Talking education in the Gem City

On October 29, the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the Frank M.

Tell us what you think

As we consider changes and improvements to the Ohio Education Gadfly, we want to know what our readers think. We invite you to take a short survey about the Gadfly (accessible online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=J3kL2UiqJG3CBosslxNEzQ_3d_3d). 

The incredible shrinking Dayton

In the last decade the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) have contracted by more than 10,000 students; seeing enrollment decline from 24,916 students in 2000 to 14,393 students in 2009. During this same period Dayton has become one of the country’s leading charter school markets. 

Thinking outside the quality/quantity box: focusing on strategic use of teachers' time and talent

Teacher quality is arguably the most important variable impacting student achievement. Americans have generally accepted this truism, either through common sense or nostalgia, and policy wonks and politicians (armed with substantive evidence that good teaching matters) are elevating teacher quality as a primary focus of reform and pursuing relevant policy changes.

Timing of funding panel calls its impact into question

Alongside putting in place Governor Strickland’s “evidence-based” model of school funding, House Bill 1 – the state’s biennial budget – called for an advisory panel to issue “recommendations for revisions to the educational adequacy components of the school funding model,” among a slew of other charges.

Making middle schools work

The Columbus Dispatch writes that "the truth about Columbus middle schools is brutal." More than 70 percent of the district’s middle schools are rated "D" or "F" by the state and none of them met federal Adequate Yearly Progress targets.

SFSF, round two

Yesterday, the US Department of Education released documents related to the second and final batch of funding (~$11 billion) under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

Is New Haven bad for DC?

Much has been made of the new New Haven collective bargaining agreement--by President Obama, Secretary Duncan, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and even reformers in Connecticut, like Alex Johnston of ConnCAN, who sees it as promising.

Snow laughing matter

What child hasn't shrieked with glee upon hearing that it's a "snow day" and school is closed?

Today's Quotable and Notable

Quotable: "Charter schools are public schools, and they must be public schools in every sense of the word...Effectively, there will be absolutely no distinction between charter schools and district schools." -Tom Boasberg, Superintendant of Denver Public Schools

The fall of the Berlin Wall: Voices from the past

Performance pay in the Lone Star State

The "Differentiated Compensation in Education" conference, hosted by fellow Buckeye Staters Battelle for Kids, in Houston this week reminds me how messy the "nuts and bolts" of policy implementation can get.