- Leaders at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center have rejected an offer from Cincinnati City Schools to move to the old mansion next door, which the district recently purchased, saying it’s too small for their needs and would require too much renovation. Maybe they’re sore because they’re getting kicked out of their decorous digs in the first place. Maybe they’re worried because the district will still be their landlord if they take the deal. Or maybe it’s just a negotiating tactic – call it the art of the deal. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/28/17)
- Speaking of deal making, the school board in Brecksville-Broadview Heights announced this week that pay-to-play fees for sports, arts, cheerleading and more will be cut in half if the district’s upcoming levy is approved. Think these guys spotted the irony? (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/29/17)
- There is a level of irony in this piece also, but it’s a bit less obvious. Lorain City Schools – currently in some twilit valley between Academic Distress Commissions, as we noted earlier this week – has received what appears to be some distressing news in the form of the results of a “social justice audit”. It sounds a bit clinical and bean-countery as described here, but it is not a stretch to believe that a majority-minority school district in Ohio could have some trouble with inequitable inputs or outcomes for kids. Current supe is devastated by this news and vows to fix stuff himself as it is his responsibility, not that of the incoming ADC. I might instead suggest that it is the precise nature of the new ADC paradigm that the folks who presided over the problem as it developed should step back and let others take the reins. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 3/28/17)
- As an example of the above, I direct my devoted readers to Youngstown City Schools (you both knew that was coming, didn’t you?). It is entirely likely that the Youngstown Board of Education in its many iterations over the years was responsible for accreting a student code of conduct document that eventually numbered 46 pages. District CEO Krish Mohip has whittled that down to a crisp 4-pager that strives to build a “culture of calm” and emphasizes positive behaviors and “remediations” rather than suspensions for infractions. (Youngstown Vindicator, 3/29/17)
- Finally today, it’s apparently “job hunting season” for teachers here in Ohio. This piece focuses on a couple of impending college graduates looking for their first gigs in Canton (one of whom has ties to and, interestingly, discusses the recent Louisville strike) but it is noted at the end that the majority of candidates interviewing this week already have jobs and are looking to “upgrade”. So maybe it’s less “job hunting season” than “musical chairs season”. (Canton Repository, 3/29/17)
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