We’re back with a wrap up of education stories from the end of 2018 (published between 12/22 and 12/31)! These are listed in chronological order (mainly) rather than arranged to tell a story as per usual. Apologies for my appalling lack of effort. New Year, New Resolve. I Promise.
- Students at the I Promise School in Akron got a pretty nice Christmas present on the last day before their holiday break: A newly-renovated gym at the community center down the street. (Not sure if it’s just for the students or if the larger community gets to use it too.) They also got to do the Hokey-Pokey with Mama James. Happy Holidays, kids! (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/22/18)
- Lots of schools in Ohio, however, got a lump of coal for Christmas, in the form of a new report on student absenteeism from the Ohio chapter of the Children’s Defense Fund. Among the findings: about one in every six students in Ohio were chronically absent last school year, and the incidence is much higher in the state’s large urban districts. (Gongwer Ohio, 12/26/18)
- Renters no more. Dayton Early College Academy completed an end-of-the-year purchase of the downtown building which it was renting to house its DECA Prep middle school. Nice! There is no mention in the piece that Fordham sponsors DECA Prep, so I’ll mention it myself. Just to tie it all up with a bow. (Dayton Daily News, 12/28/18)
- You’ve heard of Christmas in July? How about a little summer in December instead? Here’s a look at the Next Steps program in Toledo, designed as a mini summer camp to help high school students with special needs take a “dry run” at college. Some of the material covered with the kids seems more helpful than other material. (Toledo Blade, 12/28/18) Folks in Boardman City Schools are starting just a bit earlier, providing job training for middle school students with special needs via the Boardman Beanery in-school coffee shop. I have a similar response to this program too, but if 2018 taught us anything, it’s that no one cares what I think. (Youngstown Vindicator, 12/26/18)
- The Dispatch ended the year with a swipe against the state’s Academic Distress Commission framework, especially the Who and the How of its creation and implementation. Sorry, Tress! The timing of the piece likely coincides with the fact that Columbus City Schools may be subject to it in the new year. If only there was a way out for them… (Columbus Dispatch, 12/31/18) The same topic was top of mind in Lorain as the year ended, although there seems to be a lot more positivity among the interview subjects here. Minus the elected school board members, I mean. Happy freakin’ New Year! (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 12/31/18)
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