Education News for 04-18-2012

Statewide Education News

• Ohio takes aim at reducing achievement gap (EdWeek)

Estimates in Ohio suggest that at the current rate of progress, black fifth-graders will be reading on par with white fifth-graders in the year 2315. Third-graders they will start to pass reading exams at the same rate in 2102. Read More…

• Schools, teachers seek delay in grading (Columbus Dispatch)

Leaders of teachers unions and education groups urged lawmakers yesterday to delay rolling out a tougher school grading system proposed by Gov. John Kasich, but the administration is not backing down. “We want them (the new rankings) in yesterday,” Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said. “No one is backing away and saying we need additional time. We are not seeking a delay. We want to see this go into effect this year.” The new system for grading schools and school districts will begin with report cards issued by the Ohio Department of Education this summer. Simulations show that most schools will drop a full letter grade, maybe two.Read More…

• CPS to lose fewer students to private schools (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Cincinnati Public schools will lose fewer students than expected next year to private schools and state-funded vouchers, a school official said Tuesday. Only 899 new students applied for new Educational Choice scholarships for the upcoming school year, said Janet Walsh, a Cincinnati Public spokeswoman. That’s down from 1,078 EdChoice applicants from CPS last year and it’s far below the 1,377 students district officials had projected to lose this spring, she said. Read More…

• School-voucher programs prove popular (Columbus Dispatch)

More than 17,400 applications for students to attend private schools using taxpayer-funded vouchers were filed for next school year, a slight increase over last year. An additional 1,544 requests for a new special-needs voucher program were made by Sunday’s deadline. Among the 17,438 applications for an Educational Choice Scholarship were 3,814 new applicants. That deadline was Friday. About 17,000 applications were filed last year to use vouchers this school year. Read More…

• Fewer Lima families seeking vouchers (Lima News)

LIMA — For the first time since the state began its voucher program, the Lima City School District is seeing fewer families wanting to leave the district. Twenty-eighty fewer pupils have applied for EdChoice scholarships. The last day to apply for a scholarship for next school year was Friday. Not all of those applying will necessarily get a scholarship. Read More…

• Bill would hold school, government fiscal officers accountable (Columbus Dispatch)

School and government treasurers could be suspended or removed if they don’t keep proper records and spend taxpayer money appropriately, a bill introduced yesterday in the General Assembly says.

The bill was prompted by several high-profile cases of misspending and theft, state Auditor Dave Yost said in introducing the Fiscal Integrity Act. Read More…

• Your guide to how Ohio writes inoffensive test questions (State Impact Ohio)

Tenth graders across the state spent much of their time last month taking tests — the Ohio Graduation Tests to be specific. The OGT’s are given in five subject areas, and some students found one question on the Social Studies portion of the exam objectionable. The question asked: “After the Holocaust, many Jews felt that they needed a state of their own in order to provide security for the Jewish people. In 1948, the state of Israel was formed. Many Arabs disagreed with this action. Identify two perspectives of many Arabs that explain their objection to the establishment of Israel.”

The Ohio Jewish Communities, a registered lobbying group, petitioned the Ohio Department of Education to remove that question, alleging bias that offended some Jewish students. After review, state officials concluded the phrasing was inappropriate and won’t be used again. Read More…

• One big difference between Ohio and Florida Standardized Tests (State Impact Florida)

Our friends at StateImpact Ohio have an interesting look at how Ohio comes up with the wording on its standardized tests. By committee, of course. A controversy over a question about the Arab perception of the creation of Israel prompted concerns that the questions might not be without bias. Read More…

Local Issues

• Teen who cared for mom wins bid to take part in graduation (Canton Repository)

CARROLLTON —Teri Fisher had a goal in mind as she battled Stage IV cancer last fall. She wanted to survive long enough to see her son, Austin, graduate from Carrollton High School. Her cancer went into remission in early March, and her goal will be realized thanks to the power of the Internet and a loyal community. Austin, 17, had been told by school principals that he would not be participating in the commencement ceremony in May because he had 16 unexcused absences in the first semester — two more than the amount allowed by the district.Read More…

• Silent support for “Fish” at Carrollton BOE meeting (New Philadelphia Times- Reporter)

CARROLLTON — Many supporters of Austin Fisher came to the meeting of the Carrollton Board of Education on Tuesday night. But they only spoke with their signs. Supporters had been organizing all day Tuesday with hopes that school administrators would change their mind and that Austin Fisher would be able to attend not only his graduation, but also the senior prom, and go on the senior class trip to Cedar Point. Read More…

• Cleveland board votes to trim teaching staff next year (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland school board voted Tuesday to trim an eighth of its teaching staff in the upcoming school year because of budget troubles and a falling number of students. The district will also shorten its school day through eighth grade by 50 minutes next school year and cut the number of music, art, library and gym classes for those students as part of the shuffling of staff to handle the layoffs. The elimination of more than 500 teachers -- all in kindergarten through eighth grade -- through layoffs and a retirement incentive is a major part of district Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon's plan to resolve a $65 million budget deficit for next school year. The layoffs are expected to cover about $40 million of the $65 million. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

• Apply common sense with the rules (Lima News)

It's likely no one was upset when the Carrollton, Ohio, school district said students who miss more than a certain number of days wouldn't walk in the graduation ceremony. But such rules should come with flexibility for extremely unusual circumstances. A student missing school to care for his dying mother would strike most people as an extremely usual circumstance.Read More…

I Don't Understand Michelle Rhee

A must read

Of all the images of Rhee, the one that sticks in my head is when she invited a PBS film crew to watch her fire a principal. She said to the crew: "I'm going to fire somebody in a little while. Do you want to see that?" Of course they did, and they filmed it. It was then that I realized that she enjoys hurting people. She enjoys watching people suffer.

In another infamous incident, Rhee told an audience of young teachers that when she was a teacher, she controlled her restless class by putting duct tape on their mouths; when the tape came off, their lips were bleeding. Apparently, the audience found that act of child abuse very funny.

Today Rhee is a national figure. Her organization claims to have a million members, though I hear that anyone who goes to her website is automatically registered as a member. StudentsFirst sends out deceptive email solicitations—I received one myself—asking the recipient if you want to see a great teacher in every classroom. Rhee's name does not appear anywhere on the email. If you answer yes, you are registered as a "member" of StudentsFirst. I don't understand this kind of deceptive marketing on behalf of someone who claims to be concerned about education.

Her organization allegedly has raised more than $200 million and is well on its way to raising $1 billion. This money will be used to attack teachers' unions; to strip teachers of any job protections; to promote vouchers, charters, and for-profit organizations that manage charter schools; and to fund candidates who want to reduce spending on public education and privatize it. I have heard rumors about big-name donors to Rhee, but can't verify them. StudentsFirst does not release the names of its contributors.

Let me add that I find offensive the very concept of "StudentsFirst." The basic idea is that teachers are selfish and greedy and do not have the interests of students at heart. So students need a champion to protect them against their venal teachers, and Rhee is that champion. Supposedly, Rhee and her allies—assorted billionaires, big corporations, wealthy foundations, and rightwing governors—are the only people who can be trusted to care about our nation's children. A New York City writer, Gail Robinson, recently challenged Rhee's claim to be above self-interest after Rhee announced that she was bringing her campaign to New York City.

Voucher welfare for big business

State Representatives Brenner, Patmon, Driehaus, Barnes, Butler, Maag, Newbold, Henne, Yuko, Young, Sears, Wachtmann, McClain, Huffman, Boose, Adams, J., Beck, Uecker, Stebelton, and Blessing have introduced HB242 which will "authorize nonrefundable tax credits for donations to nonprofit entities providing scholarships to low-income students enrolling in chartered nonpublic schools".

According to LSC the bill will;

• Allow a nonrefundable credit against the income tax or certain business taxes for taxpayers who donate to nonprofit educational scholarship organizations that provide scholarships to lower-income students attending chartered nonpublic schools.
• Authorize annual credits of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,500 for joint filers, if the individual or joint filer is not a pass-through entity owner, and up to $300,000 for other taxpayers.
• Limit the total amount of such credits to $20 million in fiscal year 2010, and increases the credit ceiling each year by 20% over the previous year's ceiling if the previous year's ceiling is reached.
• Prohibit credits for donations designated for a specific child.

There is nothing in the bill however the limit the institution where the money can flow to. One can easily see the scenario where a "business" donates the maximum $300,000 to a fund, and gets a full tax credit for that amount - i.e. free money - and that business donation flows right back to a specific school.

In effect this bill simply expands the pool of voucher money by another $20 million - with a provision that it can grow by an additional 20% each year after the first.

This bill is nothing more than corporate welfare for the donors and the recipient private schools. Tax payers dollars should be used to fund public schools. That is the constitutional duty of the legislature, not to dole out precious money to private enterprise.

Education News for 04-17-2012

Statewide Education News

• Reports of Delay on New, Tougher School Rating System May Be Exaggerated (State Impact Ohio)

Last week, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner said schools would likely get “a year’s reprieve” from a tougher school report card system. Those new grades are called for in Ohio’s application to the U.S. Department of Education for freedom from some parts of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The application says the new grading system would be rolled out in 2011 and 2012. Read More…

• New state report card makes top rating tougher to reach (Delaware News)

New state report cards will make it a lot more difficult for Ohio school districts to earn the top rating. A total of 352 out of the state's 609 districts earned "Excellent" or "Excellent with Distinction" ratings on last year's report cards, which show how well districts meet Ohio Department of Education standards. Read More…

Local Issues

• Fostoria school board seeks waiver (Findlay Courier)

FOSTORIA -- Like many school districts in the area, Fostoria school board on Monday approved a resolution to seek a waiver of the state's body mass index screening requirement for the 2012-13 school year. The state guidelines require screening of kindergarten, third-, fifth- and ninth-grade students prior to May 1. The district received a waiver last school year and this year. After Monday's meeting, Deb Pirolli, director of student services, said procedures for administering the program have not been clarified by the state. Read More…

• School makes $1M in cuts (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

AUSTINTOWN - Tom Sellers acknowledged that he and other district officials were uneasy during most of the school board's meeting on Monday. Before dozens of residents and staff the school board voted to make cuts amounting to about $1 million including $700,000 in transportation - the hardest hit department. Read More…

• “Tribute tree' brings comfort to community in wake of Chardon High shooting (Willoughby News Herald)

Gifts of all types poured into Chardon School District in the aftermath of the February shooting that killed three students and wounded three others. Wagons full of flowers and food were shipped to staff and students from those touched by the incident. But Newbury Township artist Carol Hummel and her daughter Molly Sedensky had a different idea. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

• Youngstown schools district needs experienced treasurer (Youngstown Vindicator)

Although the Youngstown city schools system shed its state-designated fiscal emergency status more than a year ago, its finances are far from stable. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to describe the future of the urban district as bleak. With the loss of $4 million in funding from the state as a result of more than 500 students departing, major decisions must be made regarding the overall operation. Read More…

Has the Tide Turned Against ALEC?

If a children’s book were written about ALEC, the group that bills itself as an association of conservative lawmakers and supporters, it might be called “The Very Greedy Octopus.” It would read like one of those creepy 19^th-century fairly tales that most parents would never, ever read to their young ones—it’s just too scary.

For nearly four decades, the American Legislative Exchange Council has been working in the shadowy deep to rewrite the nation’s laws in favor of the wealthiest corporations and CEOs, no matter the loss to working families, communities of color, the environment or public education. One sad chapter in the book would tell how that sneaky, selfish octopus saw a school of fish and thought, “Hey, these schools are everywhere—how can I cash in?”

That’s right: ALEC has made it a top priority to fundamentally change the nation’s public school system, not only to divert taxpayer dollars to money-making ventures, but also to squeeze the life out of the unions that protect educators’ ability to advocate for students. Education-focused ALEC bills are tailored state to state, but many push to:

• Privatize education through charter schools, voucher programs and tax incentives, obscuring these programs’ true purpose with positive names like “parent choice” and “innovation schools”
• Clear the way for online (often for-profit) at-home schooling options that benefit corporations, not students
• Reduce local control of schools by school boards and parents, and increase the influence of the private sector
• Use “marketplace standards” to evaluate educators and students, which means more standardized testing and reporting
• Obliterate the unions that help keep our tax dollars working for students and schools

Trampling public education is just part of the story of ALEC—it has lots of other arms out there, and one has a chokehold on voters’ rights. The group’s efforts to disenfranchise those most likely to vote ALEC members out of office through laws meant to confuse and disqualify them on Election Day are well documented.

[readon2 url="http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/2012/04/12/the-story-of-alec-help-us-write-the-ending/"]Continue reading, and find out how you can help loosen ALEC’s grip[/readon2]

Education News for 04-16-2012

Statewide Education News

• State to target achievement gaps among students (Dispatch)

If nothing changes, black fifth-graders won’t be reading on par with white fifth-graders in Ohio for another 303 years, the state estimates. For third-graders, it would be 90 years before black and white students pass reading exams at the same rate. State officials say those alarming estimates show that schools need to act quickly to make sure groups of students who are behind are catching up with their peers. Read More…

• Project learning 101 at Winton Woods (Enquirer)

In classrooms across the country, a pendulum is swinging. On one side is the predominant belief that students learn best through direct instruction – teachers lecturing and students listening, taking notes and proving on tests what they’ve learned. On the other side is what some say is a more progressive form of education, in which students collaborate on projects and problems and learn from each other by asking, doing and exploring. The teacher is merely a facilitator. This “project-based” or “problem-based” learning is where many schools should be heading, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Stan Heffner told The Enquirer last week. Read More…

Local Issues

• Special ed spending soars in some districts (Hamilton Journal News)

In the past decade, the cost of educating special needs children has skyrocketed while the numbers of children with disabilities have shown only modest increases. An analysis of data from the Ohio auditor and the Ohio Department of Education shows that Butler County public school districts spent 158 percent more on special education between 2001 and 2010 while the number of special needs children has risen by 14 percent. Read More…

• Cleveland mayor takes on teacher union over reform (Associated Press)

CLEVELAND - The mayor wants to give his hand-picked superintendent the power to reassign bad teachers, reshape failing schools and stagger class times without union contract barriers. Mayor Frank Jackson, the only Ohio mayor who controls schools through an appointed board, angered fellow Democrats and the party's labor allies by challenging timeworn teacher union contracts. "What we will not accept is incremental change or the belief that everything is OK and we should continue down the same path," he said in a city hall interview. "That is not acceptable to us." Read More…

• Future cloudy for alternative school existence (Chillicothe Gazette)

CHILLICOTHE -- The Ross-Pike Educational Service District might shutter its alternative school after Ross County's school superintendents said they're unlikely to send students there in the future. "It's a possibility," Ross-Pike ESD Superintendent Steve Martin said of the rumored closure. "It's a possibility every year." Martin confirmed, at a recent meeting, the superintendents indicated they probably would stop using the alternative school as a disciplinary tool for disruptive students beginning with the 2012-13 school year. Read More…

• Westfall discipline case raises questions about public files (Chilicothe Gazette)

WILLIAMSPORT -- A principal is without a job and a teacher is on thin ice after a recent personnel investigation at Westfall High School that was conducted mostly behind closed doors. Tom Lehman, the school's principal since August 2008, agreed to resign April 5, ending an investigation that began in February with questions about his professional conduct. Superintendent Cara Riddel said she often had clashed with Lehman since joining the district in summer 2011, but it was his violation of part of the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators that led to his suspension Feb. 21 and ultimately his resignation. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

• Hold charter schools to task (Warren Chronicle Tribune)

Charter schools - private institutions operating with subsidies from the government - can provide invaluable alternatives to public education in some areas. But they have to play by the rules, too. That has not been the case in Ohio for many years, to judge by revelations about financial mismanagement at some charter schools. Read More…