Gadfly Bites 9/30/19 – “Ultimately, we can't let kids fail or be in failing schools.”

1. It would be very easy to characterize this item, an opinion piece attempting to villainize Ohio’s voucher program disguised as “news”, as nonsense. However, it is so full of errors, innuendos, and non sequiturs (including a three month old quote from Chad’s budget press release) that I will refuse to do so lest it give nonsense a bad name. (Sandusky Register, 9/30/19)
2. Jessica fares a little better in this piece covering a new study on student achievement produced by Ohio State University researchers. She at least was interviewed by the reporter, although I’m not sure anyone else quoted here has actually read the full paper yet except for the lead researcher. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/28/19)

3. East Liverpool City Schools slipped from an overall C to a D on its report card this year. The biggest downgrade was on the Gap Closing measure. I will forgive the reporter’s extremely unfortunate phrasing of what “affects” that measure because a) she provides a verbatim quote from ODE explaining it far less troubling terms, and b) the district supe actually explains how they are going to retool their teaching to actually address the academic failing properly. You know; like they’re supposed to. (The Review, 9/30/19) You know what’s even more fun? When the supe tells the local paper he vehemently disagrees with the report cards and yet the classroom teachers have already taken the info to heart and have changed their practice in order to get better and do better by their kids. You know; like they’re supposed to. (Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, 9/28/19)
4. As we noted last week, it sounds like momentum for changes to the state’s academic distress paradigm has waned. At least via the current legislative proposals. Governor DeWine stated his concerns and his nonnegotiables on school turnarounds in an interview with Gongwer. (Gongwer Ohio, 9/27/19) Editors in Columbus also seem to be urging lawmakers to take their time in crafting that legislation. (Columbus Dispatch, 9/27/19). Meanwhile, in Youngstown, both the CEO and the elected school board are working on strategic plans to help improve their long, looong-struggling district. Only one of those plans is going to be needed. (Vindy.com, 9/26/19)

5. Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon dug into his district’s report card last week and, oddly, came out sounding apologetic. Rather than celebrating the frankly historic rise from an overall F to an overall D—which every other district who made the same move did—Gordon downplayed the clear report card improvements and instead gave us an Einsteinian lecture on momentum. Both this and his somewhat curious list of challenges make me think he knows something the rest of us don’t. Hopefully. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/26/19)
6. JEOC is dead. (Gongwer Ohio, 9/25/19) Long live JEOC? (Gongwer Ohio, 9/27/19)

7. Back in the real world, Phase 2 of Dayton City Schools’ new high school transportation plan was to be rolled out today. This involves bus routes specifically to and from district high schools. Despite some early hiccups in the information roll out, my fingers are crossed for success. (Dayton Daily News, 9/25/19)

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