News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
- The members of the Cleveland.com Editorial Board responded individually on the topic of chronic student absenteeism this weekend. While their suggestions for solutions ran the gamut (court action, information campaigns, better data, etc.), the members appear unanimous in pointing to parents as the source of both problem and solution. (Cleveland.com, 10/12/24)
- As I noted last Wednesday, no news outlet here in Columbus has actually confirmed that the charter school students who were to be provided with transportation to school—starting last week, while their long-term transportation mediation was ongoing—have actually made it to school on a yellow bus yet. Attorney General Dave Yost actually told the Dispatch on Friday that “the state already has received some information suggesting” that district buses are still not properly rolling, even for these few dozen charter school students. This is just one of the reasons he is vowing to keep the legal pressure up on the district to fulfill their transportation responsibilities. (Columbus Dispatch, 10/11/24)
- Toledo Maritime Academy posted another poor report card this year, making it two in a row for the much-loved charter school. Even if they boost that in next year’s report card, the return of pre-pandemic accountability measures for Ohio charters means that they will face the possibility of automatic closure. Staff members are struggling with this reality. “I believe in accountability, and I believe in the report cards,” school superintendent Aaron Lusk told WTOL-TV News. But, “[w]e need more time because of the specific nature of our school.” Lusk also notes what he sees as a conundrum in the rules: “Community schools are supposed to be innovative. They’re supposed to be different than public schools. But we’re held to the same measure…” as traditional district schools, “…but also held to an automatic closure law.” Which traditional district schools most decidedly are not. (WTOL-TV, 10/13/24)
Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
