Gadfly Bites 8/26/19 – Mixed bag

1. I’m a little bit late in getting to this, but if you were interested in seeing the inside of the new ReGenerations School, a Fordham-sponsored charter school brand new for the 2019-20 school year in Cincinnati’s Bond Hill neighborhood, now is the time! Looks great, gang. Have a great year! (Cincinnati Business Courier, 8/19/19)

2. Here’s a great profile of Our Lady of Peace Catholic School in Canton. Sounds like they are on the grow and ready for a great new school year. Why yes, they do accept students on the EdChoice Scholarship Program. Why do you ask? (Canton Repository, 8/24/19) From the Darned if you Do; Darned if you Don’t Department: we follow up on Canton City Schools’ transportation changes, announced a couple of months ago and implemented for the first time last week. You will recall that the original, very generous transportation offerings were intended to improve school attendance. They did not, so cuts were made to save money. Now it sounds like attendance may have been affected by the relaxation of those offerings. Dang. (Canton Repository, 8/25/19) I just learned about some nerdy-types from MIT who might be able to help.
3. Columbus City Schools gave us a preview of the district’s upcoming report card. Officials are expecting an overall grade of D, driven largely by an increase the graduation rate for the Class of 2018. (You know what I mean.) (Columbus Dispatch, 8/25/19) Those district officials are quoted as being pretty happy about the improvement, probably because it restarts the clock on a declaration of academic distress. The district’s own radio station, however, does not sound impressed at all. Ouch. (WCBE-FM, Columbus, 8/26/19) Columbus City Schools’ teacher union ratified its new contract this weekend. Somehow, it eliminates interim report cards districtwide. Among other things. Congrats? (Columbus Dispatch, 8/26/19)

4. Editors in Youngstown this weekend opined on the potential value of a charter boarding school in the Mahoning Valley and decrying the internecine bickering that the very idea of it has recently engendered. (Youngstown Vindicator, 8/25/19) Speaking of internecine bickering, here’s an “update” on Lorain City Schools given by folks who hate its very guts as currently incarnated. (The Chronicle-Telegram, 8/24/19)

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