- Last year’s rancor between the elected board of Cincinnati City Schools and the Southwest Ohio Regional Transportation Authority (SORTA) seems to be forgotten. And while the much-lamented school-specific bus routes will not be back (as SORTA vowed they would not), the consolation prize of free regular transit passes for district high schoolers was announced with much happiness earlier this week. (WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, 8/1/22) There is no mention of charter, private, or STEM school students in the previous piece. And why would there be, really? No one involved in the discussion cares about them. Honestly, it’s often bad news when the district education establishment turns its eye on school choice. For example: The elected board of Sylvania City Schools has decided to go forward with its plan to transport private school students on routes which combine kindergartners with high schoolers, involve multiple stops coming and going, and will likely add hours to students’ school day. As we noted the last time we looked at this, litigation was threatened by some parents previously. And it is still on the table now. (Toledo Blade, 8/1/22)
- Your mileage may vary, but I definitely tend to lump most journalists into the camp of “district schools matter most; all others to the rear”. For example, the broadcast version of this piece—which I think intends to announce two new charter schools opening in Cincinnati this school year—sounds exactly like the script I would write if my intention was to thoroughly confuse and dishearten regular viewers. The print version is only slightly better, at least lacking the apologetic tone and actually bothering to use the well-known term “charter school”. (WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, 7/28/22) And if you’d like to make a comparison in tone and detail when it’s a new district school throwing wide its doors, here’s a recent such item for you.
- Speaking of which, the USA Today network of papers around Ohio are all publishing a set of themed back-to-school articles this week. In Columbus, the headline is “When is your kid going back to school?” No clue. STEM and private school start dates are not included. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/1/22) The Enquirer tries to answer the question “So, who’s in charge at your kid’s school this year?” (charming phraseology)…and fails completely to do so if your kid goes to a charter or a Catholic school. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 8/1/22) The Canton Rep promises nothing short of “the full list of first days” for dozens of schools across five entire counties. Which does not, as you have probably already gathered, include the dozens of charter, STEM, or private schools enrolling thousands of kids in those counties. Definitely not my definition of the word “full”. (Canton Repository, 8/3/22)
- Finally today, think anyone on the other end of this back-to-school survey for northwest Ohio parents gives a crap about charter and private school kids? (Question 1: “What school district does your student(s) attend?”) Nope, me neither. (WTOL-TV, Toledo, 8/3/22)
Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
Policy Priority:
Topics:
