Gadfly Bites 1/22/25—A crack in the fortification

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1. The bottom line of this piece seems to be that as Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s budget founders, paring after-school programming down to a bare minimum among other cuts, other providers stand ready to open their doors to families looking for out-of-school-time enrichment. Yay! More are needed, I’m sure, but the awesome offerings of charter school Village Prep Cliffs are a great start as described here. (Signal Cleveland, 1/21/25)
   
   

2. Speaking of CMSD, 2012 alumnus DaVonti’ DeAngelo Haynes, Ph.D., now an assistant professor at Temple University’s School of Social Work, has some cold truth for district leaders in an op-ed published this morning. Among other things, he writes, “An overall 3-star rating is not enough,” referring to CMSD’s most recent state report card, which has been touted proudly since its release. “Excellence is not achieved through celebratory rhetoric,” he continues, “but by ensuring that every student receives the support, attention, and resources needed to succeed. It means filling classrooms with qualified teachers — not substitutes — and engaging students in meaningful learning — not YouTube videos. Excellence is when no school has a 5.9 percent proficiency rate.” Wowza! Say it out loud, professor! (Cleveland.com, 1/22/25)
   
   

3. Also to be filed under good news: Senate Bill 208 goes into effect in April. Among other things, it puts a big crack in the barrier some school districts have thrown up around themselves in regard to interdistrict open-enrollment. Ohio law has long allowed districts to open their borders and accept students from anywhere, to open their borders to adjacent district families only, or to close those borders to any such outsiders who might want in (unless they pay big time tuition). The new exception, thanks to our state policymakers: students whose parents are active-duty armed forces members stationed in Ohio must be allowed to enroll their students in any district they choose, regardless of open enrollment policy. No charge, no exceptions. Here’s hoping this is the start of more such cracks in those archaic fortifications. (Cleveland.com, 1/21/25)

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