- As all my loyal Gadfly Bites subscribers know, your humble clips compiler is consistent in believing that, aside from you, very few others take this little news clips lark seriously (and that both of you should probably find additional hobbies; just sayin’). It is in that spirit of humility that I say truly that I’m sure this had nothing to do with me and my lengthy ramble at the start of Friday’s clips and instead had everything to do with thorough journalism. To wit: Jim Siegel was able to find all of the other online schools to which State Auditor Dave Yost’s (…) new guidance, issued last week, currently applies. Interestingly, he gives a good update on how those schools have handled the results of their attendance audits, but how they’re planning to comply with the new guidance remains a mystery. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/12/17)
- As noted in the above piece, at least two online charter schools to which State Auditor Dave Yost’s (…) new guidance currently applies have simply closed their doors in reaction to the monetary “claw back” required of them due to the results of their attendance audits. Here is a more detailed story on one of those schools: Marion City Digital Academy. The decision to close MCDA was made just last Monday – a week before school was supposed to start, leaving some parents in the lurch if this piece is to be believed. The school was sponsored by the Marion City School District, so I’m sure that the monies owed to the state in “claw back” ($600,000ish!) will not go astray. As for the new guidance and its requirements, there is no information included here either on how that will be handled by MCDA, but one supposes that the district itself was the primary provider of services, so the state is probably well covered in that regard. Phew. The supposition herein that MCDA officials will have to go door to door to deliver the closure news to some families is simply an additional eyebrow-raising irony to this whole episode. Think of it as the MCDA IRL Farewell Tour. (Mansfield News Journal, 8/10/17) Speaking of collateral damage (were we?), the superintendent of the state’s largest online school announced his retirement from said gig, effective this week. (Columbus Dispatch, 8/11/17)
- Finally today, charter school sponsors chatted with Gongwer about year two of the state’s new evaluation system, which recently concluded. Sounds like, in general, folks were happier this year. Although the bar was pretty low for that after year one and, of course, it probably ultimately depends on how those evaluations turn out. We’ll see come November. (Gongwer Ohio, 8/11/17)
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