’s status as a charter school in this piece? Probably just a space issue. (Mansfield News Journal, 8/27/17)
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