Education News for 11-01-2012

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State Education News

  • Cleveland schools won't have promised details about school improvement plan before Tuesday's (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Voters who want to know exactly how the Cleveland schools would spend money from the 15-mill tax increase…Read more...

  • Costumed kids seek treats as cold, wet weather is the trick (Columbus Dispatch)

    • With hands numb and clenched to an umbrella, the bumblebee in a winter coat agreed with her parents that it was time to head home. Warmth, after an hour-long walk through the soggy cold, trumped the lure of candy…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Charter-school embezzler gets 2 years (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Former board members defended a man who embezzled from their charter schools before a federal judge sentenced him to prison yesterday…Read more...

  • Students asked to remove pro-gay T-shirts (Lima News)

    • Celina schools officials said they didn’t step on anyone’s rights to freedom of speech when asking students to remove homemade T-shirts supporting gay, lesbian and bisexual classmates…Read more...

  • Teachers Keep Jobs Despite Participating In High School Prank (WBNS)

    • Four Belmont High School teachers were placed on three week paid leave after being accused of participating in a student Homecoming prank, according to the Dayton Daily News…Read more...

Education News for 10-31-2012

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Local Education News

  • Parents sue school district over alleged bullying (Hamilton Journal-News)

    • A Hamilton family has filed a lawsuit against the Hamilton City School Board of Education, alleging “intentional infliction of emotional distress” as a result…Read more...

  • Teachers bringing inside views to Marion boards of education (Marion Star)

    • The county’s largest school district has mostly former teachers on its board of education, while two other districts now have retired teachers on their boards…Read more...

Editorial

  • Good challenge for higher-ed leaders (Canton Repository)

    • Gov. John Kasich sure gives a lot of homework. His latest challenge to leaders of the state universities and community colleges should get a host of issues on the table for public discussion…Read more...

  • Lima, Elida school levies deserve support (Lima News)

    • Over the last several years, we’ve asked many public servants to pinch their pennies and eliminate unneeded overhead. We’ve begged them to consider…Read more...

Mixed messages from legislature

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Greg Mild at Plunderbund delves into the 3rd grade reading guarantee and discovers that it's provisions could potentially cost teachers $17,000 out of their own pocket.

The same Ohio legislators who sought to reduce teacher compensation through Senate Bill 5 last year and who have cut public school funding (including to the Ohio Department of Education), included a requirement in the 3rd Grade Guarantee that will cost individual teachers over $17,000 each — most likely an out-of-pocket expense.
[...]
Absent the revisions (where was ODE when this law was being passed in the first place?), all teachers working with students who fall under this law’s provisions will be required to have a reading endorsement as part of their teaching license.

Greg goes on to detail the costs.

But, let's back away from the details for a moment to look at the underlying policy itself. If the legislature truly believes that licensure is not one of the best ways to measure a teachers effectiveness, why then are they relying upon a license in the case of the 3rd grade reading guarantee?

Why are they not instead mandating that a principal assigns the most highly rated teacher to the task of providing 3rd grade reading remediation, rather than some potential slacker with a license?

Talk about mixed messages. Why would any teacher bother to go to the time and expense of getting this license, when there is clear policy that it bares no relationship to pay in the eyes on the legislature?

Education News for 10-30-2012

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State Education News

  • Reynoldsburg schools attracting rave reviews (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Reynoldsburg schools long have been considered trailblazers in the state, trying new approaches to reach students. But their recent efforts — particularly with STEM…Read more...

  • Few charter schools improve on state report cards (Hamilton Journal-News)

    • Eleven area charter schools improved their ratings on the 2011-12 state report cards, while 10 slipped and 16 others stayed the same, according to the preliminary data released by the Ohio Department of Education…Read more...

  • Marion tour touts technology careers (Marion Star)

    • Jamal Richardson didn’t hesitate to volunteer when the Tri-Rivers Career Center student asked if anyone wanted to operate the robot he had just demonstrated…Read more...

  • Efforts to help preschoolers working (Middletown Journal)

    • A program that reaches out to pre-schoolers is improving students’ kindergarten readiness, according to local education officials…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Winton Woods parents upset by low state rating (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Dozens of parents crowded into the library of Winton Woods High School on Monday night to ask school leaders why the district was rated among the lowest in the state…Read more...

  • Cleveland schools' spending per student ranks high, but so do students' needs (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The Cleveland school district spends about $15,000 per student, making it among Ohio's highest-spending districts, even as it sits at the bottom in results…Read more...

  • Cleveland schools' budget tops $1 billion, about a third not available for daily school operations (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The total budget for the Cleveland school district is $1.1 billion, about $655 million of it in the general fund…Read more...

  • Anti-drug effort seeks to sober up city, schools (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Worthington has excellent schools and is envied for its charm and services. It also has a dark underside: kids getting high, a pipeline of cheap heroin…Read more...

  • Talks to replace schools audit-panel chief fizzled (Columbus Dispatch)

    • One member of the Columbus Board of Education pushed for board President Carol Perkins to step down as the head of a special auditing…Read more...

  • Positive behavior strategy seeks to lessen discipline gap (Toledo Blade)

    • In a bid to improve school climates and reduce the disparity in discipline rates between white and minority students, Toledo Public Schools…Read more...

  • Liberty schools predicts $15M debt (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • The Liberty Board of Education on Monday projected the school district's debt to exceed $15 million in five years…Read more...

  • Treasurers: Charters, vouchers cost us lots (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • A large amount of taxpayer money meant for public education is being siphoned off by charter schools and vouchers, local school treasurers say…Read more...

Ohio Voters’ Checklist

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Via www.866ourvote.org

Election Protection and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights have released voter rights checklists for all 50 states. These one-page guides explain polling times, what IDs may be required to vote, rights to provisional ballots and more and include the phone number for a toll-free Election Protection Hotline you can use if you encounter problems trying to cast your vote.

If you have any questions or need further information, please call the Election Protection Hotline 4842-6987-3167\2 at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) or go to www.866OurVote.org. For Spanish-language assistance, call 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota.

1. On Election Day, EACH POLLING PLACE WILL BE OPEN BETWEEN 6:30 A.M. AND 7:30 P.M. A voter in line by 7:30 P.M. HAS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

2. Ohio law requires that each polling place be accessible to physically disabled voters, unless exempted. If exempted, the disabled voter must be required to vote curbside in your vehicle.

3. If you cannot read or write, or you are blind or otherwise disabled, and need assistance voting, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE HELP WITH VOTING and may designate someone of your choice, other than an employer or an officer or agent of your union, to provide such assistance. Election officials may also provide assistance.

4. If you do not have photo identification at the polls, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE a provisional ballot that should be counted as long as you are properly registered to vote and in the right precinct, which is where you reside on Election Day. For your provisional ballot to count, you must show, either at your precinct or at the county Board of Elections within ten (10) days either the last four digits of your social security number, driver’s license number, sign an affirmation or show a valid form of identification. To vote a REGULAR ballot, you must show: a current and valid Ohio driver’s license, a current and valid photo identification issued by Ohio or federal government, a military identification (if it can be ascertained by the poll worker that the person is who they say they are), or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or another government document

5. If you have moved within the same precinct, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE a regular ballot upon completing a change of residence at the polls.

6. If you have moved to a different precinct in the same county prior to the election, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE at the polling place of your NEW residence upon updating your registration. If you do not update before Election Day, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE a provisional ballot on Election Day.

7. If you have moved to a different county prior to the election, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE a provisional ballot at the new polling place that corresponds to your new address in your NEW COUNTY, or at the Board of Elections, on Election Day upon completing a change of residence at the polls.

8. If you make a mistake or “spoil” your ballot, and have not cast the ballot, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE UP TO TWO REPLACEMENT BALLOT after returning the spoiled ballot.

9. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO WAIT TO VOTE (OR TO VOTE) without anyone electioneering or trying to influence your vote within the area marked by small U.S. flags, or within ten feet of you if you are in line outside that area.

10. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to take up to five minutes in the voting booth, if all booths are occupied and voters are waiting in line. If all booths are not occupied and there are not voters waiting in line, you may take longer than five minutes.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE THIS CHECKLIST INTO THE VOTING BOOTH WITH YOU.

You can download a copy of this checklist, here.