Gadfly Bites 5/16/25—Changes of heart

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1. Let’s start with some food for thought. It’s not very tasty food—chronic absenteeism numbers for Kindergartners in Ohio public schools are pretty bad, according to this piece from Patrick O’Donnell—but worthy of chewing over the implications. I was struck by the similarities between the highest-absentee district and charter schools on Patrick’s list, and it brought back an echo of something I’ve said in these clips before: There seems to me to be less and less of a distinction between charter and district schools in Ohio in a number of troubling areas. This appears to be another one, if I may be so bold. In fact, the comments from leaders of the one charter school featured here are quite problematic to my ears, especially what I think is an unhelpful focus on peer pressure—where the chronically-present kiddos (Kindergartners!) are meant to goad their pals into coming to school so they can get a pizza party—to solve their problem, bordering on the unhealthy. (The 74, 5/15/25)
   
   

2. This opinion piece from former state supe Susan Zelman feels like an attempt at mitigation between traditional district schools and other educational options—private school vouchers, specifically. But for all her soothing talk of empathy and finding common ground, Zelman still concludes that “just give more money” to districts is the proper solution to her straw man conundrum. She doesn’t mention other public options—charter and STEM schools—at all, and, contrary to her popular opinion, education funding does have aspects of a zero-sum problem. There are only so many school age kids in the state, regardless of where they go to school, and whatever amount of money is being allotted must be shared out among them. And if some educational options are doing the job better for lower cost, the call for “more funding” is just overfeeding an already-faulty system—especially if one ignores academic outcomes and school quality, as Zelman does. (Cleveland.com, 5/16/25)
   
   

3. Speaking of private school choices (were we, really?): A new Montessori high school is opening in a prime downtown Dayton location this fall. Valor Montessori will start with ninth and tenth grades in the newly-renovated Arcade complex, and while this brief coverage forgot to mention that Valor will accept EdChoice Scholarships, their website features it prominently. Open house is Monday from 5 – 7 pm, Gem City parents. Tell ‘em Jeff sent ya. (Dayton Daily News, 5/15/25) We talked a while back about the impending consolidation of bougie Seven Hills, a venerable private school in suburban Cincinnati. But never fear: Their forested, 5-acre Doherty campus will become home for an expansion of the newly-formed high school program of the Springer School in the fall. Springer is also a pretty venerable private school option, having served students with a variety of special needs since 1971 (hey, they’re almost as old venerable as me!). While I won’t go so far as to credit the growth of Ohio’s voucher programs for this turn of events, Springer takes vouchers and Seven Hills doesn’t, and Springer’s enrollment is on the grow and Seven Hills’ is…shifting, according to reports. Just sayin’. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/16/25)
   
   

4. We end where we began today, with food for thought. Could there be a change of heart occurring among Ohio’s urban school districts? In this piece, Toledo City Schools officials proudly announce an expansion of their popular Pre-Medical & Health Science Academy. I have previously objected to the district’s wishy-washy rhetoric around this and other of their career-centric academies because board and staff members have regularly included statements like “this school isn’t meant to promise kids jobs in this field” and “kids will learn transferable soft skills for whatever future work they choose”—all while emphasizing lower-skilled and lower-paid industry jobs—regardless of what that industry is. Now maybe all that low-level stuff is still in the prospectus at Pre-Med High (go Sawbones!), but the vibes here feel like a distinct turnaround to me: the new classrooms are actually inside the postsecondary campus that houses Mercy College of Ohio, students will work with actual medical professionals and college students, and the district supe says out loud and on the record that “These students are future doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.” I’ll keep an eye on it, but I like it so far. (Toledo Blade, 5/15/25) Also a positive development, but maybe not quite a full change of heart: Cleveland Metropolitan School District has managed to whittle its impending budget deficit from $96 million down to about $39 million through a number of cuts and restructuring efforts. No buildings have yet closed and no staff have been terminated so pushback has been mercifully muted despite the tough choices. But more to the point, the CEO and his board actually seem proud of the progress they’ve made so far, which is important. It seems inevitable that staffing and facilities will be addressed in the push for efficiency and right-sizing; that will be the point at which we learn whether a true change of attitude has taken hold at the top. (Signal Cleveland, 5/15/25)

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