Commentary
Private School Choice
Voucher critics are at it again
It’s been a banner year for private school choice in Ohio.
Topics
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/22/21—Getting all the headlines…and then digging deeper
Fordham’s Chad Aldis was extensively quoted in Crain’s this week—along with other commentators—discussing legislative changes recently wrought upon school funding, school choice programs, and state report cards.
Commentary
Governance
Suburban school districts can help urban students succeed
It’s no secret that many of the best public schools are located in America’s leafy suburbs. They’re typically staffed by well-trained teachers, boast up-to-date textbooks and technology, and offer advanced and specialized coursework.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/20/21—Creating your own goals
Please don’t let the focus of this piece on school transportation woes in central Ohio school districts fool you. Numerous issues of accuracy and lateness have been building in districts large and small for years—long before anyone ever heard of SARS-CoV-2.
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
Some Ohio schools are facing a teacher shortage. What caused it, and how can it be addressed?
Over the last few months, there have been growing concerns over a teacher shortage
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/17/21—No more dessert desert
One unforeseen consequence of broadening free lunch for schools is, apparently, that there is not enough of certain foods to go around.
Commentary
School Finance
Can Ohio solve the school transportation riddle?
Every student ought to have safe, reliable transportation to a school that meets their needs. Recognizing this, Ohio law has long required districts to offer transportation to all resident students in grades K–8 who live more than two miles from their school—whether that’s a district, charter, private, or STEM school.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/15/21—The easy A
The recent report by Ohio State University Professors Kogan and Lavertu—putting some very sobering numbers on pandemic-influenced learning loss in the Buckeye State—received national coverage from AEI’s blo
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/13/21—Creatively innovative
Here is a decade-long program in central Ohio whereby a third-party nonprof
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 9.10.21
Ohio Charter News Weekly is back from a brief hiatus and we’re catching up on all the news you can use from 8/27 to today! While we were out
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/10/21—Never call a double-dog dare when you don’t know what you’re talking about
A recent research paper review—on the topic of pandemic-era academic impacts on students—written by Fordham’s Jessica Poiner became the law of the land in Ohio when it was linked and quoted in Gongwer the oth
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 9/8/21—Painful switch
Gadfly Bites is back back back! Sorry about that, y’all.
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
Ohio’s 2021 spring tests show that achievement suffered during the pandemic and highlight the importance of in-person learning
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
Commentary
School Finance
An overview of Ohio’s new school funding formula, and a look at whether it might stick
At the end of June, Ohio lawmakers passed House Bill 110, the biennial operating budget for FYs 2022–23. It included a new school funding framework that received bipartisan support and was backed by school district officials and teachers unions.
Commentary
Charter Schools
Ohio Charter News Weekly – 8.27.21
Ohio Charter News Weekly will be on hiatus next week; returning on 9/10/21. Kudos
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/25/21—Tears, no tears, and happy tears
Gadfly Bites will be on vacation for a bit, you lucky readers; but your luck runs out on 9/8/21 when it all starts again.
Commentary
Private School Choice
An overview of Ohio’s recently-enacted family-friendly voucher changes
For nearly twenty years, EdChoice has provided tens of thousands of students with the opportunity to attend private schools via state-funded scholarships, also known as vouchers.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/23/21—“A great challenge”
Schools across the Miami Valley areas, including charter and private schools, are finding it even more challenging than usual, they say, in filling
Commentary
Accountability & Testing
What supports do high schoolers need to achieve their college enrollment goals?
Post-secondary preparation supports are numerous and common in high schools across the country.
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/20/21—From summer into autumn
Here’s the final look at Columbus City Schools’ summer program this year, including the news that 112 of the 412 seniors in the class of 2021 w
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/18/21—Built to last
We will top and tail today’s edition of the Bites with two “say what?” clips.
Commentary
Governance
Big opportunities await Ohio’s next state superintendent
Earlier this summer, Ohio’s state superintendent Paolo DeMaria announced his retirement, effective in September.
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/16/21—BTS
The Dispatch is celebrating the first day of school today—for a year that they characteri
Commentary
Teachers & School Leaders
NCTQ sheds light on Ohio teacher licensure exams
Before they can stand in front of a classroom full of students, most prospective teachers have to pass state licensure exams. But how many candidates pass those exams on the first try and how many need multiple attempts? Which schools fare best at readying their students for these exams?
Commentary
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/13/21—You say school choice is the problem, do you?
An interesting, if tangential topic to start our Friday: The latest annual report on poverty trends from the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies notes an ongoing lack of broadband access in some parts of the s
Commentary
Private School Choice
No, EdChoice is not the cause of racial segregation
Opponents of school choice in Ohio continue to threaten a lawsuit seeking to eradicate the state’s largest private-school scholarship program, known as
Commentary
Governance
Gadfly Bites 8/11/21—Gone the way of the “venerable” magnet school campouts
I have to admit I didn’t realize just how venerable (for lack of a better word) those schools-specific public transit routes for Cincinnati City Schools students were—in use for more than 40 years—which explains to my satisfaction why district officials were so incensed when they learned that those r
