Gadfly Bites 11/2/18 – The first of many, I hope

1. Not much to report today in proper education news, but most of what we have is decently good news. So there’s that. First up, Lorain City Schools held an appreciation event this week to honor the 45 students who scored 21 or over on the ACT. That includes two high-flying eighth graders and one high schooler with a perfect score. The latter became the first inductee into Lorain’s Academic Hall of Fame that night. Nice! (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 11/1/18)
2. The branch campus of Ohio State University located in Mansfield is working to build a pathway to the university—and to the teaching profession—for African-American students in Mansfield High School. Perhaps it is a bit limited in ambition and scope right now (just one CCP class before graduation, guys? Dream bigger), but hopefully the effort can pay dividends down the road. (Richland Source, 11/2/18)
3. For me, one of the neatest things about working in our state capital is driving by the federal courthouse on the mornings when the citizenship swearing-in ceremonies are happening. Lots of individuals and families streaming into the beautiful old building together, dressed to the nines, carrying their all-important paperwork and flags as they go. Imagine the powerful civics lesson that could result from holding that event in a school building. Well, imagine no more. The good folks at Chalkbeat this week covered a recent swearing-in ceremony that took place at KIPP Columbus instead of the courthouse, presided over (and spearheaded by) the federal judge who has headed the charter school’s board for a decade. Completely awesome. (Chalkbeat, 11/1/18)
4. Not to end today on a bum note, but we all knew this run of decent news had to end. We return to the Lorain area, where the good folks at the Elyria Chronicle explain at length how they are working to get their public records requests fulfilled. What are they trying to investigate? Who even knows? Perhaps it’s just sunshine for sunshine’s sake. Why no, the Chronicle did not cover the ACT recognition/Academic Hall of Fame induction ceremony noted above. Why do you ask? (Elyria Chronicle, 11/2/18)

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