- It took a few days, but newspaper editors have finally started taking note of the state auditor’s report on charter school attendance. Check out opinion pieces from the Akron Beacon-Journal and the Columbus Dispatch.
- Academic Standards Review Committees were mandated in state law last year, with members appointed by the Senate, the House, and the Governor. The committees began work yesterday, and the Statehouse is still standing. However, it does appear that a couple of the members are under the mistaken idea they were appointed to the legislature of the state board of education. Weird. (Gongwer Ohio)
- Administration of PARCC tests is to begin in earnest in Ohio soon. The Ohio Department of Education did a little rollout event yesterday. You can check out the dry – but informative – version of the story, focusing on the rollout event itself in Gongwer Ohio. Or you can go down to the district level – far less dry and with far more skeptical commentators – with the Dayton Daily News.
- So the state auditor releases a report on charter school attendance and the result is at least 10 stories across the state and the above-noted op-eds so far, all of them baying for immediate action to end the travesty. So, this story about a report on Lorain City Schools (who are already under the aegis of an Academic Distress Commission) should bring the house down right? A student allowed to sleep during class (in front of an outside observer!), the district withholding information about testing for a child who might need an IEP, “hidden rules” that give rewards to children who didn’t earn them and withhold those rewards from others who did, teachers attending the wrong professional development courses. The outrage should be statewide, yet I doubt we’ll ever hear about this report again. Someone prove me wrong. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal)
- Cloverleaf Schools in Medina County officially emerged from state fiscal oversight last night, a status in which it has been mired for more than two years. The words of praise for the district’s efforts are many, but most importantly it appears that a fiscal lesson has been learned. Instead of trying to recreate the district as it was before the bottom fell out, the superintendent assured his constituents, “We’re going to dream within the confines of our budget.” Nice. (Akron Beacon Journal)
- Tired of reading about district and/or high school mergers in Geauga County yet? Me neither. Both the Berkshire and Ledgemont school boards voted unanimously this week in favor of moving toward a merger. This is a major hurdle out of the way and journalist Jean Bonchak conveniently lists all of the remaining steps in her piece. There are quite a few – probably more than there ought to be, really. She also notes, as I will, that the clock is ticking on this effort toward a June 30th state deadline. (Willoughby News Herald)
RESEARCH BITES 1/28/15: Education landscape beyond the “Big Eight” – pt. 3
Mid-size Ohio cities are the theme of this series of Research Bites. The past couple have profiled public schooling in two Ohio cities—Newark and Middletown. Today, we look at Mansfield, population 48,000, about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland. A unique feature of the public-school system in Mansfield is its fairly large charter-school sector (in comparison to Newark and Middletown). Just over 25 percent of the city’s public-school students attend a charter (1,145 students in 2012-13). Another 254 students attend a private school via the EdChoice voucher. Meanwhile, district enrollment has declined considerably over time—from 6,039 students in 2000 to 3,339 in 2013, a loss of 45 percent. When it comes to academics, the district’s four-year graduation rate is poor (just 68 percent, compared to a state average of 82 percent). Student achievement is also sluggish; most schools in Mansfield have below-average proficiency rates (Mansfield Spanish Immersion appears to be the exception—students there are high achieving). The school quality ratings, as measured by value-added results, are also mostly mediocre (C’s and lower) with only two A-rated schools in 2013-14. It’s worth noting that the district’s elementary grade configurations are K-3, so value-added results cannot be obtained for them (indicated by the NR). The picture of education in Mansfield is probably the bleakest of the three mid-sized cities we’ve looked at so far. Stay tuned for bites from a few more cities in the coming days.
Mansfield Public Schools, District and Charter – 2013-14
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Note: Schools shaded in orange are charters. IMAC and Mansfield Enhancement Academy are dropout-recovery charter schools. Table does not display students attending a statewide online charter school.
