- In what is likely a first, a participant in one of Ohio’s new Standards Review Committees has given an interview to his local newspaper. He is a long-time science teacher in Mansfield, which is likely very good experience for evaluating science standards. But I honestly can’t decide whether he’s defining his mandate too broadly (he seems to be on a vendetta against Common Core, which has nothing to do with Ohio’s homegrown science standards) or too narrowly (“That will be my focus: What is best for the Mansfield community,” he says, as if he wasn’t on a statewide commission). But either way, if you think Ohio consists only of Mansfield and the “affluent suburbs of Columbus”, you might not be the best candidate for the job anyway. (Mansfield News Journal)
- It’s time for another round of the game I like to call “If This Were a Charter School, the Response Would Be...” An internal audit reveals that the phone system used to route incoming calls for transportation questions and issues in the Columbus City Schools is a giant steaming pile of fail on about every possible front. Message priority, call routing, hold times (“If the caller is kept on hold for 20 minutes without the operator picking up, the system simply hangs up.” Nice.), data tracking, etc. The only good thing in this story is that there was an actual audit that caught these egregious problems. What’s the Transportation Department’s response? They’re going to ask the board to prioritize fixing the problem in next year’s budget. And don’t forget that Columbus is responsible for transporting thousands of charter school and voucher students as well, so the problem is far wider than just the district. Where is the outrage? Probably recorded on some voicemail box that no one can access even if they knew where it was. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Staying in Columbus, the Big D (along with schools and parents) is trying to suss out the possible consequences of parents opting their students out of PARCC and other tests. Having read this piece, it seems the jury is still out and that ODE and others need to keep sussing. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Did they or didn’t they? Will they or won’t they? An alleged verbal agreement by union negotiators for its members to forego dental insurance in order to pass a levy may be key to bus driver contract negotiations in tiny Canfield schools. The rhetoric around those negotiations is starting to heat up a bit. (Youngstown Vindicator)
