Gadfly Bites 10/18/21—Feats of creativity

1. Toledo City Schools continues to celebrate its increased graduation rate, as per the school and district report card data released last week, with the superintendent discussing it in some detail here. He dismisses the pandemic as a potential downward force on graduation rates in 2019-20 and dismisses grading and testing waivers given away like candy that year as a potential upward force on them too. Rising grade rates, he says, are nothing less than the result of the district’s own efforts going back seven years. “Eighty-two percent of our kids come in two to three years behind already, before they even start the day off,” he explains. “We’re getting them in and 82 percent of them are performing at a deficit, and we’re graduating them at 82 percent, which ultimately is awesome because it’s a return on the investment with what our staff is doing with them in the classroom.” Well, there you go. What’s all the worry about, y’all? (Toledo Blade, 10/17/21)
    
2. Editors at Vindy.com opine today that local schools need to become “more creative” if they want to overcome their staffing shortages, be they bus drivers or substitute teachers. (Vindy.com, 10/18/21) Meanwhile, here’s a look at the candidates running for election to Youngstown City Schools’ board. Since it required several supreme feats of “creativity” for Youngstown to even have an elected school board right now (you know what I mean), I suppose Vindy.com can’t be faulted for executing the same “creativity” in setting up and publishing these profiles. These folks will be in full control of your schools soon, Youngstown. How you feelin’? (Vindy.com, 10/18/21)
   
   

3. The so-called “Test and Stay” pandemic protocol recently piloted in a number of Warren County school districts to simultaneously help limit Covid spread and avoid mass quarantines of students and staff is being called a success. The superintendent of the Warren County ESC says that the new protocols allowed more than 260 students to stay in the classroom instead of quarantining at home. That adds up to more than 2,500 instructional days which were “saved” because quarantined students are usually at home doing nothing. Kudos. (WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, 10/17/21)

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