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Your favorite chattering cheesehead (I am, aren't I?) is back after a vacation to America’s Dairyland. Covering a copious number of stories from 7/18/24 – 7/24/24 today; and I’ll have the rest of your update on Wednesday.
- We start our recap with some very nice coverage of Fordham’s recent Science of Reading implementation report. Lovely to see national attention on Ohio’s efforts, and to have them shown in such a
Fordham-ydetailed light. (K-12 Dive, 7/18/24) - More? Sure thing! Language Magazine looks at the switch to Science of Reading in both Ohio and Michigan. It is a fully political perspective, to my own personal chagrin, but worth a look nonetheless, mainly because everyone sounds so positive! (Language Magazine, 7/25/24) Not to be outdone, Gongwer gives a look at SOR implementation from a legal perspective, and that news is also pretty good. To wit: A county magistrate has recommended against a preliminary injunction of the implementation effort, as requested by the Reading Recovery Council of North America as part of its legal challenge. Among the magistrate’s findings: no single-subject violation, no vague language, and “credible, uncontroverted evidence” that the state has already invested “significant time and resources” into the effort. Awesome! (Gongwer Ohio, 7/18/24)
- Kudos to the Toledo Blade’s Melissa Burden for this nicely-balanced piece looking at the EdChoice Scholarship’s expansion to near-universal eligibility one year later. It asks the right questions, is focused on northwest Ohio, sticks to the facts, and quotes both lovers and haters equally. Very nice. It has also generated a lot of conversation in the article’s comments section (the Blade being one of the last big city papers to retain a comments section), but I have been too afraid to go in and read those. (Toledo Blade, 7/24/24) Staying in Toledo and tying our story strands together now: Here’s info on a new private school coming soon to Toledo, covering grades K-2 and focusing on literacy. “There is a 14-percent illiteracy rate,” says the director of operations of That Neighborhood Church about her North Toledo neighborhood. “That’s not good…. People in our neighborhood don’t have the resources necessary to get caught up. We see a huge need. That literacy gap is just going to grow and grow and grow. Our local schools are doing the best they can, but they are overrun by these statistics. I think they need a little help.” Even better news: the city planning commission and city council have already signed off on their new use permit with zero fuss. Woot! (Toledo Blade, 7/23/24)
- Not to be outdone, here’s a good-news story from the charter sector. Dayton Business Technology School is joining three local districts that are expanding career and technical education options for their students, thanks to a state technology grant. The charter school will be able to add carpentry, electrical, and plumbing trades to its existing offerings thanks to the additional funding. (Dayton Daily News, 7/22/24)
- Also germane to our ongoing stories today: The Buckeye Institute’s Greg Lawson published an op-ed in the Lima News last week, outlining a number of ways the State of Ohio can help private and charter schools to grow and expand their classroom space. You know, should they need more buildings or additional space for some reason... (Lima News, 7/25/24)
- Meanwhile, in traditional district school news: The State of Ohio has placed Ravenna City Schools in fiscal caution status due to big deficits projected over the next five years. This piece says their financial woes are only because they haven’t passed a levy since 2005. However, I did a quick search and found that their student enrollment has dropped by more than 350 kids since 2020. I can’t find how many they’ve lost since 2005, but I’ll bet the number is more than 400. That’s a lot of cheddar. Budget cuts are coming, but they don’t sound substantial enough to me to offset that kind of revenue loss. (Ravenna Record-Courier, 7/18/24) Not to be outdone, the elected school board of Akron City Schools continues to bicker over how homeless students and students with disabilities will be transported to school in the fall. I say “fall”, but I mean one month from today, when students are required to report. Sure hope things get resolved soon, with the best interests of students being the key consideration, not those of adults. (Akron Beacon Journal, 7/24/24)
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