1. In yesterday’s Very Special Episode of Live from the Crypt, Governor DeWine told us that the state’s goal is “to have kids back in the classroom” in the fall. The vital questions of where, when, how many, how often, and for how long all remain to be answered. (WOSU-FM, Columbus, 6/2/20)
2. Another question that remains—and that likely will not be answered until after all those other ones listed above are answered—is whether parents will feel comfortable sending their kids back to the classroom in whatever format is ultimately decided upon. Parma City Schools is already ahead of that curve, having surveyed district families and finding at least 100 who are leaning against sending their kids back in the fall. In response, Parma is already deep into the process of creating a district-run virtual school for next year. While this is a prudent and probably pandemically-practical move in itself, the Parma poo-bahs don’t hesitate to dream a bit bigger, noting with some relish (probably just imagined by me, don’t you know?) that if all goes well with this, they might be able to lure back at least 100 resident kids (of the 300 they know of) already attending online school via charters. The spirit of competition is alive and well in Panther country, I guess. Gotta give ‘em props for that. But let’s have a fair fight, okay folks? The stated implication that only Parma Virtual Academy kids can participate in district extracurriculars is false. Most charter school students, including e-school students, are allowed by law to participate in district extracurriculars; they don’t need your benevolence. (Cleveland.com, 6/3/20)
3. Also very interested in its families’ opinions these days is Brunswick City Schools. Specifically, they want to know how sucky local families thought distance learning was over the last couple months of the school year. While there is minimal actual data provided here, it seems that “not really very sucky after all” was the most popular response. And since additional survey data found that 23 percent of families reported not wanting their kids wearing masks to school next year, might I humbly suggest that Blue Devil Digital Academy—as a possible name for a putative district-run online school—has a nice ring to it. In the spirit of competition, you know? (Cleveland.com, 6/1/20)
And just as an aside: Have these districts ever surveyed the families who left them for charters and other options and considered implementing the stuff they wanted?
