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- I never like retracting kudos I have given, but today it must happen. Despite promising to remain open for the rest of the school year and helping students to transition to new schools for the fall, leaders of beleaguered Dohn Community High School in Cincinnati voted to close down today. No word here about the possibility of any ongoing help for remaining students—all of whom chose Dohn after struggling in or dropping out of other schools—but I can’t imagine families would be willing to trust in that help even if it was still being offered. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/28/25) In response to the news of that local charter school’s demise, Cincinnati City Schools put together a special enrollment open house event yesterday, promising to help Dohn students navigate the process “even if even if [they] choose not to pick” the district. Good thing they put that caveat on there, because it’s probably a safe bet many Dohn students previously attended—and then chose not to attend anymore—Cincinnati City Schools. (Fox 19 News, Cincinnati, 3/2/25)
- Staying with Cincinnati City Schools news, here’s something of a head scratcher for you: How does a giant urban district in Ohio—so ill-adept at so many aspects of administration and operation—manage to create a brand new school in less than 100 days? The story is here, but the details are somewhat lacking. Xavier University is closing its long-standing Laboratory School at the end of this school year, changing the focus of its ed school away from the Montessori method to a more-typical classroom model. The formidable group of parents who had chosen the Lab School weren’t giving up their beloved teaching model without a fight, but it turns out all they had to do (apparently) was ask Cincinnati City Schools to create a new Montessori school for them and, bada bing, there it was: opening next fall in an underutilized facility they just happened to have on hand for a seamless transition for these redoubtable parents. Almost unbelievable…as if there’s more to it than we are being told. If only we could read between the lines (and the pictures) to figure out what it was…. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/30/25)
- In another corner of the state, educators and business leaders gathered last week in Lima to talk about what they think kids need to navigate their way into careers upon graduation. My overriding sense was that each side seemed to think that whatever was missing (“not enough internship opportunities”, “not enough soft skills training”, etc.) was the other’s responsibility. But what they really need, in my humble opinion, is to get some kids and their parents to show up at future events (this is just the first of a planned series) to express what they want and need, so that the adults can be relieved of the burden of
speakingplanning for them. (LimaOhio.com, 3/28/25)
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