Gadfly Bites 8/2/21—“If we come out of this and everything looks the same, then shame on us.”

1. As we noted on Friday, Woodcrest Elementary in Columbus City Schools started the new school year last week. Here’s a more-detailed look at not only the clap-in arrival of kids on day one, but also some discussion of how folks think the year will go. “I don’t think they really got to instill much knowledge,” said one parent of the previous remote- and hybrid-learning models, “or [kids] were able to retain the information because it was so chaotic last year.” (But don’t call it learning loss, OK?) She and her daughter hope this school year will be better. (Columbus Dispatch, 7/30/21)
    
2. Meanwhile, in the central Ohio suburbs, folks at Hilliard City Schools seem super happy about their summer Bridge Program as discussed in this brief piece. We could probably use some more deets on what exactly the program covered, but it sure sounds like it was aimed at mitigating that mythical learning loss. “We’re making sure that kiddos have that boost in education to make sure that we don’t have that summer slide,” said one of the instructors who taught in the program. “To make sure that…they are ready for that next grade level.” But that could mean anything. (10TV News, Columbus, 7/30/21)
   

    

3. This is kind of a weird one: Money, volunteers, and AmeriCorps members are flooding in to a neighborhood support nonprofit in Springfield in order to tutor pre-K kids and get them ready for Kindergarten. But there is more discussion of the professional development opportunities for AmeriCorps members than of the need for or outcomes hoped for in the boosting of readiness for children. (Springfield News-Sun, 8/2/21)
    
4. Trust Jeremy Kelley to give us all the detail we’re craving. Here’s a look at how a number of school districts in the Dayton area—including one charter network—plan to spend their federal Covid relief funds. Take a look and see what you think. All I’ll say is that several folks are spending big to mitigate that “learning loss” thing which I have heard doesn’t actually exist. (Dayton Daily News, 8/1/21)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.