- Chad Aldis is quoted in this DDN piece posted late on Friday. It is about the currently-stalled charter law reform bill and how quickly various stakeholders think it will take for the bill to become un-stalled once legislators return to work later this month. Everyone seems optimistic, although everyone interviewed – including Chad – knows the bill could use some tweaks to make it even better. (Dayton Daily News, 9/18/15)
- Speaking of that currently-stalled bill, editors in Columbus opined yet again – as if on repeat – that Ohio needs charter law reform now. Luckily for weary readers, they at least have last week’s Ohio Supreme Court decision as a unique hook on which to hang their opinion piece. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/20/15) Ditto for editors in Akron. (Akron Beacon Journal, 9/20/15)
- If the ABJ editors sound a bit crankier than usual, it’s probably because of the two-day series they made out of the closing – months ago, before school started – of a charter school in the Akron area. (Akron Beacon Journal, 9/19/15). As with many charter school closings, it seems like it was overdue and that the sponsor did as much as was possible to try and get it shut down. The operators tried to find another sponsor – as is their wont – but found no takers for a school with the plethora of issues this one appears to have had. Not to mention persistent low enrollment, far below estimates needed to stay afloat. You can read in detail about the troubles with the school in this piece, but despite the in-depth journalism here, two questions were left unasked…or at least unreported. Why did the young woman interviewed want to go to this new school in the first place; and why did she stay? (Akron Beacon Journal, 9/20/15)
- The Repository is looking into concerns about nepotism and missing forms at the top of the hierarchy in Canton City Schools and the county ESC. They got interested in other such arrangements in other local school districts and took a look there as well. (Canton Repository, 9/20/15)
- The putative alternative to the so-called “Youngstown Plan” that was touted by two state legislators last week was supposed to have been unveiled in full this week at a press conference. That event, however, has been postponed until after the September 29 preliminary hearing in the lawsuit attempting to stop the Youngstown Plan from taking effect. But one of the two architects of the Youngstown alternative plan couldn’t help sharing some details this weekend. To wit: free and universal pre-K, a very high bar for charter operators to take over any district school, community learning centers, school-based “action teams”, and more. Worth a look. (Youngstown Vindicator, 9/20/15)
- I’m sorry I missed this interesting piece in Friday’s issue. The lottery system that replaced first-come, first-served and weeks-long campouts is a new experience for everyone in Cincinnati. What does a waiting list that simply evaporates overnight once available slots are filled look like through fresh eyes? The Enquirer tells you in this piece, and the comments are worth a look as well. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/17/15)
