- In case you missed it, researchers from CREDO released their latest report on charter school performance in Ohio, supported with funding from Fordham. It is something of a dry affair, if you ask me, as was the event here in Columbus which was set to herald its release. But many of Ohio’s intrepid education journalists found the proper news within to excite themselves and, hopefully, their readers too. You can check out coverage in the Plain Dealer… (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/19/19) …Gongwer news… (Gongwer Ohio, 2/19/19) …and the Dispatch so far. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/19/19)
- Speaking of charters, a rare strike of charter school teachers took place yesterday in, you guessed it, Cleveland, the only place in Ohio (so far) where some charters have been unionized. The stated issue: there are not enough teachers in the school to properly handle the work load. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/18/19)
- In other news, while Mike DeWine may be new in the governor’s chair, he is an O.G. when it comes to the L.C. – local control. Hence the reason everyone was very excited to hear him go on the record as willing to look at Ohio’s HB 70 and the changes wrought to districts by the revamped academic distress paradigm it put in place. He’s already “got some people working on this,” he said, and that they are “working with some legislators on this”. The reaction among Elyria’s ink-stained wretches is as you might expect. (Elyria Chronicle, 2/20/19)
- As if you didn’t know, this whole academic distress business has created some weirdness in the districts operating under the aegis of a new style Academic Distress Commission. In Lorain, the city somehow thinks that they are obligated to intervene legally in the ongoing dispute. If I may just read the minds of Lorainian taxpayers for a moment: “Ummm…. What now?” (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 2/19/19) Additionally, the teachers union decided to ask membership whether they had no confidence in the district CEO. (No, I don’t know that that is how the question was asked. Just guessing.) The unsurprising result made news in nearby Elyria. Honestly, the only surprise here is how few teachers seemed to have responded, however the question was asked. I assumed answering would be mandatory. (Elyria Chronicle, 2/20/19)
- Finally today: How are things going in those districts who are on the cusp of an academic distress declaration…and everything that (for the moment, but check back later in the legislative term) goes along with it? Well, in Dayton things still sound pretty dismal overall. But it seems very clearly not the district’s fault anymore. If the board and administration do say so themselves. But it is hard (for me at least) to hear their message over all the ironic statements. (Dayton Daily News, 2/19/19)
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