Gadfly Bites 9/23/24—“If kids aren’t here, how can you teach them?”

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1. Our own Aaron Churchill discusses chronic absenteeism data from the most recent state report cards with Eileen McClory in this piece. Some interesting info here (including the fact that online charter schools reported pretty low absenteeism rates, but Aaron is not convinced those numbers are entirely accurate), but it’s the district leaders’ responses that carry the most import for me. David Jackson, superintendent of Northridge Local School, notes that his district saw some good improvements in various report card measures, but that the super high absenteeism rate (48.3 percent) means the good stuff going on in his district isn’t reaching everyone. “If kids aren’t here,” he asks, “how can you teach them?” (Dayton Daily News, 9/23/24)
   
   

2. Speaking of students who are having trouble getting to school to learn (were we, really?), another lawsuit has been filed against Columbus City Schools—this time by a charter school family) for denying their child transportation. It may not be the last. (CW Columbus, 9/20/24)
   
   

3. And what about the original transportation lawsuit against Columbus? The one filed by the Attorney General at the start of the school year? We don’t really get an update here because that legal action doesn’t really impact northeast Ohio districts…yet. Aaron Churchill (him again!) thinks that part of the issue in the lawsuit is that payment from districts to families in lieu of transportation is meant to be a last resort, not a magic wand to “fix” broken bus systems. Not to mention the question of timing of notification. And we do learn here that the busing situation in some NEO districts is similar to that in Columbus, just without the pursuant legal action. Here’s hoping that at least one outcome of these legal challenges is more clarity around that payment in lieu point. Also of interest in this piece: We learn that both Youngstown and Lorain City Schools last year transported almost the same number of district-attending students as choice-attending students. Important info, I reckon. (Ideastream Public Media, 9/23/24)
   
   

4. Finally today, one of the hallmarks of Ohio’s mandated switch to the Science of Reading is the willingness of the state to put its money where it matters: Paying for districts to adopt new curricula (if they needed to) and paying to train tens of thousands of teachers in what is likely a brand new way of doing their business. Thus, amid this detailed discussion of SoR implementation in northeast Ohio districts, I was surprised to hear the retired curriculum director of Wadsworth City Schools pooh-pooh the amount of (free of charge) training being required of many of her teachers as “too much”. I feel she may be unique in that assessment. (Cleveland.com, 9/22/24)

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