- Approximately 7 hours of talks on both Wednesday and Thursday between Youngstown teacher union reps and district leaders, with “some progress” said to have been made. There are now reportedly two outstanding issues: The previously-noted ADC language and the basis on which teacher promotions are made. More talks are scheduled today, starting at 10 am. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 8/31/23) Students continue to receive remote-only education, but only the superintendent seems to care about that. Instead, we learn that teachers held a rally in downtown Youngstown, a “pop up” rock concert occurred in conjunction with it, and several politicians felt it essential to get involved. Specifically, two state representatives will hold an event in Y’town this morning to discuss their plans to introduce legislation to eliminate Academic Distress Commissions once and for all. Which would solve…what, exactly? (WFMJ-TV, Youngstown, 8/31/23)
- Speaking of the General Assembly (were we, really?), state Senator Jerry Cirino was talking to Spectrum News this week about his proposals to improve and expand College Credit Plus. These include easier teacher certification and better communication to students about the courses available. Nice! (Spectrum News 1, 8/29/23)
- Not a ton of detail in this piece from a sports-related website; just a compilation of social media threads. But they are important: LeBron James himself was among the folks congratulating Kent State University student Anthony Claytor as he heads toward graduation this semester. Claytor will be the first person to earn a college degree thanks to support from the LeBron James Family Foundation. And he is very grateful: “…If it wasn’t for the foundation, I probably would have never gone to college, or it probably wouldn’t have been worth it. But I’m just so glad I got the opportunity to go, and it really gave me a future.” Awesome news! (Sportskeeda.com, 8/31/23)
- To end the week, we have news so awesome that I’ll clip it even if I don’t have a subscription and cannot read past the first paragraph. My beloved Metro Early College High School is finally moving toward completion of its new middle/high school building, despite the best efforts of the local school district and a little thing called SARS-CoV-2 to stop them. I don’t have to read the CBF story; I have lived it. At least we can all look at those gorgeous renderings and spend the long weekend dreaming of 2025’s grand opening. A perfect end to the week. (Columbus Business First, 8/31/23)
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