Gadfly Bites 8/15/25—The saga of the Balanced Litertarians vanquished by the Scientists of Reading

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1. This story devolves a bit at the end into some weird Monday morning quarterbacking on state budget initiatives, but the basic plot—how Lakewood City Schools in northeast Ohio has implemented the science of reading—is sound enough. In fact, superintendent Steven Ast recounts some new points in the saga that I haven’t previously heard. Such as: Having long-tenured teachers (those who remember when phonemic awareness/decoding/vocabulary previously ruled the land) made the transition less scary for their newer, three-cueing-aficionado colleagues. That even though he still has a “good bit of respect” for balanced literacy, once he realized it “wasn’t doing what it needed to do” for his students, he could kick it to the curb with a clear conscience. And because SoR works efficiently, his teachers still have time for “all those extra things” that also help kids love reading. I love a story with a happy ending. Don’t you? (The Land, 8/12/25)
   
   

2. Here’s another saga with a happy ending—albeit an inexplicable one. Brandy Vickers, CEO of a new-ish student transportation company in Akron, recently won an award from the National Urban League in its Business Pitch Competition. Not only because she created her business from thin air, but also because that business won a contract with Akron City Schools to transport homeless and special needs students in the district. Nowhere does it mention that Vickers’ company came in fifth in the initial bidding and that it was only because the district changed the criteria after the fact that she could get the gig. Now she’s apparently being recruited by other school districts to serve them as well. That certainly does sound happy, but I have to say that the moral of this story escapes me (think about what you’re clapping for, people). But perhaps I’m just missing some Rubber City nuance unknown to folks outside the proper circles. (Akron Beacon Journal, 8/13/25)
   
   

3. Finally though, here’s a story that I can almost guarantee will not have a happy ending, no matter how it turns out. As you recall from Wednesday, Dayton City Schools has sued the state over the budget language that forbids them from using RTA transit passes as part of their high school busing plan. (Dayton Daily News, 8/12/25) Despite the fact that the first day of school seemed to actually go pretty well without them from this district parent’s perspective… (Dayton Daily News, 8/13/25) …district supe David Lawrence insists that the community wants him to “be a bit more aggressive” in fighting to, I guess, get those RTA passes back again. Because of course that is one of the only two potential outcomes of the suit; the other being the current status quo. The first hearing was yesterday, with no decision made public as of this publication, but I hope everyone rooting for a win here (including the ridiculously-misinformed British press we lambasted on Wednesday) understands that any transportation eventually offered to district high school students must still also be offered to charter, private, and STEM school students. At least for now… (WHIO-TV, Dayton, 8/14/25)

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