Education News for 02-17-2012

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Statewide Education News

  • Ohio taking EdChoice scholarship applications (Blade)

    • Applications for EdChoice scholarships are now being accepted by the Ohio Department of Education. EdChoice scholarships are state-funded vouchers that pay for student tuition at private schools. Students whose designated public schools have received a rating of "academic watch" or "academic emergency" in two of the past three years or whose test scores ranked in the bottom 10 percent in the state are eligible for the vouchers. Read More…

  • Funding challenges continue for schools (News-Herald)

    • While much of the nation’s economy seems to be slowly recovering from years of trouble, many area school districts are still dealing with budget problems. In the past month, Riverside school announced the elimination of 25 teacher positions and Willoughby-Eastlake schools had to cut almost 90 jobs, including 50 teachers. More could be on the way should a March school levy fail. Many districts have had to seek out new ways to raise revenue to try to make up their deficits. Read More…

  • Academic-recovery plan vote expected (Vindicator)

    • Youngstown - The city schools’ Academic Distress Commission expects to vote next week on an updated recovery plan for the district that includes extensive community engagement, increased student choice and frameworks for principal- and teacher-training. The commission’s next meeting is 2 p.m. Thursday at P. Ross Berry Eighth and Ninth Grade Academy, 940 Bryn Mawr Ave., on the city’s East Side. At a meeting Thursday at Choffin Career and Technical Center, commission members reviewed a draft plan but took no action. Read More…

  • Are you an Ohio educator?

    • We invite you to join Ohio Teachers’ Homeroom, the new Facebook page from the Ohio Department of Education. It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news important to your career and to connect with colleagues around the state. We welcome you to share your ideas, lesson plans and comments with fellow Ohio educators. Find us here

National Stories of the Day

  • New analysis makes case for higher ranking for U.S. schools (USA Today)

    • The idea that U.S. public schools are falling behind the rest of the world is widely accepted, but a new analysis of international data suggests that using rankings to sort global winners from losers is often misguided, exaggerating tiny differences between countries that may be producing nearly identical results. In other words, maybe U.S. schools are not as bad as you might think. "Sometimes rankings can make small gaps appear big and vice versa," says researcher Tom Loveless of the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution think tank. Read More…

  • 'Value Added' Concept Proves Beneficial to Teacher Colleges (Education Week)

    • The use of “value added” information appears poised to expand into the nation’s teacher colleges, with more than a dozen states planning to use the technique to analyze how graduates of training programs fare in classrooms. Supporters say the data could help determine which teacher education pathways produce teachers who are at least as good as—or even better than—other novice teachers, spurring other providers to emulate their practices. Read More…

  • The Teaching Penalty (Economic Policy Institute)

    • Effective teachers are demonstrably the most important resource schools have for improving the academic success of their students (Hanushek and Rivkin 2006; Rice 2003). Yet for many school leaders, recruiting and retaining talented and effective classroom teachers remains an uphill battle. For decades, a small and declining fraction of the most cognitively skilled graduates have elected to enter the teaching profession (Corcoran, Evans, and Schwab 2004), while rigorous national standards and school-based accountability for student performance have pushed the demand for talented teachers to an all-time high. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Chardon Schools taking another look at open enrollment (News-Herald)

    • Chardon School District is taking a second look at open enrollment which could potentially deliver thousands of dollars to financially strained coffers. At a public meeting earlier this week Superintendent Joseph Bergant said the topic was discussed a few years ago but later shelved for several reasons including lack of support. Chardon and Kenston are the only two districts in Geauga County not offering open enrollment, which is the voluntary enrollment of a student in a public school other than the one assigned based on where they live. Read More…

  • North Canton board approves administrative changes (Beacon Journal)

    • NORTH CANTON - The Board of Education approved two administrative staff changes Wednesday night, in one case over the objections of two board members. Greentown Elementary Principal Bryan McKenzie will become instructional supervisor for the district. Hoover High Associate Principal Jeff Breit was named principal of Greentown. The moves take effect at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Read More…

Desperate Times in Cleveland

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In our ongoing effort to report on the Cleveland Schools "reform" plan, here is a recent article written by education historian Diane Ravitch

I recently went to Cleveland to speak to the City Club, where civic leaders gather every Friday to hear from people in different fields. I wanted to talk with educators as well, so I spoke to the Cleveland Teachers Union on the evening of Feb. 2, and to district administrators on Feb. 3, before addressing the City Club.

On my drive from the airport with Jan Resseger, the minister for public education for the United Church of Christ, we passed through several neighborhoods. First, Shaker Heights, an elegant suburban enclave with outstanding schools. Then East Cleveland, a very different suburb, marked by blocks of boarded-up apartment houses and sealed homes, as well as empty lots where vacant houses had been demolished. These were once-functional neighborhoods that had died. So devastated was the landscape, I thought I might be in a Third World country. In central Cleveland, many houses had windows covered with plywood, and many retail stores were empty. To put it mildly, this city is economically depressed.

After I spoke to the teachers, one came up and introduced herself as a 4th grade teacher. She said: "Thank you for giving me hope. I wish I could give some to my students. They have no hope for the future." That was the saddest thing I heard on my visit.

Cleveland has a level of urban decay that is alarming. Yet its municipal leaders have decided that their chief problem is bad teachers. Surely, I thought, the teachers didn't cause the flight of employers from the city, the collapse of its manufacturing base, and the massive loss of home mortgages.

But sure enough, Cleveland—and the state of Ohio—plans to attack its economic woes by creating more charter schools and supplying merit pay to teachers able to raise test scores. The leaders want to make it easier to fire teachers and to remove seniority. That's the mayor's plan to reform education in Cleveland. Mayor Frank Jackson, like Governor John Kasich, thinks that school choice is the remedy for the education woes of Cleveland and Ohio. So, of course, they both want more charters.

Cleveland has had mayoral control since 1995, so if mayoral control was the answer to urban woes, it should have happened here. It hasn't. Cleveland is one of the poorest, most racially segregated, and lowest-performing districts in the nation. According to data in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Cleveland's school population is 85 percent black and Hispanic, and 100 percent of its students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Ohio has made a big bet on charter schools. It has an aggressive and entrepreneurial charter sector. About 100,000 of the state's 1.8 million students are enrolled in charter schools, but charter enrollment is far higher in the state's "Big 8" urban districts. About 25 percent (give or take a point or two) of students attend charters in Dayton, Youngstown, Cleveland, and Toledo.

The average public school teacher in Cleveland is paid about $66,000, while the average charter school teacher in that city receives about $33,000 a year. That's a big cost saving for the city and state. Most charters are non-union, and teachers have no job protections or employment rights. It appears that charters have a business plan in which they keep costs low by teacher turnover, low levels of experience, and low salaries.

As in other states, charters in Ohio get no better academic results on average than regular public schools. There are more charters at the bottom in the state's academic rating ("academic emergency" or "academic watch"), but not much difference in the middle or at the top. A study in 2009 by CREDO of Stanford found that "new charter school students have an initial loss of learning in both reading and math compared to their counterparts in traditional public schools. In subsequent years, charter school students receive no significant benefit in reading from charter school attendance compared to their counterparts in traditional public schools. However, charter school students continue significant losses of learning in math after the first year of attendance."

The biggest charter chain in Ohio is White Hat Management, a for-profit corporation run by Akron businessman David Brennan. Brennan and his family have contributed millions of dollars to Republican candidates over the past decade. White Hat manages 46 charter schools, both online and free-standing, most in Ohio. State law gives the corporation power to hire and fire board members as well as staff members. Board members in 10 White Hat schools sued the management company to find out where the money was going; management has received hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding, and the boards said they didn't know where the money was spent. State law gives the corporation ownership of everything purchased with taxpayer dollars.

Just last week, an Ohio court ruled that White Hat must open its books to individual charter boards, if they request to see them. But at the same time, the company is under no obligation to reveal its spending of public funds to public officials. This really illustrates the essence of privatization. A public entity must open its books to public scrutiny. The legislature could fix this, but it is hard to imagine that it would get tough with one of the state's major Republican contributors.

There's nothing special about the performance of this particular charter chain. According to information compiled by NPR in Ohio, "No Ohio White Hat school earned higher than the equivalent of a "C" on the state report cards. Most are in academic watch or emergency." In the company's view, the state grades are unimportant; all that matters is that parents are making a choice.

Ohio has also been fertile territory for virtual schools, some of which are owned by White Hat. The state has pumped more than $1 billion into them over the past decade, but they have gotten disappointing results. Of 23 e-schools in Ohio, only three were rated "effective" by the state. InnovationOhio, a watchdog group in the state, concluded that the e-schools are "vastly underperforming" and that "children are nearly 10 times more likely to receive an 'effective' education in traditional public school than they are in E- schools." But, quite frankly, sponsors of these schools make huge amounts of money, and where there is money, there are lobbyists and campaign contributions.

Governor Kasich also wants more vouchers for Ohio. Cleveland has had vouchers since 1995. Students who use vouchers to attend private schools in Cleveland perform no better on state tests than students in regular Cleveland public schools. When you consider that Cleveland is one of the lowest-performing school districts in the nation on NAEP, this doesn't say much for the power of vouchers as a tool to "rescue" students or to improve achievement or even test scores.

Yet there you have it. The leaders of one of the most economically depressed and racially segregated cities in the nation have decided that the answer to its problems is to fire teachers, close public schools, expand the number of charters, and possibly to expand the voucher program as well.

In the eyes of Ohio's elected officials, evidence about the past performance of charters and vouchers means nothing.

And about those children in the 4th grade in Cleveland who have no hope for the future, who probably live in one of those desolate neighborhoods surrounded by boarded-up homes and empty lots. There is nothing in the mayor or governor's plans to offer them hope. The illusion of hope, perhaps.

But they aren't thinking about those children. They are thinking about how to cut costs. They will keep hiring private firms to run schools. The private firms will fire those expensive teachers who earn a living wage and hire newcomers willing to work long hours for $30,000 a year. Some of the private firms will replace teachers with virtual academies, so those expensive buildings can be shuttered while children sit at a computer, with one teacher monitoring 50-100 or more screens. The "teachers" may not be certified, may be hourly workers with no benefits, may turn over with frequency. All that cuts costs, too.

There's lots in these plans to give hope to political allies of the electeds. But not much to give hope to the children.

Diane

As teacher merit pay spreads, one noted voice cries, ‘It doesn’t work’

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Merit pay for teachers, an idea kicked around for decades, is suddenly gaining traction.

Fervently promoted by Michelle A. Rhee when she was chancellor of the District’s public schools, the concept is picking up steam from a growing cadre of politicians who think one way to improve the country’s troubled schools is to give fat bonuses to good teachers.

The Obama administration has encouraged states to embrace merit pay, highlighting it as one step that states could take to compete for more than $4 billion in federal funds through the Race to the Top program. Indiana and Florida passed legislation that requires merit pay for teachers; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) announced a few weeks ago that he wants the same.

The most recent convert: New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I). “This is an idea whose time has come,” Bloomberg declared at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting last month. “I’m confident that if the teachers are allowed to decide the matter for themselves, they’ll support it in New York City just the way they did here in Washington, D.C.”

What if they’re all wrong?

Meet Daniel Pink, author of the 2009 bestseller “Drive.” He’s a former White House speechwriter, a student of social science, a highly sought-after lecturer and an influential voice when it comes to what motivates Americans in the workplace.

What does he think of merit pay for teachers?

“It doesn’t work.”

[readon2 url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-teacher-merit-pay-spreads-one-noted-voice-cries-it-doesnt-work/2012/02/14/gIQAtRpsFR_story.html"]Continue reading[/readon2]

This Daniel Pink TED talk from 2009 has more than 1,000,000 views on YouTube.com. In it, Pink discusses how traditional incentives aren't effective in the modern workplace.

Education News for 02-16-2012

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Statewide Education News

  • Regents to share office space with education department (Dispatch)

    • They may not be ready for marriage, but Ohio’s primary-, secondary- and higher-education systems plan to move in together later this year. The Ohio Board of Regents is preparing to leave its Downtown offices in the Rhodes Tower and move a block and a half to the state Department of Education’s building on Front Street. The move — expected this summer — will allow the two agencies to better collaborate on several efforts, including the shared goal of ensuring that all high-school graduates are academically prepared for college. It also should save money. Read More…

  • Study shows woeful state of school budgets (News-Herald)

    • If your child attends a school experiencing or nearing a budget shortfall, he or she is far from being alone. A recent study of state schools by Policy Matters Ohio shows two out of three districts lack sufficient funds to make ends meet. “Schools across the state — poor, wealthy and in between — revealed alarming levels of fiscal distress,” said Piet van Lier, education researcher and one of the report authors. “The cuts being discussed — to staffing levels, course offering, arts and extra-curriculars — will hurt Ohio students.” Read More…

  • Are you an Ohio educator?

    • We invite you to join Ohio Teachers’ Homeroom, the new Facebook page from the Ohio Department of Education. It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news important to your career and to connect with colleagues around the state. We welcome you to share your ideas, lesson plans and comments with fellow Ohio educators. Find us here

Local Issues

  • Budget, staff cuts proposed by district (News-Sun)

    • MECHANICSBURG — School officials plan to slash $750,000 from the district’s budget and reduce its staff by about 14 percent as it faces a long-term deficit and a still struggling local economy. For local parents and students, it will mean fewer options for classes, fewer bus routes and new fees to participate in sports, among other changes. Dan Kaffenbarger, district superintendent, said the recommended cuts could eliminate as many as 15 positions, including one teacher each in physical education, Spanish, art, music, industrial technology and a part-time agricultural position. Read More…

  • Youngstown schools system facing a challenging future (Vindicator)

    • Just when it seemed that the em-battled Youngstown City School District had weathered the worst of the financial and academic storms, it was hit with a lightning bolt that has jeopardized its future. The Ohio Department of Education recently informed Superintendent Connie Hathorn that the district will lose $4 million in funding from the state. The reason: The loss of more than 500 students, as determined by the official October enrollment count. In the public education system in Ohio, the money follows the student. Read More…

Editorial

  • Schools need sunshine (Dispatch)

    • A recent ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John F. Bender should establish an important principle from here on: Whoever is spending tax dollars to educate students in charter schools should have to make that spending transparent. Charter schools are public schools, and the public is entitled to an accounting of how tax dollars are spent. Accordingly, Bender recently ruled in favor of 10 charter schools that contracted with Akron-based White Hat Management to run the schools, but later sued the company because it refused to disclose its spending and claimed ownership of the desks, computers and other equipment bought for the schools with tax dollars. Read More…

  • Change orders (Beacon Journal)

    • David James, the superintendent of the city schools, plans to recommend that the Akron Board of Education close three elementary schools at the end of this school year. Neighborhood residents are not likely to welcome the school closings, but the proposal is crucial for more efficient management of the public school system. In 2003, when Akron voters approved an increase in the city income tax to finance school construction, the facilities list for the Akron Public Schools featured 58 buildings the district reckoned would have to be rebuilt or renovated during 15 years. The joint state and local construction project, with an estimated price tag of $800 million, has progressed with gratifying efficiency. Read More…

Education News for 02-15-2012

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Statewide News

  • Preparing students for the next step – (The Oxford Press)

    • Just as technology and highly skilled jobs make the world smaller, they’re also making the “real world” more difficult to get into. That’s what area school districts and students are learning as high schools move more from achieving minimum competence to making sure students are ready for college and careers. Read More…

  • New State law gives school districts reach to punish cyberbullying – (Hamilton Journal News)

    • A new state law gives school districts the authority to suspend students who send a text or post something on the Internet that is deemed to be harrassing, intimidating or bullying to another student. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Cleveland school district plan draws enthusiasm, concern from state school board – (Plain Dealer)

    • State school board members, hearing details this morning of Mayor Frank Jackson's plan (PlanFinal.pdf) to overhaul the education of Cleveland children, reacted with a mixture of concern, cautious optimism and outright enthusiasm. Read More…

  • Cleveland school district seeks to fill seats at best-performing schools – (Plain Dealer)

    • Hundreds of seats have gone unfilled all school year at some of Cleveland's best-performing schools, unused while students remain in schools that struggle. Read More…

  • Social Networking Allows Bullies To Follow Teens Home – (WLWT-Cincinnati)

    • Teenage bullying is a problem in every school district, and social networking allows bullies to follow teens wherever they go. A Lakota teen asked friends to click to "like" a posting if they wanted to see her punch a particular classmate, said the victim's aunt. Read More…

  • Circleville teacher resigns amid misconduct allegations – (Chillicothe Gazette)

    • An investigation into his professional conduct prompted a Circleville High School teacher to resign from his job this past week. Matt Thornsley, of McLean Hill Road, Circleville, tendered his resignation "without admission of wrongdoing," according to the letter addressed to the Circleville Board of Education. Read More…

  • Monroe steps back from fiscal cliff

    • MONROE — Monroe Local Schools are creating two community committees to help it navigate its projected $4.5 million deficit, including one aimed at a fiscal-watch recovery plan. Read More…

  • Granville considering student-activity fees – (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Just as Newark schools are suspending student-activity fees to pay for sports and other extracurricular activities, a neighboring Licking County district is considering charging fees starting next fall. Granville schools are blaming their need for activity fees on the state, which accelerated the effect of ending the tangible personal-property tax. Read More…

  • Kettering School Board moves forward to fire Brian Donoher – (Dayton Daily News)

    • The Kettering School Board on Tuesday took a first step toward dismissing Brian Donoher, the athletic director at Kettering Fairmont High School. At its regular meeting, the board approved a recommendation to consider terminating his contract “for good and just cause.” Read More…

  • C-TEC staff members strive to be 'biggest loser'

    • A poached salmon salad was the most popular menu item this past week at the C-TEC Bistro.
    The restaurant, which serves as a lab experience for seniors in the Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County's culinary program, started serving "Biggest Loser" lunch options this past week to go along with a staff contest to lose weight during the next 10 weeks. Read More…

  • State says no to VB teachers – (Findlay Courier)

    • The state has said no to the Van Buren Education Association for a second time.
    The association, which represents teachers in the northern Hancock County school district, had asked the state to reconsider its October decision to deny an unfair labor practice complaint against the Van Buren school board. But late last week, the State Employment Relations Board again declined the request. Read More…

Ohio's Draft Waiver for NCLB

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The Ohio Department of Education has a draft waiver for NCLB. The headline making change is to move away from the current school ranking system to a letter grade (A-f). Other proposals in the draft include:

  • Changing the current differentiated accountability system to identify and support the lowest performing Title 1 schools.
  • Greater flexibility in the use of federal professional development funds as a trade off with the higher standards and transparency in the accountability system.
  • Schools and districts will need to complete fewer forms and reports to use federal dollars.
  • Focusing on low-achieving schools to ensure compliance with reform models and mandates, including those in the state budget (HB 153).
  • Ensuring a system of rewards and recognitions exist for districts and schools that meet designated achievement levels or levels of expected growth.
  • Improving federally approved Differentiated Accountability Model and ensuring that it aligns with state accountability system and consequence.
  • Phasing out the Highly Qualified Teachers measure on report card and as data used to determine equitable distribution of teachers and replacing it with four evaluation effectiveness ratings.
  • Continuing to expand and provide technical support for school-wide pooling of funds in eligible buildings and expanding transferability to allow schools in improvement status to transfer Title funding.
  • Optional flexibility to permit community learning centers to use 21st century funds in supporting expanded learning time during the school day in addition to non-school hours, according to the draft.

Further information can be found here at the ODE website.