- Lots of charter school-related news today. First up, our own Chad Aldis is quoted in this piece about the status – and the process – of charter law reform in Ohio. “The most important thing is that we get this right," he says. Yup. (WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, 9/3/15)
- Meanwhile, State Auditor Dave (with the most) Yost released a report yesterday detailing the results of a special audit of the operations of three charter school sponsors. The results, he said, “[highlight] the need for increased sponsor oversight of schools.” He also acknowledged that the sponsor-centric charter reform bill pending in the state legislature “is a step in the right direction to increase accountability and transparency in our broken system.” Yup again. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/3/15)
- Sadly, the Auditor’s press conference got short shrift in the media due to the late-day release of tens of thousands of pages of emails and attachments from the Ohio Department of Education in regard to the flawed sponsor-rating efforts undertaken by the department earlier this year. If you are so inclined, you can check out initial coverage of the emails’ contents in the Plain Dealer (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/3/15) and the Dispatch, to name just two. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/4/15)
- Also losing out in terms of media real estate yesterday was Governor Kasich, who was back in Columbus after east coast campaign swings and answering questions from Statehouse reporters. The main event may have been an economic development press conference, but the reporters wanted to ask Kasich about State Superintendent Dick Ross – who has the governor’s “complete and total” support, thanks for asking (Toledo Blade, 9/3/15) – and about the Youngstown Plan. (Youngstown Vindicator, 9/3/15) Kasich’s responses on this were blunt and pretty interesting. Worth a look.
- In other news, changes are in the air in Cincinnati. CPS’ school board president is stepping down and will not run for reelection in the fall due to the demands of a new job. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/2/15) This follows on the heels of the resignation announcement by the long-time superintendent of Cincinnati’s Catholic Schools. He is heading to the Diocese of Chicago as supe in October. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/2/15)
- “Superintendents happy with state testing changes,” reads the Lima News headline. That would be the opinion of all three of the suburban district supes interviewed. What, specifically, are they happy about? Safe harbor. Says one of them: “A report card rating or result of a standardized test is really not a motivator for us as a district in terms of monitoring the success and progress of our students.” Seriously? Even if that result is a poor one? (Lima News, 9/3/15)
