Gadfly Bites 11/7/22—Expressing optimism is often easier than having it

1. The gist of this story—changes are being made in the way Dayton-area schools are teaching reading—is good. However, it feels like the piece is expressing more optimism than the reportage merits. To wit: the highest-performing districts, already nearly perfect in third grade proficiency, are not heard from at all. Instead, the lowest-performers are the only ones talking on the record, sounding defensive about past performance and talking about their efforts to comply with state laws instead of, you know, explaining what means they are using to right their ships. (Dayton Daily News, 11/6/22)
   
   

2. Speaking of things that sound good, here’s the list of goals that Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s board put together in order to guide the search for a new CEO. All candidates will be expected to sign on to: pursuing more racially equitable outcomes for students by eliminating achievement differences between students of difference races; improving academic achievement for third graders, with a big focus on literacy and reading (hmmm… anyone sensing a theme today?); improving the quality of pre-kindergarten programming; and improving the quality of students who graduate from CMSD, as measured in part by fewer students needing remedial courses in college. Easy peasy, right? And this is what you need to buy into simply to apply for the job. (Ideastream, Cleveland, 11/7/22)
   
   

3. You know what happens when enough families complain to the local TV news about something, right? The reporters start knocking on doors looking for on-camera answers to some tough questions. Such is the situation here in central Ohio, where 115 of the 166 complaints about school bus transportation received statewide this year so far came from families depending on Columbus City Schools. Yowza. This piece is a teaser for more to come from the “Problem Solvers” at ABC6 News. Hopefully someone will ask ODE about those fines against the district which should be racking up considerably…again. Might be higher than the Powerball pot at this point. (ABC6 News, Columbus, 11/4/22)
   
   

4. Finally today, Findlay Digital Academy is part of a pilot project to determine if high-performing dropout recovery charter schools should receive a boost in student funding on par with traditional district students. Nice! (Findlay Courier, 11/4/22)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.