Gadfly Bites 2/2/26—Stone cold

News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.

1. Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is quoted far-too-briefly in this far-too-long treatise on the history of Academic Distress Commission-based turnaround efforts in Ohio. “Our students in every part of the state deserve a great education,” Aaron tells Cleveland.com, putting the focus of improvement efforts—purely and simply—where they belong. “They deserve an education where they can graduate high school proficient in math and reading. And right now that is not happening in some of the districts in our state. I think that additional pressure from the state and oversight from the state can really help make sure students are getting what they deserve.” Everything else in here is trying—and failing—to let Youngstown City Schools off the hook from having to meet the improvement benchmarks they set for themselves and continue to fail to meet. (Cleveland.com, 2/1/26)
    
2. A May 2025 blog post from Fordham’s Chad Aldis is quoted in this Ideastream report regarding the large number of school buildings soon to be vacated in Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Chad’s piece decries the past efforts of numerous districts across the state to flout the law that gives charter/private/STEM school operators right of first refusal to buy or rent closed district buildings. And while that admonition seems clear and direct—as does the law—I personally can sense from the district’s public comments (“CMSD has been working with the City of Cleveland and other community partners for months to look at building reuse opportunities arising from the Building Brighter Futures process,” says a CMSD spokesperson.) that any and all options to thwart the spirit—if not the letter—of that law are on the table right now. And I swear that the second I hear the local “port authority” is involved, I will throw something and scream so loudly you will hear it wherever you are. (Ideastream Public Media, 1/30/26)
    
3. Very fittingly, here’s a laudatory look at Breakthrough Schools’ brand spankin’ new gym facility at its Woodland Hills campus on Cleveland’s east side. This is a perfect example of how a charter school can buy a closed CMSD school building and revitalize its ongoing purpose to serve students academically, while also expanding community connections since the gym will also be available for public use when school is out. Kudos! Additionally, for those of you whose own schools were closed up tight all last week (and possibly today as well), note that the big public unveiling of Breakthrough’s new facility took place on January 29, undaunted by the notorious lake effect snow and cold in Cleveland. (NEOtrans Blog, 1/31/26)

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