- Our own Chad Aldis today offers a suggestion or two for folks interested in reducing standardized testing in Ohio schools. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/3/17)
- Meanwhile, the Dispatch editorial board today opines in favor of keeping graduation requirements as high as possible in the Buckeye State, quoting Chad and former state board of education president Tom Gunlock in support of their argument. (Columbus Dispatch, 4/3/17)
- I don’t know how big the editorial board of the PD is, but it includes at least two people because said board is apparently split on the topic of Senate Bill 85, which would substantially expand Ohio’s private school voucher program. Fordham’s 2016 evaluation of Ohio’s EdChoice Scholarship program is namechecked in support of the group opining against voucher expansion. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/2/17) The group opining in support of voucher expansion states their case here. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/2/17) Color me fascinated.
- The spectre of Dayton City Schools losing their athletic eligibility (maybe just in football; maybe in other sports too) was raised this weekend in a detailed piece chronicling what sounds like a nightmare of adult manipulation, mismanagement, and blatant disregard for the rules and purpose of high school athletics in Ohio. I don’t purport to understand who did what, when and why (lots of details are already known), and it will likely take a long time to ferret out the full details, but the Gem City is ground zero for school choice in the state. This piece makes it clear that a city school district without varsity sports is going to be seen as a far less attractive choice for many parents and students. Folks here sound scared. (Dayton Daily News, 4/1/17)
- Mahoning County Juvenile Court and Youngstown City Schools have agreed to part ways, with the district no longer participating in an “early warning system” designed to detect students who are in need of mental health and behavioral services and to connect them with services at the county level as early as possible. The piece wants to insinuate bad blood and miscommunication at the CEO level, but it looks to me like the more comprehensive, district-wide services now on offer in Youngstown (including the “BAG system” developed by award-winning CIO John LaPlante with which loyal Gadfly Bites readers will already be familiar) fit CEO Krish Mohip’s vision for student support better than the court-run program. (Youngstown Vindicator, 4/3/17)
