- In case you missed it, the state board of education elected a new president and vice president this morning. Congrats, y’all. (Columbus Dispatch, 11/15/21)
- In a somewhat longer-gestating move, the elected board of North Olmsted City Schools will likely vote this week to close two elementary schools due to persistent low enrollment. How long? District enrollment has been falling for the last fifteen years, according to officials, leading to multiple buildings at “50 or 60 percent” of capacity. Am I the only one thinking that these closures surely could have/should have been done sooner? (Cleveland.com, 11/15/21)
- But honestly, who needs any buildings, man? Columbus City Schools is so bullish on its (purchased, third-party) online preschool program that it hopes to ultimately serve 1,750 families through it. Currently, there are 60 students enrolled. I assume the supporters of this program are planning to cheerlead a whole lot louder to boost enrollment…or perhaps to hope for collective amnesia among families who are only too aware of how the district’s “remote education efforts” have fared over the last couple of school years. (Columbus Dispatch, 11/15/21)
- Meanwhile, in Toledo, the folks behind a long-established mom-and-pop childcare provider called Baby University are thinking big: a new and larger pre-K program opening in January 2022 and a K-12 classical education charter school coming in fall of 2023. All will serve the same low-income neighborhood in the Old South End of the city. Best wishes to everyone! (Toledo Blade, 11/15/21)
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