Education News for 05-08-2012

Statewide Education News

• Kasich school plan may change (Dispatch)

Republican leaders in the Senate plan to slow down Gov. John Kasich’s initiatives for holding back third-graders who aren’t proficient in reading and for a tougher report-card rating system for schools and districts. Under the Senate plan, new report cards would be issued by Sept. 1, 2013, for the 2012-13 school year, not this summer for the current school year. And the so-called reading guarantee would start in the 2013-14 school year, instead of this fall. Read More…

Local Issues

• School bus drivers test skills on safety course (WLIO-Lima)

They drive our kids to school every day. Rarely do parents second guess the skills of school bus drivers. For the drivers, the safety of the children is of the up-most importance. To help improve their safe driving skills, bus drivers took to the course as part of the regional school bus safety Road-E-O Saturday. Driving a car through an obstacle course of cones may be difficult for some people, but imagine doing it in a 30 to 40 foot school bus. That is exactly what area bus drivers did Saturday morning, helping to sharpen their driving skills. Read More…

• Animals on loose not considered ‘calamity’ for closed schools (Dispatch)

Unsure whether lions, tigers and bears remained loose near Zanesville, three Muskingum County school districts canceled classes the day after Terry Thompson released his menagerie of exotic pets and shot himself in the head. A calamity? Read More…

• Effort Underway To Repeal Westerville School Levy (NBC-4, Columbus)

The levy controversy in Westerville just won't go away. Even though voters approved a 6.71-mill emergency operating levy in March, voters may soon see a levy issue on their November ballot as well. However, the new issue would be to repeal the levy. Monday, the group Taxpayers for Westerville Schools began collecting signatures in an effort to repeal the levy. Read More…

• Official: Public can fight school privatization (Vindicator)

To stop privatization of public education, citizens need to become active. “Go to hearings, send 10 million emails to the governor and the legislators,” William L. Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, told about 200 people at Boardman High School Monday. Phillis was a speaker at a public forum sponsored by township schools and the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, Read More…

• Salem bus drivers treated to breakfast on their ‘day’ (Salem News)

SALEM - City school bus drivers received a pat on the back Monday as part of School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Ohio. "They do an awesome job of keeping our kids safe," Salem City Schools Transportation Supervisor Tom Mather said about his drivers. As for the kids, he said "they're safer in a school bus than any other form of transportation." Read More…

• Eastmoor neighbors concerned about Africentric relocation plan (Dispatch)

Residents of the northern end of Eastmoor say they have a lot of questions about Columbus City Schools’ plans to move Columbus Africentric Early College to a former apartment complex near them. In the meantime, Bexley-area officials remain interested in using the old Woodland Meadows property even after the campus is built. They met with Columbus school-district officials yesterday, Columbus schools spokesman Jeff Warner said. Read More…

• State dept. of education recognizes local teacher (Chillicothe Gazette)

A Ross County educator recently was recognized by the Ohio Department of Education for her local leadership as an advocate for families and young children. Maryjo Flamm-Miller, program specialist for Ross County Job & Family Services, received the 2012 Irene Bandy-Heddon Community Leadership Award from ODE's Office of Early Learning and School Readiness. The Community Leadership award was one of several awarded during a conference April 21 in Columbus. Read More…

Education News for 05-07-2012

Statewide Education News

• Why Lions, Tigers and Bears Roaming the ‘Hood Aren’t a Free Pass to Skip School Days (State Impact Ohio)

A sign warns passing motorists about exotic animals on the loose from a wildlife preserve October 19, 2011 in Zanesville. Ohio state law doesn’t recognize lions, tigers, bears and a monkey with Herpes roaming the neighborhood as an acceptable reason to close schools. Read More…

• Lectures by videocast; assignments at school (Newark Advocate)

Tami Fitzgerald spends virtually no time lecturing to her Advanced Placement physics class. At least, not in person. Instead, she comes into the students' study halls and living rooms by way of videocast. Students watch her lectures instead of the usual homework. Then, when they come to class the next day, they work on assignments that traditionally would have been assigned as homework. Read More…

• Principal roles changing for 21st century schools (Dayton Daily News)

There was a time when principals were mostly known as building managers, the people in charge of making sure of two things: Maintaining discipline when a student became too disruptive for the teacher and keeping office supplies stocked. Read More…

Local Issues

• Ruby Weems, who founded and ran the Weems School: Whatever happened to ...? (Plain Dealer)

Whatever happened to Ruby Weems, who founded and ran the Weems School and is responsible for paying back taxpayer money that was improperly spent there? The other shoe hasn't dropped yet in the case in the case of Weems, which illustrates just how long and complicated the process can be. Her Tremont charter school was shut down by its sponsor, Cincinnati-based Educational Resource Consultants of Ohio, in 2009. Read More…

• Schools look for solutions to challenges of new technology (Lancaster Eagle Gazette)

Back in the good ol' days when a cellphone could only call and text, defining on and off school grounds was as simple as drawing a line. But now, in the age of smartphones and Facebook, school districts are struggling with how to address use of these technologies. This year, school districts are rewriting policies to comply with two new rules. The first is the Jessica Logan Act, signed into law in February, which requires school districts to address cyberbullying. Read More…

• Dragonfly Academy director defends school (Canton Repository)

The director of Dragonfly Academy said she welcomes any state investigation involving the private school for autistic children. Dragonfly will reopen on Monday, Brianne Bixby-Nightingale, the school’s chief executive officer, said in an email Saturday. Read More…

• TPS summer school returns (Toledo Blade)

Summer school is back after a two-year hiatus at Toledo Public Schools. Canceled in 2010 because enrollments were too low to cover its costs, summer school's resurgence is thanks to a new, cheaper format. Students will use a computer-based curriculum to take courses they missed or failed, saving staffing costs. The format also means fewer students need to enroll. Read More…

• Schools might not be eligible for calamity days because of animal escape incident (Zanesville Times Recorder)

The three school districts that canceled classes for a day in the wake of the release of dozens of exotic animals from the Thompson farm in October might not be able to declare a calamity day. West Muskingum, Maysville and Zanesville City schools are required to make up the lost day of class work, according to current Ohio law. Read More…

• Other Ohio school districts trying shared superintendents (Marietta Times)

The Warren Local and Fort Frye Local school districts' agreement Wednesday to share current Warren Local Superintendent Tom Gibbs is not a new concept in Ohio. Over the last four years districts in both Wayne and Fairfield counties have opted to share superintendents. In 2008, Jon Ritchie, superintendent of Orrville City Schools in Wayne County, became superintendent for Rittman Exempted Village Schools as well. And as of last week Ritchie agreed to take on a third district-Southeast Local Schools. Read More…

• Advancements force new look at old policies (Newark Advocate)

Back in the good old days when a cellphone could only call and text, defining on and off school grounds was as simple as drawing a line. Now, in the age of smartphones and Facebook, school districts are struggling with how to address use of such technologies. This year, school districts are rewriting policies to comply with two new rules. Read More…

• Class strikes chord for autism awareness (Findlay Courier)

Standing in front of about 30 Central Middle School sixth graders, special education teacher Angel Buck held back tears as she told of how her daughter was recently diagnosed with autism. "My fear is my daughter is going to go to school and get made fun of," Buck said to a clearly impacted crowd. Health teacher Kevin Swan also shared stories of his young son who has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, to the young middle schoolers. Read More…

• Cleveland schools' teacher cuts are catching up to loss of students (Plain Dealer)

The Cleveland schools, which expect to have a levy on November's ballot, have seen heavy losses of students since voters last passed a tax increase in 1996. Its teaching staff has been slashed too -- just at a much slower rate. Read More…

• Hathorn: KnowledgeWorks won’t work in Youngstown (Vindicator)

While a Cincinnati-based education reform group believes the city schools need a complete overhaul, the superintendent says the district requires consistency. Last February, KnowledgeWorks presented ideas for the district, which its representatives said required a whole new system. Among the organization’s plan was professional development to the tune of $450,000 per school over four years. Read More…

• Student body (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Celeste Thorne said she never thought the baby's feet she had tattooed to her leg months ago would prompt LaBrae High School officials to send her home two days in a row. Thorne got the tattoo, which includes her late baby sister Sabrina's name, on her 16th birthday in August. Late last month she was removed from class because the tattoo was visible. "I never really thought about it, not like that," said the 16-year-old sophomore. "I didn't see it as a big deal. I wore shorts at the beginning of school and you could see the tattoo then. I don't see the difference now. I just don't get it." Read More…

• Hamilton strengthens career education initiative (Hamilton Journal News)

The primary goal for the Career Technical Education program at Hamilton High School is to make sure that each of its students is prepared to enter the workforce or enter college, but the ramifications of that go much deeper. “Our mission is to change the dynamics of each student’s family in a positive way forever,” said Kent Bryson, assistant principal in charge of CTE. Read More…

• SPARK of success (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

A smile breaks across Haylee Bartram's face as she realizes "Mrs. Doris" has arrived. The 5-year-old knows what to expect from Doris Freeman - a whole new round of lesson plans and supplies designed to help Haylee, who attends preschool at Warren's Willard school, prepare for kindergarten. "She gets excited to see her," said Loretta Bartram, Haylee's mom. "She knows she'll have books or something with her, fun stuff we can do together." Read More…

• Rachel’s Challenge: Pay it forward (Akron Beacon Journal)

In her short life, 17-year-old Rachel Joy Scott managed to make believers out of countless folks about the importance of spreading kindness in the hope it might become contagious. Even though Rachel no longer walks among us, her message continues to resonate. Read More…

Editorial & Opinion

• State budget surplus justifies revisiting funding for schools (Vindicator)

When Gov. John Kasich and the Republican controlled General Assembly adopted the state’s $55 billion biennium budget, they justified the deep cuts in funding for school districts and local governments by contending that they had to deal with an $8 billion deficit in the spending plan. Indeed, Kasich had used the $8 billion figure as a sledgehammer in his 2010 race for governor against Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland. He accused Strickland and the Democratic controlled House of Representatives of mismanaging the state’s finances. Read More…

• Pass new Ohio law to put public-sector treasurers on notice: editorial (Plain Dealer)

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's Fiscal Integrity Act is a much-needed piece of legislation that would make it easier for the Ohio Department of Education to punish unscrupulous charter school treasurers. It would also provide swifter remedies for abusive public-sector fiscal managers across the state. The Ohio General Assembly should give recently introduced House Bill 529 and Senate Bill 339 swift approval. Read More…

• Control bullying at schools (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

It's impossible to really know whether the number of violent incidents is on the rise in Warren City Schools or if the number of violent incidents reported to police is on the rise. Either way, Warren's rash of attacks reported to police this year, especially in its elementary schools, serves as a detriment toward academic and fiscal success. Read More…

• Ohio's new educational standards won't fit its old budget: editorial (Plain Dealer)

The times -- as well as the tests -- they are a-changin' for Ohio's public schools. That is a good thing. But just changing tests isn't enough. The state must also show it has a reasonable strategy to use the new tools to improve learning -- and to make sure that have-not districts and disadvantaged children also have the resources to take full advantage of them. Read More…

Opportunity Knocks

Here's a new one for the ol' Reformy Thesaurus: the "Opportunity Culture" in education.

Sure sounds good, doesn't it? Who doesn't want our American kids to have more opportunities in life? Except--oops--this campaign, rolled out by Public Impact, is actually about opportunities for "teacherpreneurs" to make more money by teaching oversized classes--and of course, for school districts to seize that same opportunity to save money through "innovative" staffing models.

How did this exciting window of opportunity emerge? Public Impact explains:

Only 25 percent of classes are taught by excellent teachers. With an excellent teacher versus an average teacher, students make about an extra half-year of progress every year--closing achievement gaps fast, leaping ahead to become honors students, and surging forward like top international peers.

That's a whole lot of leaping and surging. Unfortunately, it's based on a faux statistic, sitting triumphantly on a pyramid of dubious research, prettied up with some post-modern infographics. Like other overhyped blah-blah of "reform"--the "three great teachers in a row" myth, for example, or nearly every "fact" in Waiting for Superman--it's a triumph of slick media slogans over substance. A quick look at the Opportunity Culture Advisory Team tells you what the real purpose of the OC is: cutting teachers, privatizing services, plugging charters and cultivating a little astroturf to cover the scars.

The Opportunity Culture's bold plan begins with a policy recommendation: Schools should be required by law to identify the top 25% of their teachers. Then, once that simple task is completed, OC suggests ten exciting new models for staffing schools, beginning with giving these excellent teachers a lot more students (plus a merit pay carrot) and ending with enlisting "accountable remote teachers down the street or across the nation" who would "provide live, but not in-person instruction while on-site teammates manage administrative duties and develop the whole child."

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Radical legislation being planned

We have wrote briefly about ALEC, a far right organization dedicated to pushing radical legislation (such as SB5 and HB194) through state legislatures. Their next salvo is being prepped for education, according to leaked documents.

Mark your calendars, people, because ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council is having their spring pow-wow in Charlotte, NC on May 11th, and their agenda is simply brimming with ideas meant to undermine American democracy. The agenda was revealed by Common Cause, who obtained packets ahead of the conference taking place at the Westin Charlotte (in case any of you in Charlotte would like to show up to voice your opposition), and proving that ALEC is a squid-like demon with their tentacles in every aspect of American life, they have covered all their bases.

That does sound bad! But what exactly are they planning? (Here's their leaked agenda (pdf)), and a sample:

Online Course Choice for Students
Summary
This bill opens up the world of high-quality online course instruction to students. Each year, students in public school grades 7-12 would have the option to enroll in up to two online courses that award college credit or meet standards for core academic courses. The state would create standards and accountability measures to ensure that they are providing students with a course catalog containing only high-quality online course offerings. Funding for each online course is driven by the free-market in an open and competitive process, rather than simply allocating a portion of student funding unrelated to the actual cost to deliver the course. Finally, after completion of each online course, parents and students provide feedback via the web in an open forum to rate the effectiveness of the course. This feedback, combined with test scores, provides a quality indicator ranking that is available to all.

More privatization of instruction, market driven of course. Worse proposals are still to come, including

District and School Freedom Act
Summary
This legislation creates a mechanism for public school districts and schools to request exemption from state education standards and regulations. Under this act, any district or school can create a list of state regulations or standards that, if exempted from, the district or school could operate more efficiently and better serve students.
Model Legislation
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of XXXX:
A. Notwithstanding any other law, a school district, tradition, or charter school may receive exemptions from statutes and rules as prescribed in this section.
B. The school district, traditional, or charter school may identify and submit exemptions to statutes and rules relating to schools, governing boards and school districts to the state board of education for approval. The state board of education shall review and may approve the exemptions submitted, except for those statutes and rules that directly apply to the following:
1. Health and safety.
2. Requirements for the graduation of pupils from high school.
3. Special education.
4. Financial compliance and procurement requirements.
C. The state board of education may adjust the list of exemptions to comply with federal and state law.

A free for all! It's a mighty strange world we live in where groups can opt to of laws they don't like, but that is what ALEC is proposing here.

So if you see or hear of bills being introduced in Ohio similar to these, you know where the idea came from. We'll be keeping an eye out.

5 ways teacher unions advocate for students, educators

• By helping educators help their students: Ohio English teacher Marjorie Punter made a shocking discovery on her first day of school two years ago: There were no books for her students. With 42 years of experience, Punter had a few tricks to get by—but she knew her students, enrolled in the special education program at Dayton’s Belmont High School, also needed books. She started with her principal. He tried. And tried. But no luck. “I went to my union and said, ‘Now what do I do?’ They said you’re going to file a grievance and we’re going to get those kids books.” And that’s exactly what happened—with no less than the enthusiastic support of the frustrated principal. “We took that grievance downtown and the whole district got special ed textbooks as a result,” said Dayton Education Association President David Romick. Reflecting on that experience, and the ongoing collaborative work between union members and Belmont’s administrators, Romick added, “We’re here to serve the students. That’s the bottom line and collaboration is the only way to get there.” Read more at NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign.
• By mentoring new teachers: Nearly half of new teachers quit their profession within their first five years, according to James Rowley, an Ohio education professor. But research also shows that new teachers who have been paired with a mentor are more likely to stay, and more likely to improve student learning. Just ask Delana Hill, a student teacher in Kentucky, who told NEA’s This Active Life magazine in 2009 that her mentor, NEA-Retired member Kathy Drehmel, “Challenges me to think critically about things.” NEA-Retired’s intergenerational mentoring program currently pairs retired and novice teachers in 12 states—with 10 additional states in the planning stages. And it’s just one of the ways that NEA is helping to grow great teachers. Check out NEA’s three-point action plan to leading the profession for more.
• By leading the charge for pro-public education laws and policies: In 2010, through the coordinated advocacy of NEA members who collectively sent more than 900,000 emails to Congress and made tens of thousands of phone calls, more than 500,000 educator jobs were saved by the national Recovery Act and Education Jobs Fund. More recently, union educators in Ohio, organized by the union-led We Are Ohio efforts, successfully shot down a law that would have eliminated collective bargaining and silenced the middle class. Collectively, union members have a powerful voice to advocate for themselves, their students, and their communities. And now, with the presidential election just a few months away, NEA members are mobilizing again to prevent anti-middle class policies from taking over the White House. Learn more about how to get involved.
• By protecting educators’ rights: In 2009, Carol Stensvad was a well-respected, hard-working administrative assistant who absolutely loved her job at Mid-Plains Community College in Nebraska. And then one day her boss said, “I need to see you in my office, Carol,” and fired her for taking too much sick leave! At the time, Stensvad was rightfully using her federally guaranteed Family Medical Leave to take her husband, who suffers from kidney and bladder cancer, as well as Type II diabetes and deafness, to chemotherapy treatments 90 miles away. “My supervisor didn’t like it,” Stenvad recalls. “He told me to put Bob on the shuttle bus. I asked him, ‘How is that going to work? Bob can’t even hear!’ That day, when he called me into his office, he gave me 15 minutes to pack up 10 years of my life.” Fortunately, as a union member, Stensvad wasn’t alone in the fight for fairness. With the skilled help of the Nebraska State Education Association’s field representatives and attorneys, Stensvad recently won a $160,000-plus settlement. Read more.
• By protecting educators’ retirement security: Do you think middle-aged Wall Street billionaires are tormented by the choices they face in retirement: Palm Beach or Aspen? Not likely. But recent legislative attacks on public-employee pensions means that educators surely will have a lot of worrying ahead. Can they keep the house they worked so hard to pay for? Can they afford to send their own child to college? And why are they being blamed for the greedy mistakes of Wall Street? Fortunately, NEA and its allies are advocating for the retirement security of their members—and they have successfully protected defined-benefit pensions from attacks in numerous states. Last spring, well-organized union faculty members in Florida successfully staved off a bill that would have cut their average yearly pension from $30,000 to $15,000. At the same time, a successful class-action lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association proved lawmakers went too far when they unconstitutionally cut public educator pay by 3 percent and ended cost-of-living increases to their pensions. (Some advice to lawmakers: how about you look at corporate tax loopholes instead?) Sign the petition offered by the National Public Pension Coalition to stand up for public pensions.

Education News for 05-04-2012

Statewide Education News

• May 7 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Day (Daily Sentinel – Pomeroy)

Stan Heffner, State Superintendent of public instruction, reminds Ohioans that Monday, May 7, 2012, is School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Ohio. “Safely transporting students to and from school is vital to education,” said Heffner. “The professionalism of Ohio’s 15,000 school bus driver is why the school bus remains — by far — the safest way for students to get to school. Read More…

• Clyde to take part in school pilot test (Fremont News Messenger)

A group of McPherson Middle School eighth-graders will take a pilot social studies online assessment this month. The Ohio Department of Education selected Clyde-Green Springs Schools to participate in the test. Assistant Superintendent Laura Kagy said the online assessment will serve as a preview for how the state intends to administer future assessments. "This is to help facilitate that transition," Kagy said Tuesday. Read More…

Local Issues

• Local school for autistic kids abruptly closes (Canton Repository)

Dragonfly Academy, a local private school for autistic children, unexpectedly closed its doors Thursday morning amid allegations from parents that promised services were not being provided. Parents were notified via text message from the school’s executive director, Brianne Bixby-Nightingale, at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday that the school would be closed Thursday and today for “restructuring,” several parents confirmed. Read More…

• Monroe board agrees on emergency property tax levy (Middletown Journal News)

Monroe Local Schools board officials unanimously approved an emergency property tax levy on Thursday, which is expected to be placed before voters in August. The board decided upon a 5-year, 7.5-mill emergency property tax that is projected to raise more than $2.5 million for each year. Read More…

• Transgender student-teacher dismissed (Wilmington News Journal)

When an area school district dismissed a Wilmington College (WC) transgender senior in January on the second day of a student-teaching placement at Hillsboro High School, the district may have broken federal law. In a statement to the Wilmington News Journal, the Hillsboro school district superintendent based the dismissal on an alleged violation of the Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators. When on two separate occasions the newspaper requested he cite an excerpt from the code for his decision, he declined to discuss the matter in further detail. Read More…

• Plan for smaller schools OK’d in Youngstown (Vindicator)

Ninth-graders who aren’t enrolled in one of the school district’s specialty programs will return to East High School next year, where they’ll be housed in a small-school environment. The city schools’ Academic Distress Commission approved Superintendent Connie Hathorn’s plan for the change at a meeting Thursday. Read More…

• Ex-Gov. Strickland to Address Schools Forum (Youngstown Business Journal)

Former Gov. Ted Strickland will be among the panelists Monday night to discuss “the protection of the public school system from privately operated schools,” the Mahoning County Education Service Center announced Thursday. The meeting, sponsored by the educational service center, will be held at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Boardman High School, 7777 Glenwood Ave. Other panelists are Ron Iarussi, superintendent of the service center; Frank Lazerri, superintendent of Boardman schools; Deborah Cain, a member of the state board of education; Read More…

• Lakota students share opinions on how to run district (Enquirer)

During a focus group session at the Lakota Central Office Thursday, it was the students teaching Lakota administrators on how to better run the state’s seventh-largest school system. The student-led focus group was the first of four sessions with Lakota officials, as the school district looks for more effective ways to educate its students. “Students will tell you the truth and that is what we are looking for,” Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia said. “We want to make sure we are responsive school system in meeting their needs. In order to do that, we need to ask them. Read More…