Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 2/2/22—The kids WILL be all right…won’t they?
Yesterday, the Dayton Daily News published an op-ed in support of the EdChoice voucher program<
Commentary
School Finance
Ohio needs to better leverage state dollars to support low-income students
For decades, analysts have observed large achievement gaps between low-income children and their peers, disparities that have only widened due to Covid.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Digging in to public school choice in Detroit
After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, school desegregation efforts in Detroit followed a familiar pattern: Busing of students to achieve racial balance was proposed, resistance and White flight occurred, and somebody sued. Milliken v. Bradley was finally decided in the U.S.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/31/22—All night long
As we have noted here many many times, state fiscal intervention in school districts is literally exactly the same as Academic Distress Commissions with regard to academics. Why, I ask you for the millionth time, is the district response always different?
Commentary
Private School Choice
The anti-voucher lawsuit misleads when it comes to segregation
In the early days of January, a coalition of traditional public school districts filed a lawsuit aimed at striking down
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/28/22—Newsworthiness is in the eye of the beholder
I was a little flippant about the ADC district audit story on Wednesday (how not unusual, I hear you all cry), so I decided to look at the media coverage a little more closely today.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/26/22—New elected board present, same as the last two
It is, purportedly, a new day in the three Ohio school districts still nominally overseen by Academic Distress Commissions.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Fordham Institute statement on new national charter school rankings
Today, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) released its latest review of states’ charter school policies. This year, NAPCS ranked Ohio’s charter law as 12th out of 44 states plus the District of Columbia, a significant increase when compared to the state’s ranking in 2021 (24th).
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/24/22—Even the definition of “flexible” is not stable in a pandemic.
I said I wasn’t likely to clip stories about schools opening/closing/going remote unless they were excessively interesting to me. This one qualifies. Pickerington City Schools in suburban central Ohio has created a new plan to deal with staff shortages due to the pandemic.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/21/22—Thank U, Next
Career-themed schools are still a thing in Toledo City School District, including what we’ll call
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/19/22—Wacky Wednesday
An interesting discussion of the importance of education in the Black community comes to us from Lima.
Commentary
Private School Choice
The anti-voucher lawsuit misses the mark in its constitutional arguments
If you’re at all involved in Ohio education policy, you’ve heard about the anti-voucher lawsuit that was recently filed by the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.
Commentary
School Finance
EdChoice lawsuit twists the truth about school funding in Ohio
Last week, five school districts filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County courts that attempts to strike down EdChoice, Ohio’s private scholarship program that serves roughly 50,000 school children, many of whom are among the need
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 1.14.22
Groveport Madison Local Schools have sued the state of Ohio in response to a massive fine levied upon them for failing to properly transport resident charter and private school students over
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/14/22—Can we send a phalanx of bunnies to DC?
Ohio is one of 19 states whose state chapter withdrew from the National Association of School Boards last year in reaction to….well, you know.
Commentary
Standards
What does a new mayor mean for Cleveland schools?
On January 3, Justin Bibb was sworn in as the new mayor of Cleveland. His inauguration marks the first time the city has had new leadership since 2006.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/12/22—Bureaucracy strikes again
Last week, it was the new school funding system delayed due to the…intricacies...of operationalizing new legislation.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/10/22—Cold doses of reality
OSU professor and Columbus City Schools dad Vladimir Kogan hit the pages of the Dispatch today with a cold dose of reality.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/7/22—The future could be now
I’m sure my long-suffering tenured subscribers have noted that I am not clipping stories about which schools are closed/open/remote/in-person/hybrid/winging it due to SARS-CoV-2-related issues these days, despite the fact that education reporters (and government reporters and crime reporters a
Commentary
Private School Choice
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 1.6.22
Welcome back to our first edition of 2022, covering news from 12/17 – 12/31/21. We will return to regular weekly publication on Fridays starting tomorrow. Life advice and career advice
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/5/22—New lawsuit just dropped!
Remember last year when Red (Taylor’s Version) dropped and everyone was really excited that Taylor Swift had rerecorded her amazing album—making it even better in the process—in order to reclaim ownership of her music?
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 1/4/22—“A great choice for us.”
We’re back a day early (that’ll teach you!) with a roundup of clips we missed between December 22 and 31, 2021. Back with regular thrice-weekly publication for 2022 starting tomorrow. You have been warned.
Commentary
Governance
Predicting the top Ohio education issues for 2022
Every holiday season, those of us at the Ohio Gadfly try to predict what the new year will bring for education. This year is no exception.
Commentary
Governance
K–12 education in Ohio: The top four stories from 2021
As every year does, 2021 began with much optimism. Vaccines were rolling out, businesses were reopening, and the economy was on the mend. But then, as always, reality set in. While most Americans were vaccinated, the pandemic dragged on. The economy continued to pick up, but so did inflation. The year in K–12 education followed a similar pattern.
Commentary
Governance
Most read blog posts of 2021
Fordham Ohio’s blogging output this year was varied and prodigious.
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
My favorite children’s books of the past year
Among the many things that I’ve come to better understand as a new parent is that children’s books are a literary genre of their own. Who knew there’d be board books, peek-a-flaps, and battery-powered books that make sounds? Some books have clever storylines and rhymes. Some have exquisite artwork. They literally come in all shapes and sizes.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/22/21—The high cost of consolidation
This is our last edition for the year. (No. Don’t cry.) We’ll be back on Tuesday, January 4, with a final look at 2021. Regular thrice weekly publication will resume starting Wednesday, January 5. (Then you’ll have reason to cry.)
