Some of you may have heard about this late on Friday as the Ohio Department of Education took an unprecedented step to warn three charter school sponsors in the state that if they open their proposed new startup schools in the fall, ODE will shut down those sponsors due to serious deficiencies identified in their new school requests.
- The ODE story was reported around the state over the weekend. This first clip notes the sponsors being warned AND notes Fordham’s own request for an expansion of the highly successful United Schools Network, aka Columbus Collegiate Academy. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
- These next three clips are the same story, without naming Fordham or the other sponsors whose applications passed the additional scrutiny ODE subjected them to. The first is a brief notice from the Columbus Dispatch on Friday. The second is from the Dispatch on Saturday and delves more into the issues connected to the sponsors receiving the warning. The third is from StateImpact Ohio, which at least notes that there were sponsors reviewed positively, although they are not named.
- We noted this briefly a while back: the deadline for EdChoice applications has been extended this year. Karen Kasler tries to understand why…mainly by talking with opponents of vouchers. (WKSU-FM, Kent)
- I also noted last week that the state Controlling Board waded into the Common Core morass while trying to approve a textbook purchase for the Department of Corrections. Folks in Youngstown are just catching up to this as well, and after reading this piece, I have to ask: this is journalism? (Youngstown Vindicator)
- The Advocate digs deep into a study on racial achievement gaps in Ohio. (Newark Advocate)
- While I was researching these clips this morning, one of my daughters emailed to report that she had earned a 90% in her math class for the semester (with six weeks to go). This is her second go-round in this class so I’m immensely proud of her efforts to really get the skills down in order to move on. Patrick O’Donnell today reports that a similar system of mastery education is coming to one CMSD high school next year. "Once you have [the skills], you have them for good,” says a STEM school principal of mastery education. I agree. P.S. – the comments section is illuminating as well, and not in a good way. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
