- As reported in Bites on Wednesday, a proposal has been put forward in the General Assembly that would make some important changes to the state-level governance structure of K-12 education, higher ed, and workforce development. Here is some additional coverage of the initial announcement. Chad Aldis is quoted in both of these pieces as being in favor of the proposal. The Dayton Daily News does not appear to share his sentiment. (Dayton Daily News, 2/14/18) Gongwer, as usual, is thorough and efficient in their even-handed coverage. (Gongwer Ohio, 2/14/18)
- Here is coverage of same from outlets who did not feel the need to include Chad. Wonder why? Most curious of all is this revised version of the original Dispatch piece which initially included Chad but now does not. How very odd. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/15/18) Next up, the Blade. Not fans of the proposal, if I am reading this correctly. (Toledo Blade, 2/14/18) The PD’s follow up piece reads like a potted history of proposals to change state level K-12 governance, pretty well ignoring all of the other changes in the proposal. I detect a less-than-enthusiastic response here. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/15/18) No maybe about it in Akron. Just straight-up loathing from Doug and co. (Akron Beacon Journal, 2/14/18) Despite talk of “understanding” the pros/cons of the proposal and a promise of “thorough and deliberative discussion” when said proposal makes it from the House to the Senate, Gongwer has determined that key Senators’ dislike for the proposal is the headline. (Gongwer Ohio, 2/15/18) Unless I’m misreading it, most of the disdain for the proposal is focused on changes to the State Board of Education and, to a lesser extent, to the Ohio Department of Education. Glad, then, to see that someone at the D is looking a bit deeper. To wit: the Ohio Board of Regents, once in charge of higher ed policymaking in the state, is down to just two members with no new ones on the horizon. They don’t have a quorum and haven’t met in quite a while. Whether this state of affairs is some plot (insinuated by some) or simply the inevitable result of changes to higher ed governance instituted ten years ago (my vote; but seriously what do I know?), it seems important to the discussion taking place around the new proposal to merge K-12, higher ed, and workforce development efforts. Glad to see someone taking an interest in the larger aspects of the proposal. Thanks, Jennifer Smola. I appreciate you, for what it’s worth. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/16/18)
- Our title quote for today’s Bites comes from this irony-laden story about Cuyahoga Falls City Schools’ travails in regard to sponsoring a dropout recovery charter school, not that I expect anyone involved was actually aiming for irony. Honestly, are we sure that this story didn’t get mixed up with the transcript of the ECOT hearing earlier this week? (MyTownNEO, 2/16/18)
- Finally today: what seems to me like huge news from the Youngstown branch of the NAACP. I will let branch vice president Jimma McWilson tell you of the crucial change the organization is making in its quarterly report cards on Youngstown City Schools: “The reviews are no longer about the CEO, but about the instructional system he has in place.” The first of these new reviews appears to include some encouraging trends. (Youngstown Vindicator, 2/16/18)
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