Education News for 01-31-2012

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Statewide Education News

  • Standard tests will be done online (News-Sun)

    • SPRINGFIELD — Online testing would be cheaper and more efficient than the current tests, making it worth the cost to prepare schools for the change in coming years, said state Superintendent Stan Heffner. “The new test should actually cost less,” Heffner said. “They’ll get instant feedback and at a cheaper cost.” Heffner, the Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction, was the featured speaker at the Springfield Rotary Club on Monday. Read More…

  • Officials look for ways to boost student use of free summer meal plans (Dispatch)

    • Kids get hungry in the summer, too. But when school lets out, the number of youngsters taking advantage of government-paid free-meal programs drops by about 80 percent. Federal, state and community officials gathered in a summit at a Mid-Ohio Foodbank location in Grove City yesterday to brainstorm about ways to boost the number of kids from low-income neighborhoods enrolled in free breakfast and lunch programs in the summer months. Read More…

  • Cleveland schools' New Tech program to be featured on national webcast (Plain Dealer)

    • CLEVELAND - Cleveland's New Tech high school serving the West Side will be one of the schools featured in a national Internet broadcast Wednesday celebrating Digital Learning Day with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. New Tech West will be one of several schools showcased in short videos during a morning webcast. Then New Tech Principal Erin Frew, Spanish teacher Marixa Marriero and 11th-grader Britany Dickens will talk about the school live via Skype in a "Town Hall" discussion that afternoon. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Local businesses, organizations work to promote science and tech learning (Newark Advocate)

    • NEWARK - Two actresses from the Licking County Players pondered aloud last week how they could use six simple machines to knock over 10 bowling pins without using their hands. On the stage of the Midland Theatre, they rode a bike over a homemade ramp -- er, wedge -- and sat on a seesaw -- make that lever -- while they considered the possibilities with the help of a robot named Hal, voiced by fellow local actor Dennis Kohler. The actresses asked questions of the students in the audience. Read More…

  • Panel OKs Liberty cutbacks (Tribune Chronicle)

    • LIBERTY - Contentions popped up Monday between the Financial Planning and Supervision Committee appointed by the State Auditor's Office and the Liberty Local School District over staff cuts the school board approved last week. The board eliminated or reduced to part-time status 16.5 employees next school year, which would save the district $1.2 million. "There's no other plan you think would be better?" committee member and Liberty parent Kristen Rock asked Superintendent Stan Watson. Read More…

  • Westerville school board to vote on support-staff pay freeze (Dispatch)

    • The Westerville school board will vote today on a deal that would freeze pay for the district’s support-staff workers for the next two years. Union members also would shoulder the full burden of their health-care deductibles under the deal, but only if the district’s other employee unions follow suit. Board members called the 4 p.m. meeting after being briefed by the district’s bargaining team yesterday morning. District officials said the support-staff union came to them with the proposal. Read More…

  • Northridge principals' salaries, duties increase (Newark Advocate)

    • JOHNSTOWN - Northridge Local School District administrators are earning a little bit more money this year to go along with their new and expanded duties. The district removed its high school principal position this past summer, bumping middle school principal Amy Anderson to principal of grades six through 12, Robin Elliot up to assistant principal for grades 6-8 and Marisa Knopp to intermediate school principal and special education director. Read More…

Editorial

  • Giving dropouts reasons to return (Plain Dealer)

    • Forget about the GED certificate, the usual alternative for high-school dropouts. An innovative program being introduced at Owens Community College near Toledo this fall aims to help dropouts drop back into high school and move on to college. The combination of intensive counseling, flexible schedules and free tuition and books has worked elsewhere in the country, but this will be the first time it's tried in Ohio. Read More…

  • How to grade a teacher (L.A. Times)

    • We're teachers who believe that teacher evaluation, including the use of reliable test data, can be good for students and for teachers. Yes, yes, we know we're not supposed to exist. But we do, and there are a lot more of us. In February the membership of United Teachers Los Angeles will vote on a teacher-led initiative urging union leaders to negotiate a new teacher evaluation system for L.A. Unified. The vote will allow teachers' voices to be heard above the din of warring political figures. Read More…

School levies on the March ballot

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465 questions and issues appearing on the 2012 primary election ballot. Below is the list of issues by type:

  • 9 bond issues (7 are school issues)
  • 280 tax issues (85 are school issues)
  • 124 local liquor options

9 combination questions – as explained below:

  • 7 are school bond issues with a tax levy
  • 2 are school income tax issues with a bond issue

43 miscellaneous questions (broken down as follows)

  • 6 electric aggregation questions
  • 5 charter amendments
  • 3 zoning amendments
  • 25 tax changes (11 are school issues)
  • 4 miscellaneous questions

Below is the list of school issues, where duplicates appear it indicates more than one issue for that distrcit appears on the ballot.

County District Type N/R
ALLEN Allen East L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
ALLEN Bath L.S.D Bond New
ALLEN Delphos C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
ALLEN Lima C.S.D Tax Levy New
ASHTABULA Ashtabula Area C.S.D Tax Levy New
ASHTABULA Grand Valley L.S.D Tax Levy New
ASHTABULA Jefferson Area L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
ASHTABULA Jefferson Area L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
AUGLAIZE New Bremen L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
COLUMBIANA Beaver L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
CRAWFORD Crestline Exempted V.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
CRAWFORD Wynford L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
CRAWFORD Wynford L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
CUYAHOGA Berea C.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Chagrin Falls Exempted V.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Cuyahoga Heights L.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Garfield Heights C.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Mayfield C.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Parma C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
CUYAHOGA Rocky River C.S.D Tax Levy New
CUYAHOGA Strongsville C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
DARKE Greenville C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
DARKE Tri Village L.S.D Tax Levy New
DARKE Versailles Exempted V.S.D Income Tax New
DEFIANCE Ayersville L.S.D Income Tax Renewal
DEFIANCE Central L.S.D Bond & Income Tax New
DEFIANCE Central L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
DEFIANCE Defiance C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
FAIRFIELD Lancaster C.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
FAYETTE Miami Trace L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
FRANKLIN South-Western C.S.D Bond New
FRANKLIN Westerville C.S.D Tax Levy New
FULTON Evergreen L.S.D Income Tax New
FULTON Four County J.V.S.D Tax Levy New
FULTON Swanton L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
GEAUGA West Geauga L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
GREENE Beavercreek C.S.D Tax Levy New
GREENE Fairborn C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
GUERNSEY Cambridge C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HAMILTON Forest Hills L.S.D Tax Levy New
HAMILTON Mt. Healthy C.S.D Tax Levy New
HAMILTON Princeton C.S.D Tax Levy New
HAMILTON Wyoming C.S.D Bond New
HANCOCK Arcadia L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HANCOCK Arcadia L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HANCOCK Findlay C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HANCOCK Van Buren L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HARDIN Ada Exempted V.S.D Income Tax Renewal
HARDIN Ridgemont L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
HENRY Napoleon Area C.S.D Bond New
HENRY Napoleon Area C.S.D Income Tax New
HENRY Patrick Henry L.S.D Tax Levy New
HIGHLAND Fairfield L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HOLMES East Holmes L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
HOLMES East Holmes L.S.D Tax Levy New
HURON Norwalk C.S.D Tax Levy New
JEFFERSON Edison L.S.D Tax Levy New
JEFFERSON Indian Creek L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
JEFFERSON Jefferson County J.V.S.D Tax Levy New
LAKE Willoughby-Eastlake C.S.D Tax Levy New
LAWRENCE Lawrence County J.V.S.D Tax Levy New
LORAIN Avon L.S.D Bond New
LORAIN Avon L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
LORAIN Lorain County J.V.S.D Tax Levy New
LORAIN Midview L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MADISON London C.S.D Tax Levy New
MAHONING Poland L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MAHONING Poland L.S.D Tax Levy New
MAHONING Youngstown C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MEDINA Brunswick C.S.D Tax Levy New
MEDINA Buckeye L.S.D Income Tax New
MERCER Coldwater Exempted V.S.D Tax Levy New
MONTGOMERY Brookville L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MONTGOMERY Kettering C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MONTGOMERY Mad River L.S.D Tax Levy New
MONTGOMERY Oakwood C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
MONTGOMERY Vandalia-Butler C.S.D Tax Levy New
OTTAWA Benton-Carroll-Salem L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
OTTAWA Genoa Area L.S.D Tax Levy New
PORTAGE Field L.S.D Tax Levy New
PORTAGE Waterloo L.S.D Tax Levy New
RICHLAND Madison L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
RICHLAND Ontario L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
SANDUSKY Woodmore L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
SCIOTO Green L.S.D Tax Levy New
SENECA Tiffin C.S.D Tax Levy New
STARK Alliance C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
STARK Canton L.S.D Bond New
SUMMIT Cuyahoga Falls C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
SUMMIT Manchester L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
SUMMIT Woodridge L.S.D Tax Levy New
TRUMBULL Champion L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
TRUMBULL Howland L.S.D Tax Levy New
TRUMBULL Lakeview L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
TRUMBULL Niles C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
TRUMBULL Warren C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
TRUMBULL Weathersfield L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
WARREN Carlisle L.S.D Bond & Tax Levy New
WASHINGTON Marietta C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
WASHINGTON Marietta C.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
WASHINGTON Wolf Creek L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
WAYNE Chippewa L.S.D Income Tax New
WAYNE Norwayne L.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
WAYNE Triway L.S.D Income Tax New
WILLIAMS Bryan C.S.D Bond New
WILLIAMS Montpelier Exempted V.S.D Income Tax New
WILLIAMS Stryker L.S.D Tax Levy New
WOOD Bowling Green C.S.D Income Tax Renewal
WOOD North Baltimore L.S.D Income Tax Renewal
WOOD Rossford Exempted V.S.D Tax Levy Renewal
WOOD Rossford Exempted V.S.D - I Tax Levy Renewal
WOOD Rossford Exempted V.S.D - II Tax Levy Renewal

1,560,379

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If you are a corporate education reformer, with the requisite pathological desire to want to fire educators, having educators stand in your way, blocking this deep seated desire is something that must be overcome.

We therefore see a secondary policy preference expressed by those wanting to privatize and corpratize public education. Policies designed to remove the collective voice of educators.

SB5 is a very clear example of this, and while publicly it was couched in "reform rhetoric", the governor has already expressed his desire to "break the back of organized labor in the schools". Scott walker in Wisconsin, Mitch Daniels in Indiana, and the legislature in New Hampshire have all tried similar approaches to removing educators voices.

But even with SB5 massively defeated, corporate education reformers like the Fordham Institute continue to push for such approaches

Teacher unions are among the most powerful political actors in America on a wide range of issues (just ask Terry Moe, Paul Peterson, or Mike Antonucci). It’s not a given that that should be so, however, or that union intervention in partisan elections is always (or even often) good for teachers as a whole. Rhee and other education reformers would do well to add paycheck protection to their toolkit of reforms to increase parent power over education policy – and protect the rights of teachers to spend their paychecks on political issues they believe in, not on the agenda of labor leaders.

We left the following comment on their post "this is a very ill informed post.

Teachers can opt out of funding unions and pay only fair share to cover the costs of professional services. Political advocacy of candidates is NOT paid out of any dues, but instead is paid by VOLUNTARY contributions by educators, typically into the Fund for Children and Education (FCPE).

One would hope that a "policy fellow" would at least avail themselves of some basic facts and understandings before espousing an opinion on a topic they clearly have no understanding of.

But the folks at Fordham aren't the only ones who would like to see educators slip quietly into the background. The Columbus Dispatch often published opinion pieces that echo these desires, and did, publishing a piece by Pat Smith, titled "Expert panel could revamp education in Ohio"

An expert panel in Ohio could identify similar savings and direct them where they’d do the most good. Such a panel ought to include certified public accountants, economists, futurists and technologists and perhaps be chaired by Ohio’s state auditor.

We're not sure what a "futurist" is, but we are sure educators are not on that list, indeed educators get a special mention - "It should welcome input, but not control, from educators..."

We asked Ms. Smith "Curious why you do not include any teachers/educators in your list of people who would serve on your proposed expert panel?". She was kind enough to respond, and her response included this

No one is more supportive of teachers than I am. I come from a family of teachers: mother-in-law, aunts, sister-in-law, my daughter and, of course, my own experience - four different systems under five different principals. But, I think the kind of expertise we need to improve the productivity of the entire state system has to come from those with different sets of skills: technology gurus, numbers crunchers, data experts, demographers, futurists, etc. Yes, as I said, they need to have input from educators (the editor edited out the adjective "strong" before "input.") But, you know as well as I do, much of the decision making in education circles revolves around ideology and not about what really works. Also, the educators tend to wear down others on panels. My worry is that there is only a finite amount of resources that is going to go into education and that we must make the very best use of those resources and that educators don't know or agree how to do that. For example: should we fund early education or lower class size? Yes, a surgeon has the expertise to operate, but not to run the hospital where he performs the surgery.

We're not sure what's more insulting, the mistaken belief that educators have no expertise in these matters, or that they constant pointing out of ill-conceived ideas wears the purveyors of those ideas down. But at least in this exchange we can see why educators simply must be silenced.

According to ODE statistics, Ohio teachers have an average of 15.08 years experience, giving them a combined 1,560,379 total years of experience. Each day they add almost a million hours of experience to this massive total. Who else in the state has this amount, depth, and level of expertise in public education?

Anyone who doesn't recognize that educators have earned a central role in education policy reform isn't serious about reforming education, they are instead more interested in partisan politics.

Education News for 01-30-2012

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Statewide Education News

  • Ohio’s No. 1 elementary school succeeds in an area better known for hardship – (Columbus Dispatch)

    • For those driving into town on the “Dean Martin Highway,” old steel mills and run-down houses along a sliver of land between the freeway and the Ohio River are bleak reminders of the city’s economic woes. But decades of lost jobs and declining population are Steubenville’s past. The city has a new story to tell. Read More…

  • Cellphones put to use in some schools - (Dispatch)

    • In some classrooms, teachers confiscate smartphones from students caught texting or surfing social-media websites. Damon Mollenkopf doesn’t bother. The teacher at Westerville North High School actually encourages students to chat with each other on social-networking websites, with the hope that they’re talking about history. “The kids can be having a separate conversation, but it can be quiet, on Twitter,” said Mollenkopf, who keeps an eye on his tablet computer to watch their dialogue. “I can say, ‘Hey, this person makes a good point.’” Read More…

  • The right start for a brighter start - (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • More attention - and funding - for preschools will ensure that more kids are ready to succeed.
    Preschool is moving to the head of the class when it comes to education funding. Ohio in December won $70 million from the federal government’s $500 million Early Learning Race to the Top grants along with eight other states. It has joined a national movement to make preschool a top funding priority. The state plans to increase preschool offerings over the next several years to thousands of low-income youngsters while boosting quality standards for preschools. Read More…

  • School studies rank Ohio high - (Springfield News Sun)

    • Increased accountability credited, one school leader says.
    Ohio ranked 10th and 21st for its K-12 education performance and policy as compared to all other states and the District of Columbia for 2011, according to two national studies released this month. In a third study, released last week by the National Council on Teacher Quality, the state’s teachers tied for fifth in the nation. Read More…

  • Ohio officials: Plan to expand school voucher program has stalled - (Ravenna Record Courier)

    • Legislation that would expand the school voucher program to more students and allow them to use those vouchers at more schools is not going forward. “HB 136 is not going anywhere quickly from what I understand,” said Ohio Board of Education member Bryan Williams. State Sen. Tom Sawyer said legislators have not been hearing support to match the cries of protest against the bill. Read More…

  • Closing the gap in early learning - (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • With budgets tight, Ohio, Kentucky lag
    The children buzzing about Ethel M. Taylor Academy’s preschool class in Millvale appeared to be playing. Three youngsters scooped candy sprinkles into empty liter soda bottles for make-believe Kool-Aid. They were really learning to measure and estimate. Nearby, two boys shared cloth dolls and a stuffed horse; they were actually practicing “friendship words.” And a girl and boy stacked colored shapes onto various sized circles; they were solving problems. Read More…

  • Group supporting school choice ranks states – (Canton Repository)

    • Ohio’s education system ranks 21st in the nation, according to a new report by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative public policy organization that advocates school choice. ALEC’s 17th Report Card on American Education ranks schools across the country (50 states and the District of Columbia) based on data from national test scores, state education policy, charter school regulations and other benchmarks. Read More…

  • Ohio still leaves sexual education to each district – (Columbus Dispatch)

    • National coalition issued guidelines for curriculum at every grade level
    A national group says schools should have specific guidelines for teaching sexual education, such as in which grades children should learn the proper names for genitalia, but Ohio doesn’t plan to follow the recommendations. Some school officials say that’s a mistake. “I’m hoping most people ... are using national standards,” said Jodi Palmer, girls athletic director for Upper Arlington schools. Read More…

  • Ohio seeks to get more kids in summer food program – Canton Repository

    • Ohio education and food program officials want to increase the number of children in low-income areas who participate in a program that offers them free breakfasts or lunches during the summer, when they’re not getting meals at school. Increasing access and participation in the federally funded Summer Food Service Program is the focus of a summit Monday in Grove City. It comes on the heels of news that a record high of nearly 841,000 Ohio students, or about 45 percent, are eligible for free or reduced-cost school lunches based on their family incomes. Read More…

  • Student Homelessness is on the Rise in Ohio – (State Impact Ohio)

    • Nineteen year old Leana and her two children are living with a friend’s family for now, until she gets an apartment of her own. Leana doesn’t want people to know she’s homeless, which is why she didn’t want us to take a picture of her face. Leana and her three siblings grew up in their grandmother’s two-bedroom house. By the time she was 18, Leana had one child, and was pregnant with her second. Read More…

  • Programs geared to helping high school dropouts, other students succeed in college – (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Innovative programs meant to help high school dropouts and students who are not academically prepared earn college degrees are debuting in Toledo and Columbus this year. They are likely to expand to other cities, including Cleveland. Owens Community College near Toledo will offer a dual-credit program on its campus this fall to 50 students who dropped out of the Toledo public schools. Those who complete the program will earn a high school diploma and an associate degree. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Learning differently - (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • Going to school wasn't something Marco Dukes looked forward to each day. The process was all part of a routine the 14-year-old said he tried sticking to, but one for which he could never spark any enthusiasm. "I was just kinda there," the eighth-grader said. "Just there 'cause I had to be." This year, Dukes has a different view of the public school system - one that he said is helping him focus more on his own abilities. He is among some 30 Warren City Schools students attending the district's Alternative School. Read More…

  • Akron teachers’ negotiations under more scrutiny with November levy looming - (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The Akron school board’s decision to sit out the March primary and instead try for a new-money levy in November raises the stakes at the bargaining table for teachers, whose two-year contract expires this year. Read More…

  • Maumee schools get head start on new state requirements - (WTOL)

    • A local school district is getting to work tackling some new state requirements. Maumee City Schools presented its plan to undertake several initiatives. Technology is just one of the many areas that will be changing. The year 2014 might seem far away, but Ohio schools have a great deal of changes to implement before then. Read More…

  • Changes in dress code debated - (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Vocal opposition to a uniform or restrictive dress-code policy during a recent meeting at Northridge High School is typical of how many such community conversations start, but it doesn’t always mean that a district won’t later adopt such a policy. About 50 parents and students turned out for a forum this week after administrators informed parents that they wanted to have a conversation about the district’s dress code. Read More…

  • Despite cost, Hathorn defends academic-recovery plan - (Vindicator)

    • The city school district spent more than $3.4 million on the state-required academic- recovery plan last year, and the costs keep mounting. With the exception of the $600,000 spent on consultants to provide leadership mentors, monitor school-district systems and oversight, the majority of the costs are expected to recur annually as long as the plan is in place. Read More…

  • West Side might get K-8 charter school this fall - (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Nearby city schools are rated poorly
    The state’s largest charter-school operator is eyeing Columbus’ West Side as the perfect spot to open its first K-8 building in the city. Akron-based White Hat Management hopes to open a Signal Tree Academy in Columbus this fall that will focus on “21st Century Learning,” including technology and media, project-based teaching and global awareness. The private, for-profit charter operator runs two Life Skills Centers for high-school dropouts in the city. Read More…

  • Debate heats up over school choice – (Massillon Independent)

    • Without the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship program, Mary Sanchez would have sent her daughter, Shekinah, to kindergarten at Dueber Elementary five years ago. The school is one of nine in the Canton City Schools District considered low-performing, according to report-card data from the Ohio Department of Education. Read More…

  • Property tax decrease to hit school districts – (Hamilton Journal News)

    • All of Butler County’s 10 districts projected to receive less money.
    While local taxpayers will see a drop in their tax bills this year, it also means school districts will take a hit in the revenue they receive from the county. Each of Butler County’s 10 school districts are projected to receive less money in inside millage tax collection in 2012 than they did in 2011, and to make matters worse, tax delinquency rates are not included in those figures, a JournalNews analysis found. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

  • Students should make career choices earlier – (Columbus Dispatch)

    • In response to the Jan. 23 Dispatch article “ Credit college kids after year or two,” Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro is on the right track, but his idea needs to be tweaked. Petro's notion is that college students should be awarded a career-readiness certificate after one year and an associate degree after two years. I managed enrollments at a college for 13 years and found that the primary reason students did not persist in college was because they arrived completely unaware of why they were there. Three of my largest majors were “undecided,” “general studies,” and “none.” Read More…

School Principals Swamped by Teacher Evaluations

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"School Principals Swamped by Teacher Evaluations", that's the title of an article on an ABC News report this past weekend.

Sharon McNary believes in having tough teacher evaluations.

But these days, the Memphis principal finds herself rushing to cram in what amounts to 20 times the number of observations previously required for veteran teachers – including those she knows are excellent – sometimes to the detriment of her other duties.

"I don't think there's a principal that would say they don't agree we don't need a more rigorous evaluation system," says Ms. McNary, who is president of the Tennessee Principals Association as well as principal at Richland Elementary. "But now it seems that we've gone to [the opposite] extreme."
[...]
"There is no evidence that any of this works," says Carol Burris, a Long Island principal who co-authored an open letter of concern with more than 1,200 other principals in the state. "Our worry is that over time these practices are going to hurt kids and destroy the positive culture of our schools."
[...]
In Tennessee, the biggest complaint from many principals is simply the amount of time required from them for the new observation system. Veteran teachers, who in the past only needed to be evaluated every five years, now get four observations a year. Untenured teachers need six.

Each observation involves a complicated rubric and scoring system, discussions with the teacher before and afterward, and a written report – a total of perhaps two to four hours for each one, Ms. McNary estimates.

This last observation is one JTF talked about in one of our most popular articles.

Let's just think for a minute about these observations.

There must be 2 per year per teacher of at least 30 minutes each. 30 minutes + 30 minutes = 1 hour. 1 hour x 146,000 teachers = 146,000 hours of observation per year.

But these observers aren't just going to magically appear. They will need time to organize the observations, to get to the classes, to record their findings and to issue a report. Conservatively this adds another hour per year per teacher to the effort.

Now we are at 292,000 hours per year just for this provision alone.

If someone were to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year it would take them over 140 years to complete this task. Since these observations have to be completed annually that means we're going to need at least 140 more administrators just for this provision alone!

This dawning realization is also hitting home in Ohio now too,

Nordonia Hills is one of dozens of school districts across the state that are piloting the new evaluation program -- which state education officials have been working on for the past several years.

Superintendent Joe Clark said the district has been involved in the state's move to revamp the teacher evaluation process since he came on board in 2009 as assistant superintendent. Charged with performing human resource and personnel management for the district, Clark said he felt the teacher evaluation system needed a drastic upgrade.

This year, pilot evaluations are being conducted on six teachers -- three each at Nordonia High School and Ledgeview Elementary.

Nordonia hills has 236 teachers according to the Department of Education. It's taken them 3 years to get to the point of observing 6 of them.

Clark said many aspects of the program remain to be worked out. He said "student growth," one factor in the process, has yet to be specified, for example.

That student growth measure is 50% of the mandated evaluation. You can begin to see when we say Teacher evaluations are years away from completion, we're not exaggerating.

The Nordonia Hills superintendent did his own math

Clark said the process requires an evaluator -- typically the building principal or assistant principal -- to observe teachers in class twice for at least 30 minutes each time. The process also involves meetings prior to, and after each observation session.

Likewise, the new process is much more time consuming. Clark said evaluating 80 teachers at Nordonia High School would require 480 meetings.

"And that's not counting the time to write up the evaluations," Clark said, adding "How is that possible? There's only 180 school days in the year."

Teacher observations are an important and valuable tool for professional development and evaluation. Few would argue that. The problem becomes one of time and resources. HB153 was passed without any consideration to the mammoth amount of work needed to implement these corporate education reforms. Indeed, HB153, rather than add resources, cuts almost $2 billion dollars from public education.

It's going to be very convenient indeed for corporate education reformers to look upon this impending failure and blame everyone but themselves for not getting results. Why, it might even let them engage in more teacher and union bashing, and argue that their reforms failed because the status quo stood in the way.