NOTE: The Ohio Gadfly Daily News is going on spring break for the rest of this week. Back on Monday with a full roundup.
- Chad’s Ohio Gadfly piece this week on the state of play in Cleveland has drawn quite a bit of interest from Northeast Ohio. You can check him out talking about that very subject at StateImpact and hear the audio from IdeaStream here. (StateImpact Ohio/WCPN-FM Cleveland)
- A 24-year veteran teacher in Avon tells it like it is. She has seen many changes in students, curriculum, testing, everything. But her eye is on the prize all the time: “My hope for the future is that my students’ love of learning continues throughout their whole lives. It’s why I teach and it’s what Avon Schools are all about.” Fantastic. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal)
- There are two pieces in today’s Education Insider from the Dispatch. The first one is slightly interesting, but my concern is with the second one. A Columbus parent sued the district in regard to the well-publicized data scrubbing, alleging that the scrubbing - and subsequent change in school report card rating - resulted in his own child being unable to obtain a voucher. He got his first day in court…and lost. He has vowed to appeal. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Ohio currently has a half dozen standalone (i.e. – non-district) STEM schools around the state, most in urban areas and most providing high-quality options for students in those areas. More are on the way. Here is a report about one in Youngstown, which has just received its official STEM designation, a vital step toward joining the group when it opens its doors this fall. (Youngstown Vindicator)
- What does a district look like without a standalone high school? “We’re going to have more time, additional programming… this is a good thing,” said Ledgmont Superintendent Julie Ramos in discussing that very question at a public meeting earlier this week. (Willoughby News Herald)