Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 6/2/17 - The view from Goodnewsville
We start today with an opinion piece from the PD in which education professionals attempt to dispel misconceptions abou
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/31/17 - Lorain officials share their hopes and fears (mostly the fears) for their new Distress Commission
The CEO-style Academic Distress Commission is on the mind of the PD’s Patrick O’Donnell this week. Fist up, he took a look at the hopes and fears of officials in Lorain as said CEO-style ADC ramps up there. Mostly at the fears, though.
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
Three problems with Ohio’s performance-based funding for schools
Performance-based funding in the public sector has begun to take root in recent years, most prominently in higher education and in merit-pay plans for some teachers.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/26/17 - Suburban problems
We start today out in the ‘burbs. (I know, right!) First up is a lengthy piece about some “options” for suburban kids for whom the traditional classroom route just doesn’t seem to work.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/24/17 - The Surreal Life
We begin today talking about school districts and “their” money. But honestly, when aren’t we talking about that? Editors in Columbus opined in favor of more state money for school districts. Especially for Columbus City Schools.
Commentary
Governance
School Lunch Quality and Academic Performance
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was intended to improve student health and reduce childhood obesity by increasing the minimum nutritional standards that schools must meet.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/22/17 - The sadly underwhelming edition
We start out with two weekend editorials. First up, editors in Columbus opined in favor of a bill to open up all state funds spent by charter schools to full public view.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/19/17 - Chad Aldis plows his own furrow
Our own Chad Aldis often plows his own furrow (so to speak) when it comes to certain aspects of education policy in Ohio, sometimes confounding those trying to define the narrative around those issues. Yet another case in point occurred this week in the wake of testimony on the topic of charter sponsor evaluations contained in the state budget bill.
Commentary
Governance
Text of testimony given before the Senate Finance - Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee 5/17/17
NOTE: The Ohio Senate Finance Committee’s Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee is hearing testimony this week on the education portion of Ohio's next biennial budget. Below is the written testimony that Chad Aldis gave before the committee today.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/17/17 - Old Scratch
We start today with updates on teachers union/administration relations in three school districts. Seems like all three are in the double dog dare phase of public relations negotiations. First up, North Ridgeville in Northeast Ohio.
Commentary
Governance
Income and Ohio’s school funding formula: Three complications
Among the most important duties of Ohio lawmakers is to craft a reasonably transparent school funding formula that efficiently allocates state dollars to local districts. But almost everyone will agree that Ohio’s formula is pretty complicated.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/15/17 - District residency cheaters beware!
Some central Ohio school districts ‘fessed up today about how aggressively they work to ferret out residency cheaters. The answer is: generally quite aggressively. I personally would not want to end up in the crosshairs of that Dublin lawyer for anything.
Commentary
Governance
Miles to Go: Bringing School Transportation into the 21st Century
The release of this latest report from Bellwether Education Partners is fortuitously timed as school districts large and small across the Buckeye State reach the end of another school year beset by
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
All teachers prepare young people for the working world
NOTE: This blog was first published in a slightly different form on The 74 on 5/12/17.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/12/17 - In which the match up of NAACP vs. OHSAA results in the winner being DPS
We told you last week about the Vindy op-ed penned by district CEO Krish Mohip, in which he opined in favor of big raises he wanted to give his district’s teachers. How big, you ask? How about 7 percent?
Commentary
Foreword: Pathway to Success – The Charles School
A college degree is becoming increasingly necessary in order for young people to attain the jobs they want, and yet getting to and through college in some ways has never been more challenging. Many students are ill-prepared when they arrive, needing remediation in reading or math.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/10/17 - Move (out of Columbus right now!) to PROSPER
I was remiss in not clipping this Monday. We have discussed the incipient “Move to PROSPER” project before.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/8/17 - "The quiet and expensive game of cat-and-mouse"
Gongwer, as usual, delved deeper into specific aspects of the state budget bill than other media outlets. Specifically, on proposed changes to the state’s charter school sponsor evaluation framework proposed therein. Yes, they mentioned the magical mystery amendment language (a.k.a.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/5/17 - So many memes, so little time
Our own Aaron Churchill is front and center in the Enquirer, opining on the benefits of private school vouchers for Ohio students. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/5/17)
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/3/17 - You've paid the bill; now, about the service...
Budget season is silly season in Ohio, so the saying goes, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of education. In lieu of large scale changes, we’ve got a lot of noodling around the edges of policy and finance this time around. That often means that single sentences in a bill of thousands of pages can have significant impact.
Commentary
Commentary
Charter Schools
Text of testimony given before the Senate Education Committee 4/25/17
NOTE: The Education Committee of the Ohio Senate last week heard testimony on SB 85, a proposal that would expand Ohio’s private school voucher program. Fordham’s Chad Aldis was a witness at this hearing and these are his written remarks.
Commentary
Governance
Did you know there’s a different way to get your Ohio education news?
If you don't know about Fordham Ohio's Gadfly Bites news clip service, you literally don't know what you're missing!
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 5/1/17 - The more questions than answers edition
Does the state budget bill as it stands right now water down charter school accountability? Doug Livingston – while NOT on the education beat, mind you – is doggedly on the case to find an answer. (Akron Beacon Journal, 4/28/17)
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 4/28/17 - Where is Jerry Orbach when you need him?
I imagine we’ve all seen that episode of Law & Order: you know, the one where fingerprint evidence solves the case at the last minute as the ominous strings build up in the background. But what if the fingerprints themselves are missing?
Commentary
Charter Schools
Gadfly Bites 4/26/17 - Chad Aldis vs. The "Naked" Beast
In case you missed it this week, Ohio’s own pale, skinny version of the Loch Ness Monster resurfaced on the shores of the Scioto River, to take a context-free and factually-deficient lunge against charter schools, jaws a-slavering.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 4/24/17 - To "forego" or to "forgo"? That is the question
Another clips compilation, another set of editors quoting Chad – and opining in agreement with him – about the need to hold the line on graduation standards.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 4/21/17 - Mrs. DeVos goes to Van Wert
Chad is quoted in two pieces discussing possible budget amendments which would change the state’s charter sponsor evaluations.