- State Supe Paolo DeMaria was in Lorain earlier this week to participate in one of the many ESSA listening events going on across the state. Maybe roundtable discussion about state-level accountability doesn’t make for good newspaper articles, or maybe there are more pressing matters in Lorain. Either way, the Morning Journal was far more interested in talking to DeMaria about the new CEO-style Academic Distress Commission heading for Lorain in the very near future. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 9/28/16)
- Speaking of those ESSA listening events, this guest commentary from State Senator Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) published Wednesday is mainly an appeal to get more folks to attend the Cincinnati event – held Thursday – with a pretty good click-bait headline. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/28/16) In Queen City education news, the Cincinnati Schools’ board of education this week voted unanimously to sponsor a new Phalen Academy charter school, to be located somewhere on the city’s growing west side. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/28/16)
- We told you earlier in the week that “Sheriff” Krish Mohip laid down the law to the Youngstown school board, imposing meeting limits and taking control of those meetings’ agendas from here on out. The board seems a little desperate now to keep hold of any actual decision-making power they may still possess. To wit: several members appear determined to have final say on that property tax abatement issue we told you about last week in defiance of Mohip. The state Attorney General will likely decide the jurisdictional question. I sure don’t remember it going down like that on Gunsmoke. (Youngstown Vindicator, 9/29/16) Elsewhere in Youngstown, the Students Motivated by the ARTS fundraising campaign received a big donation this week toward the creation of the SMARTS Community Arts School. When fully active, the longtime Youngstown State University program will extend its reach and will provide quality visual and performing arts instructions to low-income children from across the city at a central location downtown. Nice. (Youngstown Vindicator, 9/29/16)
