News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
- We’ll probably be hearing more about this new report from Reason Foundation in the coming weeks, but here’s a nice nutshell intro as to how it will be framed: Per pupil school spending increased nearly 15 percent in Ohio between 2002 and 2020, they say, while enrollment, the number of teachers, and teacher pay dropped over the same period. (Center Square, 2/29/24)
- Also declining between 2002 and 2020 in many schools and districts across Ohio was student achievement—but that seems less important than the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Case in point: A state audit indicates that Youngstown City Schools has more central office administrators than other comparable districts. This piece seems to want to frame that staffing situation as a waste of precious resources, even after noting that the majority of those positions are instructional coaches hired while the district was under the aegis of an Academic Distress Commission and intended to, you know, boost teacher effectiveness, improve student outcomes, and end the distress. But we are a loooong way from those hopeful days now. (WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, 2/29/24)
- It is a measure of the dearth of education news today that an independent STEM school getting its state STEM designation extended for another five years counts as an important headline. But you know that I am a hopeless devotee when it comes to Ohio’s STEM schools so here it is. Honestly, the science-y aspect of Valley STEM + ME2 Academy in Mahoning County is likely the least remarkable thing about it. The school’s mastery approach to grading; acceleration of high school courses to take up just two years; and provision of two years of career pathway learning opportunities in tech, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship are all more unique and valuable...and probably why the school is so dang popular. (Morning Journal, 3/1/24)
Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
Policy Priority:
Topics:
