- Revere Local Schools has decided to end its school year early, despite guidance to the contrary from the Ohio Department of Education, just as it said it was going to do more than a week ago. (Cleveland.com, 5/4/20) Joining Revere will be Lakewood City Schools… (Patch.com, 5/5/20) …and Orange City Schools. Bet those folks in Yellow Springs are feeling a bit silly now having backed down on the issue so quickly. (Fox8, Cleveland, 5/5/20) So why are all these districts disregarding guidance from the state which oversees them? The superintendent of Lakota City Schools says it’s because the guidance received is “difficult to follow” and sometimes contradictory. There’s no information on the final length of Lakota’s school year thus far, and the only contradiction I can discern is that state guidance contradicted how the district had planned to handle graduation. But maybe I’m missing something. (WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, 5/5/20)
- Meanwhile, a quick look at one district whose school year continues: another round of learning packets was released yesterday for students in Toledo City Schools. (WTOL-TV, Toledo, 5/5/20)
- So what does next school year hold? Governor DeWine suggested yesterday that “hybrid school” might be required. That is, two days of in-class instruction per week and three days of remote learning, with different groups of kids rotating in/out on that schedule. (Cleveland.com, 5/5/20) But some school districts seem to be hedging their bets and aiming to make sure that they can provide education entirely online next year…or whenever it might be needed. Here’s a story about how Lakota City Schools (them again?) and Hilliard City Schools will be partnering this summer to create a fully-online elementary-level curriculum. While there are some caveats about schools possibly opening fully in the fall and about the convertibility of the new product to in-class use, I was instead struck by two other points. The first is that Hilliard’s supe explains the curriculum will be provided for use “if families choose” a fully online educational experience. Sounds like a wise move to me, given what smart folks are saying about the shape of the next school year. The second is that supe says “There is not an effective K-6 (online) curriculum in Ohio; we get to be the first, (and) it will be stronger if we do it together.” Unless I’m missing something, this sounds like blatant salesmanship to me, seeing as thousands of students and parents have successfully utilized existing e-schools over the years…and could start to do so right now if you know what I mean. While the nod is given to “collaboration” in this Hilliard/Lakota plan, it seems to me that “competition” is a more apt term. Which ain’t a bad thing, but I say that folks should be straight up about their motivation. (ThisWeek News, 5/5/20)
- Speaking of motivations, maybe this will be a catalyst for some near-term decision-making among schools and districts: An announced cut of $300 million for K-12 foundation payments from the state. This cut and others were announced yesterday by Governor DeWine in response to…well, you know. But actually, maybe you don’t know. In announcing the cuts, the governor evoked “the cruel nature of an economic downturn”. Cruel, I can get behind. But there’s nothing natural about this particular downturn, is there? Or am I missing something yet again? (Mahoning Matters, 5/6/20) Akron City Schools’ treasurer characterizes the state funding cut as part of a “roller coaster”, with a federal CARES Act funding infusion as part of the fun, uphill part of the ride, and a state cut (along with potential local funding reductions due to that aforementioned unnatural economic downturn) as part of the stomach-turning downhill plunge. (Akron Beacon Journal, 5/5/20) School district officials in Lorain County are reportedly surprised, stunned, and a little cranky about the state funding cut news. But at least they’re not flying off the handle yet. “I have to wait and see what he means by basically taking money away from us,” said Elyria’s supe of the governor’s announcement. Glad she’s keeping an open mind. (Elyria Chronicle, 5/6/20)
- In news that predates the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (heck, it might predate the 1918 flu pandemic), Columbus City Schools conducted a curriculum audit in 2019 and the predictably grim findings were presented yesterday. You can read the piece to see the litany of issues landing squarely in the laps of the city’s most vulnerable young people. Why predictable though? Because the district has conducted such audits before – 1979, 1999, and 2005 to be precise – and each one has found equal suckitude and each one has been all but ignored by leadership. What’s interesting is that the student population of Columbus City Schools was around 80,000 in 1979; around 60,000 in 1999; around 51,000 in 2005; and just less than 49,000 this year. There’s some sort of correlation here I’m pretty sure. But as usual, I’m missing something and just can’t put my finger on it. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/6/20)
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