News stories featured in Gadfly Bites may require a paid subscription to read in full. Just sayin’.
- One of the reasons why the eclipse-day school closures (end of the world is a week from Monday, y’all!) bother me so much is that, anecdotally, it seems there are lots of other such days already baked into the school calendar around here. Here is a story where a Columbus City Schools parent lays it out for real. “When they have a Wednesday off, they’re not just losing Wednesday,” is just one of mom’s receipts. However, if what “some parents say…” sounds bad, what school officials say in response seems even worse. Getting a day away from kids to do professional development is seen as a “stress reliever” for teachers. What’s the main stressor? Their own students. Why are PD days always on Wednesdays? “Typically, if we schedule it on a Friday or Monday, sometimes our attendance is not as high.” There’s so much more said out loud and visible between the lines. Read it yourself and see. It sounds like a mess to me…and it sounds like parents are getting wise. (WOSU-FM, Columbus, 3/28/24)
- “Why haven’t you talked about Lorain City Schools in ages?” I hear you asking in frustration. Because there hasn’t been anything worth reporting in a long time, that’s why. But that changes today! Who would have thought that Lorain City Schools would be one of the few districts that actually seemed to learn something positive about using pandemic-era technology to support students? Not me, man. But here is a nice story about a choral/band project that was able to involve the entire district via Zoom. However (you knew there was going to be a “however” from me, didn’t you?), it sounds like a pretty enormous undertaking that I would be willing to bet consumed a lot of staff and student time. Given our previous clip—coupled with the years of academic concerns in Lorain—perhaps this was NOT the most optimal use of large blocks of time for literally every student in the district, even if it does represent a fine and laudable use of technology. (The Chronicle-Telegram, 3/29/24)
Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.
Policy Priority:
Topics:
