Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/10/21—Simple cleanup
Another quiet news cycle to end the week. The Ohio Senate this week passed SB 229.
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/8/21—Fantastical
I am always amused when average citizens attempt to handwave serious problems away by saying that “They should do something”. Not to minimize those nuisances at all, but the response to them follows a predictable and perhaps less-than-helpful pattern.
Commentary
School Finance
Build Back Better’s early childhood proposals will strain state budgets
President Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress are poised to continue the federal government’s spending spree, this time through a $2 trillion extravaganza named Build Back Better (BBB). Just before Thanksgiving, the House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of the measure, and the Senate is now mulling possible changes to the package.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/6/21—Oh, there will still be plenty of academic distress—don’t you worry
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Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 12.3.21
We are back from last week’s Thanksgiving break and covering news stories from 11/19/21 – 12/3/21. Supporting “our entire family of schools”
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/3/21—Cloudy with a chance of baloney
There are only two times when school report cards are deemed correct by school district officials: the first is when they show traditional district schools
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Governance
Gadfly Bites 12/1/21—Janky
Where the heck are the education news stories these days? Only one to cover today, but at least it’s pretty interesting.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/29/21—Revenge of the nerds
We’re back from the Thanksgiving holiday break, laden with leftovers.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/24/21—Rekindling, blazing, and firing up
No Bites on Friday (to help you avoid indigestion). Back Monday after Thanksgiving. Let’s hope there are some clips worth snarking upon when we return.
Commentary
Governance
Reform-minded school board members should push for choice, science of reading
In the wake of the November elections, hundreds of new school board members will soon take their seats overseeing Ohio’s 600 plus districts.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/22/21—The opposite of appreciation
We’re back after a short break. Looks like we missed a couple of humdingers. Let’s get to it!
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 11.19.21
Note: There will be no edition of the Charter News Weekly on Thanksgiving week. Two more charters for West Virginia
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/17/21—The phantom menace
Gadfly Bites will be taking a little break on Friday. (Stop cheering back there, you ingrates!) We’ll be back on Monday to catch up with whatever exhausting shenanigans have happened in the interim.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s third grade retention policy is backed by good research
Passed almost a decade ago, the aptly named Third Grade Reading Guarantee aims to ensure that every Ohio student reads proficiently by the end of third grade. That goal makes perfect sense. All children need foundational reading skills to succeed in middle and high school and beyond.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Signs of hope for students in East Cleveland
The recently passed state budget created an off-ramp for districts under the control of an
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
A descriptive look at high school students earning college credit in Rhode Island
The term “dual enrollment” is often used to refer to young people earning college credits while simultaneously completing their high school coursework.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/15/21—No, it’s SUPER great!
In case you missed it, the state board of education elected a new president and vice president this morning
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Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/12/21—Captain Ron
Let’s start with the best news of the week: A groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week for a new charter school in Cincinnati the first IDEA school in t
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/10/21—Defined as an increase or improvement in quality, value, or extent
Fordham’s own Chad Aldis testified before the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee yesterday on SB 229.
Commentary
Governance
Testimony presented before the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee on 11/9/21
NOTE: Today, the Ohio House of Representatives’ Primary and Secondary Education Committee heard testimony on SB 229.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/8/21—Cannot compute
If you, like me, were hoping that passage of the new school funding formula—and especially the end of those hated school choice deductions from district finances—would make district treasurers happier than dogs in a butcher’s shop, early indications are that you were mistaken.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 11.5.21
Afterschool enrichment accounts for Ohio families
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/5/21—The smack of realism
The elected board of Youngstown City Schools voted earlier this week to amend their academic “improvement” plan per the recommendations returned to t
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/3/21—It’s just like “Room and Zoom”, only without the room…or the Zoom
The new nominal head of the Cleveland Metropolitan School district is… But you already guessed that, didn’t you? (The Land, 11/2/21)
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
The future of high tech education is probably not in your kid’s school
Regardless of whether you believe that too much is being asked of our schools and our educators these days, it is always worth asking whether th
Commentary
Curriculum & Instruction
Even better than the real thing: Four-day school weeks make adults very happy
The most commonly expressed motivator for school districts to adopt a four-day school week is monetary: lowering expenditures on hourly staff, transportation, and utilities costs. It is not incidental that the most recent uptick in districts opting for them was in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 11/1/21—Trick, or treat?
In case you missed it while you were busy finalizing your costume for Halloween, Governor DeWine appointed two new state school board members late in
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Youngstown’s academic improvement plan doesn’t promise much improvement
Since 2005, Ohio has intervened in chronically underperforming school districts by establishing new leadership in the form of an
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