Gadfly Bites 11/13/20 – Define “better”
Jeff MurrayWhile students in grades 6-12 in Troy City Schools have indeed moved to fully-remote learning for a couple of weeks—as we talked about on Wednesday—
Default Settings: How Ohio can nudge teachers toward a more secure retirement
Chad AldemanThough not widely known, Ohio teachers have three retirement options: a traditional pension plan, a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, and a hybrid plan that combines features of both. A large majority of teachers are in the pension plan—the result of either an affirmative choice or by default, not having selected a specific plan at the beginning of their careers.
Gadfly Bites 11/11/20 – Largesse
Jeff MurrayThe Cleveland Public Library is partnering with nonprofit PCs for People to help distribute computers and WiFi hotspots for
Gadfly Bites 11/9/20 – “Everyone became more comfortable and tech savvy.”
Jeff MurrayA Catholic school in North Canton whipped from fully in-person learning to a fully-remote model last week (cancelling a day of school and weeks’ worth of planned sports a
Gadfly Bites 11/6/20 – Yeah, there’s an app for that. But you don’t have to use it.
Jeff MurrayJust your regular reminder, in case you are not a parent in K–12 education in Ohio—that there’s still a whipsaw pandemic going on out there.
Gadfly Bites 11/4/20 – Election stuff…ew
Jeff MurrayDid you know that in Ohio you can place a levy reduction issue on the ballot? I didn’t either until I read this story.
A point-by-point response to Stephen Dyer’s “evaluation” of our charter school report
Aaron ChurchillStephen Dyer, longtime critic of public charter schools, now employed by the anti-charter-schools teachers union, recently wrote a lengthy response—a so-called “evaluati
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 10.30.20
Chad L. Aldis, Jeff Murray“Cleveland charters shine”
Gadfly Bites 10/30/20 – Ersatz
Jeff MurrayOur own Aaron Churchill was large and in charge on the commentary page of Cleveland.com today, talking about the Cleveland-specific fi
Gadfly Bites 10/28/20 – Minus
Jeff MurrayThe headline of this story asks “How is back-to-school going?” in the Cincinnati region. Folks quoted here largely say it’s going pretty well.
Gadfly Bites 10/26/20 – “Let's not panic seeing this data”
Jeff MurrayFordham (probably our Ohio by the Numbers data although who can really tell?) is namechecked in this piece looking at the thorny subject of school funding.
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 10.23.20
Chad L. Aldis, Jeff MurrayNOTE: Ohio Charter News Weekly is back from vacation and presenting this, our latest regular Friday edition. If you missed our special catch-up edition, published yesterday, you can find it here.
Gadfly Bites 10/23/20 – Going traditional
Jeff MurrayWe heard on Wednesday that the boost in rona cases across the state were a threat to in-person education.
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 10.22.20
Chad L. Aldis, Jeff MurrayNOTE: Ohio Charter News Weekly is back from vacation and presenting this special catch-up edition. Another edition will be published tomorrow with up-to-the-minute news you can use.
Ohio charters are improving: A recap of Fordham’s charter event
Jessica PoinerLast week, we at Fordham released our latest report on charter schools in Ohio. The research, conducted by Dr.
Gadfly Bites 10/19/20 – Catching up with the clips
Jeff MurrayCOMPILER’S NOTE: Hah! I’m back from vacation, you gluttons for punishment. We’ll start today with a catch-up of all that we missed while I was holed up in my basement relaxing afield. Normal thrice-weekly service will resume on Wednesday, heaven help you all.
Will the pandemic cause a teacher shortage in Ohio?
Jessica PoinerWhen coronavirus turned everything upside down this spring, there were predictions that educators would retire in droves rather than risk teaching during a pandemic.
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 10.9.20
Chad L. Aldis, Jeff MurrayNOTE: Ohio Charter News Weekly will be on vacation next week and will return on October 23, 2020.
Gadfly Bites 10/9/20 – A blaze of glory
Jeff MurrayCOMPILER’S NOTE: Gadfly Bites will be on vacation next week. (“Thank goodness!” I hear you cry. “You need a break. Hopefully you will return refreshed, renewed, and ready to boost up what has been—let’s face it, man—your recent mediocre work.
Gadfly Bites 10/7/20 – The whipsaw whips again
Jeff MurrayCincinnati City Schools is going to a hybrid in-person/remote model after all, starting next week.
The Impact of Ohio Charter Schools on Student Outcomes, 2016–19
Stéphane LavertuSince the first Ohio charter schools opened in 1998, they’ve regularly been subject to intense scrutiny
Gadfly Bites 10/5/20 – Luckily…
Jeff MurrayIn Cincinnati, some of the district’s whipsawed parents speak. (Spectrum News 1, 10/5/20)
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 10.2.20
Chad L. Aldis, Jeff MurrayYou’re invited: A not-to-be-missed virtual event
Gadfly Bites 10/2/20 – The whipsaw chronicles
Jeff MurrayAnother day, another raft of evidence that parents looking for certainty are well and truly hosed.
Schools need talented teachers. Here’s how to find them in these challenging times.
Jessica PoinerThere are no silver bullets when it comes to closing achievement gaps. But there are inputs and interventions with solid evidence bases, and the impact of a good teacher is one of them.
Gadfly Bites 9/30/20 – Going forward
Jeff MurrayFor some reason meeting on a Saturday, the elected board of Dayton City Schools unanimously approved a phased-in plan to bring students back for a
Gadfly Bites 9/28/20 – General misunderstanding
Jeff MurrayHere’s an in-depth look at the first month of the school year at Xenia’s St. Brigid School.
Gadfly Bites 9/25/20 – Wicked Googly
Jeff MurrayAren’t search engines great? With them, one can search for an important name (say, Aaron Churchill) and sometimes find references to that name in new places.