- Let’s time travel back a couple of days where we find Fordham’s Chad Aldis quoted in a widely-distributed AP piece looking at what’s next for charter school accountability in the aftermath of this week’s state school board meeting and state Supreme Court decision. (Associated Press, 9/16/15)
- Moving in space but not in time, here’s a story from earlier this week in which local hipsters laud Fordham-sponsored UPrep Academy as a vital piece of the revitalization of the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus. (Columbus Alive, 9/16/15)
- Our own Aaron Churchill posted a blog on Ohio Gadfly Daily earlier this week looking at the state board’s decision to set PARCC-test cut scores for proficiency below the level of college and career readiness. That post seems to have been bigger on the inside than the outside because it has generated a lot more interest in media outlets than one might have expected. Case in point, this story on the same topic from the PD which quotes liberally from Aaron’s blog and reproduces one of his comparison charts. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/17/15)
- Speaking of the state board meeting, editors in Akron opined in frustration following its conclusion. Specifically, that the meeting ended without a vote calling for an outside investigation over the rescinded charter sponsor ratings from earlier this year. (Akron Beacon Journal, 9/16/15). Doctor Ross, the state superintendent, comes in for some stick in this editorial from the PD on the same topic. Although Cleveland editors seem a bit more optimistic than those in Akron that the current internal investigations might actually dig deeply enough to answer their lingering questions and that it wasn’t the doctor who needs the scrutiny. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/16/15)
- Editors in Cleveland are at it again today, opining in favor of charter law reform in Ohio right now. For once, this does not appear to be a copy/paste/repeat editorial but is motivated by the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in the White Hat case earlier this week. They are right on the money with the conclusion, but while they season their editorial with premiere facts, they undercut themselves somewhat by liberal use of words like “outrageous” and “shameless” and “feckless” (my fave; hello Peter Davison). (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/18/15)
- Finally, it seems that finishing touches are being put on a home-grown alternative to the so-called “Youngstown Plan”. Two state legislators are leading the charge and after last night’s final community stakeholder meeting, they say they are close to unveiling their plan. Gadfly Bites will bring you all the details as soon as they are available. Hopefully the info will not be released around 9:00 pm Saturday, September 19, as Gadfly Bites will be tuned in to BBC America at that time and may be too geeked to think about education news much for hours on either side of that. (Youngstown Vindicator, 9/18/15)
