- Our own Chad Aldis is quoted in this piece from public radio here in Columbus, saying that the new state budget “completely divorced” school report cards from voucher eligibility in Ohio. But I have to admit I don’t understand any other word in this piece outside of Chad’s quote. I assume that’s because it’s posted in WOSU’s “politics” section. (WOSU-FM, Columbus, 7/7/21)
- Several school officials across Ohio say that they are beginning to quantify a range of negative impacts on their students due to pandemic-related school disruptions. This includes an “exponential increase” in course failures as well as absenteeism. However, the extent of the latter seems to be unknowable due to what is termed “wonky data”. Yowza. Let’s hope their recovery plans are a little more solid than that. (Spectrum News 1, 7/7/21)
- Obviously someone in the blob forgot to tell the school officials in the piece above that the term “learning gap” is frowned upon in public. Ditto for this librarian who uses the term “summer slide” with abandon as she discusses all the ways the Toledo Lucas County Library system is trying to stop the non-existent “s-word” from being even worse this year. (WTOL-TV, Toledo, 7/7/21)
- Kudos to the Dispatch for including a charter school among the group of new school buildings coming to the Columbus area this fall, which are previewed here. As you might imagine, The Shepard School—a brand new charter serving K-5 students in a slightly polished up (?) former district school building they are leasing on the city’s near east side—is a lot different to the spiffy megaliths being constructed or renovated in and around the suburbs and exurbs of central Ohio. Different for a lot of reasons not touched on in this piece at all. Due to this piece and the recent changes to state law enacted in the budget, I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before those fancy suburban learn-a-toriums will have charter competition right on their doorsteps? (Columbus Dispatch, 7/8/21) Meanwhile, Ohioan Denis D. Smith published a commentary piece in the Charleston (WV) newspaper yesterday promising a heap o’ trouble in the Mountain State if charter schools ever do get started there. (Charleston (WV) Gazette Mail, 7/8/21)
- But returning to the topic of spiffy new school buildings, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission this week approved $450 million in school construction funding for projects across the state. They are all traditional school district projects except one: The Metro Schools, a Columbus STEM school near and dear to my heart, was approved for around $14 million to cover half the tab for renovating a former district school building (hmmm…. that again?) in order to realize their long-held (you know what I mean) expansion plans. Please permit me to say a brief “wahoo” to this, and indeed “huzzah”. (Gongwer Ohio, 7/8/21) The Gongwer coverage seems to indicate that this is the first STEM school project ever funded by the OFCC, a fact which would also demand several additional “huzzahs” and perhaps a “hallelujah”. That historical detail is lacking in the AP version of same, but at least it is not subscriber-only. (AP News Wire, 7/8/21)
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