- As you all know, I don’t usually clip letters to the editor, but this one is in response to an egregious story about an anti-Common Core resolution passed by a school district in Northwest Ohio so was totally worth it. Oh, and it was written by me. (Bowling Green Sentinel Tribune)
- Chad is quoted extensively in Tom Vander Ark’s excellent and thorough NextGen Accountability blog post, focusing on Ohio’s recent accountability changes. (Getting Smarter)
- Governor Kasich spoke on the record about Common Core yesterday during a campaign swing through the north central part of the state. The whole piece is clipped below, but here’s the relevant bit: “The governor also defended the Common Core, saying while the plan sets overall goals for educational achievement, local school boards must approve the curriculum to achieve those objectives. Common Core is a set of common standards for math and English/language arts.” That’s a fairly flexible definition of the word “defend”, but it’s excellent to hear the Governor talking Common Core on the stump. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Rhetoric – and outside agitation – is ramping up in Reynoldsburg over the proposed new teacher contract. Still can’t tell whether the issue is really the merit pay provision or the cash in lieu of health insurance provision…or perhaps something else. Honestly, if the district teachers have actually resigned in the numbers quoted in this story, it means that there are more folks from outside the district complaining than from inside. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Mansfield’s school board has approved the hiring of an assistant principal in the high school to help the district meet the teacher evaluation requirements of OTES, believing that one principal does not have time to do all that is required. They just voted to create the position but noted that they have already “begun receiving interest in the position”. Probably from all those teachers who quit in Reynoldsburg. (Mansfield News Journal)
- Q: What do you do for kids who are struggling? [Asked by an Amherst schools board member concerned about the rigor of upcoming PARCC exams, based on some lower scores on pilot tests this past spring]
A: The same excellent teachers and interventions that won past praise will pull the district through changes to Common Core. [Answered by the director of educational services.]
Good teachers do not fear the Common Core or the aligned exams. (Northern Ohio Morning Journal)
