Gadfly Bites 8/5/20 – Unofficially

1. While this is a story about the fall reopening plans for Par Excellence Academy in Newark, that is not the point I wish to focus on for the purposes of these clips. What I wish to focus on is that the paper decided to cover a charter school’s plan in this level of detail at all and that, once again, the school is never referred to as a charter in the piece. (Hybrid, BTW. Four days per week in-person, virtual Fridays; with a fully online option for those families who want it.) (Newark Advocate, 8/3/20)
    
2. No speculation about reopening for students at St. John’s Jesuit High School and Academy in Toledo. That happened already this week, with 88 percent of families opting for full in-person schooling. The piece is brief, but it notes that the school lengthened its school day and will be utilizing outdoor areas of its campus (as long as Northwest Ohio weather allows, I imagine) to allow for social distancing and smaller class sizes. It is also interesting to note that the fully-remote option chosen by 12 percent of families requires only a two-week commitment before students are allowed to switch if they prefer. (Toledo Blade, 8/3/20)
    
3. Speaking of Northwest Ohio, a brace of school district territory transfer issues were on the ballot up there yesterday, and the results were 50/50. (Two of them passed by a vote of 1-0, which I appreciate.) I’m not sure whether this is the final word on these transfers, especially the ones that were voted down, but it seems like the new system is working as intended. Unofficially, of course. (Toledo Blade, 8/5/20)
    
4. Back to remote schooling for a moment. Columbus State Community College is lauded in this piece for having made its decision to go almost fully remote (minus welding, some nursing classes, and the like) quickly and decisively and without, it seems, much fuss at all. Officials said they wanted to be “the voice of certainty” for their students and community. It is interesting to note, also, that this certainty kicked down to K-12 education also when Columbus State “developed an online program for its College Credit Plus offerings.” Thus, schools and districts “could do what they need to do for their communities, and know that…College Credit Plus was going to continue, and continue in a robust fashion.” I think this is interesting. If I had any personal skin in the K-12 game these days, I think I might—unofficially—encourage high schoolers (ALL high schoolers, you dig?) to perhaps fill up their time this fall (and you know what time I mean) with credit-bearing college classes via Columbus State or other providers. Seems like they will be there for you fairly robustly, if I may say so. And, if I were giving such advice, I might actually encourage those students to approach the colleges directly and on their own themselves so as to give their high schools the space for “doing what they need to do” for everyone else. Unofficially, of course. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/5/20)
    
5. Remote teaching and learning didn’t go so well for many students, schools, and districts across the state this spring. Thus it is important as Ohioans find themselves returning to that mode of education again in many schools across the state to learn from what didn’t work and to STOP DOING THOSE THINGS. I am reasonably certain that this is the sentiment attempting to be expressed in this piece. (WDTN-TV, Dayton, 8/4/20)
   

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