Governance

Gadfly Bites 11/1/23—The biggest calamity will befall students’ science education

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Three things Ohio’s revamped education department should prioritize during its first year

If you’ve been following headlines in Ohio, you’ve likely noticed that there’s an ongoing kerfuffle regarding an overhaul of the state’s K–12 education governance system.

Gadfly Bites 10/30/23—A lesson learned?

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Gadfly Bites 10/27/23—Not the answer

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Gadfly Bites 10/25/23—Hope no one throws out an arm patting themselves on the back

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Gadfly Bites 10/23/23—That wire is live!

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Gadfly Bites 10/20/23—Three!

It took a week, but today’s edition finally brings us up to date following our long vacation break, covering 10/14 – 10/20/23.

Gadfly Bites 10/18/23—Two…

Today’s edition, the second following a long vacation break, covers news from 10/7 – 10/13/23.

The Washington Post got its facts wrong on Ohio’s school governance debate

Recently, The Washington Post published an article purporting to summarize Ohio's current legal battle over education governance. “Ohio governor and elected education leaders both say they're in charge,” blares the headline.

Gadfly Bites 10/16/23—One…

Back after two long weeks! Looks like y’all had plenty of ice and fire of your own while I was gone, so we’ll break this down a bit.

An overview of Ohio’s new teacher apprenticeship program

Teacher shortages have been a hot topic in Ohio for years.

Reforming collective bargaining could put Ohio public schools—and the teaching profession—on top

Public-sector collective bargaining—whereby governments negotiate with employee unions over compensation and management practices—has enabled teachers unions to put a stranglehold on Ohio school districts. Research has clearly established that unions across the U.S.

Basic facts undermine the arguments of private school choice critics

For nearly two decades, Ohio’s EdChoice program has unlocked private school options for tens of thousands of students by offering state-funded scholarships.

Gadfly Bites 9/29/23—Ultimate

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Is Ohio on the Path to Educational Pluralism? Lessons from Around the World

Ohio has long been a pioneer in school choices for students and families.  It is home to one of the nation’s first private-school scholarship programs, focused on Cleveland.

Gadfly Bites 9/27/23—Penultimate

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Gadfly Bites 9/25/23—Antepenultimate

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Gadfly Bites 9/22/23—That thing you DEW

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Gadfly Bites 9/20/23—DEW or DEW not

How’d the first day of actual school go in Youngstown this week? Or even the second? No one in the local press seems to care since the teachers union is happy with the deal they won, so I have no idea.

As chronic absenteeism rates soar, some Ohio lawmakers want to make it easier for kids to skip school

The negative impacts of chronic absenteeism are well known. In elementary school, truancy can contribute to weaker math and reading skills that persist into later grades.

Gadfly Bites 9/18/23—It only takes one whammy to make families scramble for solutions

The Youngstown teacher strike seems to be over after a tentative agreeme

Gadfly Bites 9/15/23—Seems like all tortoise and no hare

In case you somehow missed it, state report cards were released yesterday.

Gadfly Bites 9/13/23—A “digestible” counterproposal?

Looks like someone’s been listening to Fordham’s Aaron Churchill, who has been advocating for including party labels for candidates on local school board ballots for many years, with lots of great analysis backing it up.

Why Ohio’s school board elections should be on-cycle

It’s September and that means fall elections are coming soon. Not that election—the presidential is still more than twelve months away—but local school board races are right around the corner.

Gadfly Bites 9/11/23—School funding is a zero-sum game because we say it is

Gongwer covered the news of the massive parental response to expanded EdChoice voucher eligibility.

Gadfly Bites 9/8/23—A different kind of Friday the 13th; still pretty scary

OSU’s

Gadfly Bites 9/6/23—Reality bites…and so do bats

Are college completion grants a no-incentive incentive?

At the same time that the number of degree earners in the U.S.

Gadfly Bites 9/1/23—The circus is in town—all three rings of it

Approximately 7 hours of talks on both Wednesday and Thursday between Youngstown teach

Dr. Stéphane Lavertu joins the Fordham Institute as Senior Research Fellow

Today, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute announced that Dr. Stéphane Lavertu will join the Institute as a Senior Research Fellow. Dr.