We start the week with good news—Dayton’s bus drivers appear to have overwhelmingly agreed to a new contract with the district. Barring anything unforeseen, that is.
You may recall a breathless flap earlier this year over third grade reading test scores which were suspected of being mis-graded by a computer. It was hard to miss, seeing as how is it was all over the news. What was not all over the news at any point since then was how the human regrading of those third grade tests turned out.
Scrapping regulations that burden schools, have little to do with student learning, and restrict local flexibility and autonomy is a worthy undertaking. Over the past few years, Ohio legislators have taken small but commendable steps in providing regulatory relief for public schools.
Herewith: the new leader (and the revamped mission) of FutureReady Columbus. (Columbus Monthly, 4/2/18)
Like any life transition, preparing for a new job and saying farewell to colleagues and allies offers a bittersweet window of time to reflect. I’m sitting in that window now. Having finished almost a decade in the Ohio K–12 education policy space and my second stint at Fordham Ohio, I’m shifting into the early childhood policy domain.
I believe there is a headline error in this piece looking at the precarious state of play in Trotwood Schools after several years of poor report cards and attempts to remedy that problem. See if you can spot it. (Dayton Daily News, 4/2/18)
It’s spring break in Dayton City Schools, but that doesn’t mean things are quiet in the district.
Well, well, well. Nothing official here, but it is nice to hear the President of the Ohio Senate say that Ohio’s current participation-trophy graduation requirements should not be extended to the Classes of 2019 and 2020. Without “a good reason”, that is. (Gongwer Ohio, 3/26/18)
The bill which proposes, among other things, a consolidation of Ohio’s K-12, higher ed, and workforce development governance structures was the topic of dueling op-eds in the Dispatch this weekend. Fordham’s Aaron Churchill provided the case in support of the proposal.
The bill which proposes to, among other things, consolidate the state’s K-12, higher ed, and workforce development governance apparatus is still the talk of the state for some reason. Lots of folks in Northeast Ohio are opposed for some reason.
The General Assembly’s Joint Education Oversight Committee is back in action this week (!) after a three month hiatus. This week’s meeting under a new chair will reevaluate priorities and sound out some issues to pursue for the future. Hope they can think of some good ones.
Ohio policymakers are currently wrestling with a slew of issues related to transitions from high school to college or career.
It was learned late last week that Youngstown CEO Krish Mohip is not only looking to Colorado for a new gig but also to North Dakota. He is one of four finalists for superintendent of Fargo Public Schools. Weren’t there any good gigs up for grabs in Alaska, dude?
COMPILER'S NOTE: Gadfly Bites is taking a break until Monday. See you next week.
Editors in Youngstown opined this weekend on the seeming chaos wrought by the resignations of 3/5 of the Academic Distress Commission in the last week.
Ohio legislators recently unveiled a $2.6 billion capital budget bill for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Inside this year’s iteration are routine items like park and correctional facilities maintenance.
In case you missed it, the House Bill that proposes to consolidate state oversight of pre-K, K-12, and workforce development into one agency had a hearing earlier this week. Fordham’s own Chad Aldis was on hand to provide testimony in support of the bill.
A new statewide online school is launching in Ohio next school year. Great news for families looking for a choice. (Columbus Dispatch, 3/2/18)
And then there was one. The current superintendent of Akron City Schools let it be known earlier this week that he was removing himself from consideration to become the next superintendent of Columbus City Schools. But thanks for the consideration.
Two weeks ago, several lawmakers introduced legislation that proposes a major restructuring of education governance in Ohio.
Editors in Toledo opined in favor of the proposed change in state-level education governance in Ohio. In principle, at least.
It may or may not surprise you to know that not many school districts in Ohio have a diversity plan when it comes to hiring. Small town Mansfield is not one of those districts.
Editors in Columbus this week opined – using Fordham as a prominent piece of evidence – in favor of strong and substantive graduation requirements. (Columbus Dispatch, 2/22/18)
The Ohio House of Representatives just proposed to restructure oversight of K–12 public education by shifting much of the state Board of Education’s power to the governor through a newly formed cabinet-level position.
In the news from Lorain, it appears to be two steps forward as five new administrative positions are filled… (Northern Ohio Morning Journal, 2/19/18) …and
In the waning days of January, the Ohio Department of Higher Education gained approval from the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review for two new regulations regarding College Cr
I hear tell that February is “Career and Technical Education Month” among folks who pay attention to these things.
As reported in Bites on Wednesday, a proposal has been put forward in the General Assembly that would make some important changes to the state-level governance structure of K-12 education, higher ed, and workforce development.
The State Board of Education met this week and, among other things, members got an update on the graduation readiness of the Class of 2018.
