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Education News for 05-15-2013

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State Education News

  • Legislators try to combat school-standards rumors (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Tom Gibbs has reluctantly watched conservative commentator Glenn Beck and is up to speed on the criticisms of the new Common Core…Read more...

  • Columbus school district’s staffs being interviewed a 2nd time (Columbus Dispatch)

    • State investigators started a second round of interviews with dozens of teachers at most of the Columbus school district’s high schools yesterday…Read more...

  • School board urged not to arm teachers (Newark Advocate)

    • Top state law enforcement officials urged members of Ohio’s state school board Tuesday not to support arming untrained teachers with guns in response to recent school shootings…Read more...

  • School board members hear ideas on school safety, but seem to be rejecting arming teachers (Ohio Public Radio)

    • School safety was the top topic for the state board of education, which hoped to learn about how to make buildings, staff and students more secure…Read more...

  • Brookfield in fiscal emergency (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • The Brookfield Local School District is in a state of fiscal emergency, according to a report released Tuesday by Auditor of State Dave Yost…Read more...

  • State Board Hears Ways To Boost School Safety (WBNS)

    • Ohio’s top law enforcers addressed members of the state school board as it considers how to best update its school safety polices…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Cleveland school board OKs new teachers contract (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The Cleveland school board Tuesday night approved a groundbreaking contract with its teachers, while also picking a new home for district offices…Read more...

  • No one told teachers they would lose jobs (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Less than two weeks before the May 7 election, Groveport Madison schools announced $2 million in cuts if voters turned down…Read more...

  • Treasurer’s mistake cuts up to $1.5M off Jonathan Alder’s budget (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Officials in the Jonathan Alder school district in Madison County don’t know how much money they have to operate on next school year…Read more...

  • Lorain School Board hears high school update, approves busing contract (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • The new Lorain High School has stayed within budget during its design development phase and few changes have happened since the initial design…Read more...

  • Lorain City Schools reassessing its 'Success for All' reading program (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Lorain City Schools is reevaluating its “Success For All” reading program and could switch to a new system by next year…Read more...

  • Some Youngstown school principals to be in new posts (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Some positions are being reshuffled to align with the new city school building configuration…Read more...

Turmoil swirling around Common Core education standards

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Via the Washington Post

As public schools across the country transition to the new Common Core standards, which bring wholesale change to the way math and reading are taught in 45 states and the District, criticism of the approach is emerging from groups as divergent as the tea party and the teachers union.

The standards, written by a group of states and embraced by the Obama administration, set common goals for reading, writing and math skills that students should develop from kindergarten through high school graduation. Although classroom curriculum is left to the states, the standards emphasize critical thinking and problem solving and encourage thinking deeply about fewer topics.

But as the common core shifts from theory to reality, critics are emerging. State lawmakers are concerned about the cost, which the Fordham Institute estimated could run as high as $12 billion nationally. Progressives fret over new exams, saying that the proliferation of standardized tests is damaging public education. Teachers worry that they haven’t had enough training and lack the resources to competently teach to the new standards. And conservatives say the new standards mean a loss of local control over education and amount to a national curriculum. They’ve begun calling it “Obamacore.”

On Tuesday, the head of the American Federation of Teachers and a strong supporter of the Common Core standards will warn that the new approach is being poorly implemented and requires a “mid-course correction” or the effort will fall apart.

“The Common Core is in trouble,” said Randi Weingarten, the union president who is slated to speak Tuesday in New York about the issue. “There is a serious backlash in lots of different ways, on the right and on the left.”

Weingarten is concerned that states are rushing out tests based on the new standards without preparing teachers and designing new curricula.

“This is a wake-up call for everyone else in the country,” she said, pointing to New York, which just administered new tests based on the Common Core standards. Teachers, parents and students complained that the tests were poorly designed, covered material that had not been taught and frustrated children to the point of tears.

Education News for 04-22-2013

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State Education News

  • Some high-rated districts failing with gifted students (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Most Ohio schools earn passing grades for making progress with gifted students…Read more...

  • Columbus schools pitch data safeguards (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Columbus principals would have to get permission to change students’ grades at the end of the school year under rules the superintendent is proposing…Read more...

  • Changes made to state report cards (East Liverpool Review)

    • Changes made by the Ohio Department of Education have report cards for schools taking on a whole new look, according to a report…Read more...

  • Huffman wants to make school funding more stable (Lima News)

    • State Rep. Matt Huffman is working on a school funding plan he says will create a consistent and steady increase in education money…Read more...

  • Controversy downplayed; Naming of Ramos, Patterson to academic commission (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Local school officials said that concerns about the appointment of Raul Ramos and Henry Patterson Jr. to the Academic Distress Commission…Read more...

  • Students to take OAA tests this week (Newark Advocate)

    • This week, students will begin taking this year’s Ohio Achievement Assessments. One of the best things parents can do to help their students do well on the test…Read more...

  • ACT, AP can cut college costs (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Data included on the state report cards for high schools about how students performed on the SAT, ACT and AP tests can translate into money saved for families…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Buckeye Local School District does administration shuffle (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

    • A reshuffling of administrators in the Buckeye Local School District will result in a familiar face returning to Edgewood High School next year…Read more...

  • Cleveland District considers using money from sale of headquarters to offer more (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Although the Cleveland School District is leaving its longtime offices on East Sixth Street this summer, school board member Eric Wobser wants the district to increase…Read more...

  • Columbus shuffling principals (Columbus Dispatch)

    • More than 1 in 4 Columbus schools will get new principals this fall as the district makes new efforts to rescue poorly performing schools…Read more...

  • Parents to rally over teacher contract talks (Dayton Daily News)

    • Parents and teachers rallied Friday in front of the Springboro Board of Education in support of the district’s teachers and in opposition to the school board…Read more...

  • Vermilion to expand student drug testing (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Drug testing at Vermilion High School will expand to include all students next school year, Superintendent Phil Pempin announced yesterday…Read more...

  • Newark schools preparing for curriculum shift (Newark Advocate)

    • For decades, there have been students sitting in their classrooms wondering, “Why do I have to learn this?” and “When am I going to use this in the real world?”…Read more...

  • After no deal to end Strongsville teachers strike (Sun Newspapers)

    • Yet another negotiation session in the seven-week teachers strike failed to produce a deal…Read more...

Education News for 04-15-2013

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State Education News

  • Common Core: More thinking, more learning (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Eileen Gorman likes to watch her students struggle. The eighth-grade math teacher at Glen Este Middle School in Cincinnati believes they will learn more that way…Read more…

    


  • Ohio 4th for parent involvement in education (Columbus Business First)

    • Ohio placed fourth in a Center for Education Reform ranking of states by several educational quality measures, the Dayton Business Journal reports.…Read more…

    


  • Ohio House school funding plan looked good at first, but the numbers show they’re cutting education (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • With 20 years as one of the state’s most knowledgeable education funding analysts, Howard Fleeter of the Education Tax Policy Institute in Columbus was banging his head against his spreadsheets for much of last week…Read more…

  • OHSAA looks to level the playing field (Canton Repository)

    • As he sat in the bleachers at Triway High School, Dave Rice looked at his high school’s volleyball team.…Read more…

    


  • Double dipping by school workers might make comeback (Columbus Dispatch)

    • After years of debate over the practice known as “double dipping,” it has all but died in central Ohio schools.…Read more…

    


  • Ohio University trustees to vote on 1.6% tuition hike (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Ohio University wants to raise tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students this fall by $164 per year, to a total of $10,380, under a proposal that the board of trustees is to vote on Friday.…Read more…

  • State, school districts work to collect income taxes in face of underreporting, nonfiling (Mansfield News Journal)

    • Monday is the loathed April 15 deadline for state and federal taxes, but due dates don’t carry the same weight to scofflaws and tax evaders.…Read more…

    


  • A moving target for schools (Mansfield News Journal)

    • No one likes trying to hit a moving target, especially Ohio teachers and school superintendents who have faced a barrage of performance standards since No Child Left Behind was passed more than a decade ago.…Read more…

Local Education News

  • Another round of talks between school district, teachers fall through; strike enters seventh week (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The teachers strike goes on. For the seventh time in six weeks, the bargaining teams for the Strongsville Education Association and the school board met at length at the behest of the federal mediator…Read more…

  • Strongsville teachers, school board teams meet in Independence for another round of negotiations (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Bargaining teams for the 383 Strongsville teachers on strike since March 4 and the school board will meet in the presence of the federal mediator for the seventh time at 1:30 p.m. April 14.…Read more…

  • Unions show solidarity with striking Strongsville teachers at rally (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • One day longer. That was the refrain of a cross-union rally held on the Strongsville Commons April 12, as more than 300 people, including members and representatives from more than 15 unions across Northeast Ohio, gathered to show their support…Read more…

  • Strongsville school board will receive additional $3.2 million in revenue (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • In the last week, the school district here got a nice surprise from Cuyahoga County..…Read more…

  • For CPS board member, years of tough calls (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Catherine D. Ingram was appointed in October 1993 to fill a vacant seat on the Cincinnati Public Schools board of education – a position that was to be on the ballot about three weeks later.…Read more…

  • Contractor: District off on busing comparison (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Private bus contractor First Student says Columbus City Schools’ claim that it could operate 300 bus routes itself next school year and save money doing it is a stretch…Read more…

    


  • District hopes to increase laptop use (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • The Forest Hills Local School District hopes to get more high school students using their laptops.…Read more…

    


  • Schools head into contract talks with unknowns about funding (Lima News)

    • At first glance, Waynesfield-Goshen schools Superintendent Chris Pfister is feeling much better about the Ohio House school funding proposal.…Read more…

    


  • Coventry High students teach physics, learn creativity with youngsters (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Andrew Bullock hastily assembled a 12-inch tower of wooden blocks and waited for a group of elementary students to construct a wrecking tower made of Lego pieces.…Read more…

    


  • Next TPS chief looks to shut academic gap (Toledo Blade)

    • Romules Durant — most people call him Rom — was far from destined to be the next superintendent of Toledo Public Schools.…Read more…

    


  • Plain Township school stops ‘mindfulness’ program after some in community raise concerns (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The Tibetan bell no longer tolls at Warstler Elementary in Plain Township.…Read more…

    


  • Applications come in for South Range open enrollment (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The South Range Local School District is poring over 70 open- enrollment applications, hoping to bring in new students to help the district keep class sizes up and survive state budget cuts.…Read more…

  • Two women who were Head Start students return the favor to today's kids (Chillicothe Gazette)

    • Head Start, the school readiness program for children from low-income families, left an imprint on two local women that extended well beyond their own school careers.…Read more…

    


  • Stricken mom sees son graduate early in solo ceremony (Columbus Dispatch)

    • When the cancer returned, Darlene Schultz decided: She would see her son graduate from Hilliard Darby High School.…Read more…

    


  • Lima schools looking at carry-over policy (Lima News)

    • Lima City Schools will soon put a policy in place requiring the district to have a reserve fund amounting to at least 10 percent of its overall budget.…Read more…

    


  • Warrensville Heights cheerleading club protests school district fees (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • A cheerleading club for girls in this economically struggling suburb has lost its longtime practice space after the Warrensville Heights school district insisted that the group pay hundreds of dollars to use school facilities.…Read more…

  • Former Springboro booster treasurer stole $439,000 (Dayton Daily News)

    • The former treasurer of the Springboro Athletic Boosters Association admitted Thursday to stealing almost $440,000 from the group he helped found 20 years before.…Read more…

    


  • Kalida Elementary earns top honors (Lima News)

    • It took just one attempt for Kalida Elementary School to win an award for providing the highest quality of education to its pupils.…Read more…

    


  • Ashtabula Area City Schools BOE member receives Award of Achievement from state (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

    • The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) annually recognizes board members for their commitment to learning and leadership with the Award of Achievement program and the Master Board Member Award.…Read more…

  • Louisville City Schools seeks emergency funds (Canton Repository)

    • Reductions will happen either way, but a levy passage in May will mean less cuts to an already strapped Louisville school system.…Read more…

    


  • Lorain High students plan international food tasting (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Lorain High Schools’ culinary arts and junior achievement programs are sponsoring an international food tasting event at Lorain High to promote a cookbook developed by the students.…Read more…

  • Cuts coming to Firelands; Schools to eliminate 8 staff members, reduce hours (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Firelands Local Schools will cut eight classified staff members and reduce hours for eight others for the 2013-14 school year.…Read more…

    


  • Parent asks school official to resign (Mansfield News Journal)

    • Parent Beth Diesch requested the resignation of board president Susan Shealy at Thursday’s Buckeye Central school board meeting.…Read more…

  • Fenwick students dig ‘talons’ into service work (Middletown Journal)

    • It may only take 45 minutes, but an activity by students and staff at Bishop Fenwick High School is helping to feed hundreds of homeless people.…Read more…

    


  • Leaders for Learning awards presented to 14 Licking County teachers (Newark Advocate)

    • The group of administrators stealthily crept down the hallway of Heritage Middle School, peeking around corners to make sure their appearance at Claire Goins’ door would be a complete surprise.…Read more…

  • City schools hosting ready fair for families (Springfield News-Sun)

    • The Springfield City School District will host its third annual “ready fair” Friday with activities and giveaways that will help parents of young children prepare for school.…Read more…

    


  • Presidential descendant helps mark special day at Oregon school (Toledo Blade)

    • Merrill Eisenhower Atwater drove 12 hours from Kansas City to northwest Ohio, much of it on I-70.…Read more…

    


  • Bedford hires its top choice for superintendent (Toledo Blade)

    • It’s official. Bedford Public Schools has a new superintendent. The Board of Education last week unanimously approved a three-year contract for Mark Kleinhans, the candidate selected as its top choice during a search this year.…Read more…

  • Scott Hunt leaving Perry Schools to become Cardinal superintendent (Willoughby News Herald)

    • Scott J. Hunt will leave Perry Schools to become Cardinal School District superintendent effective Aug. 1.…Read more…

    


  • Niles schools seek 2 levies (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Two additional school levies are on the May 7 primary ballot in the city, and the school district’s superintendent says their approval is the only way to keep the red ink from getting worse.…Read more…

  • Jackson Milton English assignment grows into fundraiser for animals (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • It looked like a 3-mile run/walk with dogs, but it was really a homework assignment.…Read more…

    


Editorial

  • Most districts understood rules (Columbus Dispatch)

    • There is no harm in the Ohio Department of Education clarifying the rules for how and why schools may officially withdraw students from attendance rolls.…Read more…

    


  • When oversight slips, the taxpayers suffer: editorial (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Only a U.S. District Court jury -- or Joseph Palazzo himself -- can say whether the former technology director of Cuyahoga Heights Schools is guilty of stealing $3.4 million from the district.…Read more…

  • Inadequacy 2.0 (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The Ohio House put forward its own school-funding plan last week with the aim to rectify shortcomings in Gov. John Kasich’s “Achievement Everywhere” proposal in the biennial budget bill.…Read more…

  • Medina superintendent's too-sweet deal: editorial (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Shame on the Medina City School District's Board of Education and Superintendent Randy Stepp, for the disdain they showed citizens by quietly negotiating hundreds of thousands of dollars for Stepp's bonuses and education expenses…Read more…

  • It’s worth making an exception to keep Hathorn at the helm (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • As a general rule, we are opposed to the retire/rehire policies that have grown in popularity in the public sector as government employees strive to squeeze the maximum in benefits by retiring when they become eligible.…Read more…

Education News for 04-11-2013

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State Education News

Local Education News

  • 14 were interested in Columbus superintendent job (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Columbus City Schools had 14 applicants from across the nation for superintendent when the school board voted to suspend its search on Tuesday evening, bowing to the wishes of Mayor Michael B. Coleman and others.…Read more…

  • Goggin hired as Midview superintendent (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • The Midview school board will hire current Director of Education Scott Goggin as its next superintendent at today’s board meeting.…Read more…

  • Avon Lake High School might cut credit hours (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • It may be easier for Avon Lake High School seniors to receive their diploma in 2014 as school board members consider cutting graduation credit hours from 24 to 21 credits.…Read more…

  • South Range district asks state for more funding (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The treasurer of a Mahoning County district urged state lawmakers Wednesday to increase state funding for local schools.…Read more…

  • Boardman stadium project gets boost from Home Savings donation (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Boardman High School boosters are trying to get a new stadium project up and running, despite voter rejection of a bond issue in 2007 that would have provided funding.…Read more…

Education News for 04-08-2013

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State Education News

  • School districts seeking levies tell voters state aid uncertain (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The Groveport Madison school district is appealing to voters, telling them that an emergency levy in May that raises $5.5 million a year will help solve long-term financial needs…Read more…

  • Gov. John Kasich's education budget about to be amended by the Ohio House (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • After hearing testimony from dozens of education groups and complaints from school officials back in their districts, members of the Ohio House are about to make major changes in Gov. John Kasich's proposed education budget.…Read more…

  • Value-added rankings compare students' academic growth in Northeast Ohio schools (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • For the first time, 832 Ohio school districts and charter schools have been ranked on their value-added scores, providing one more lens for viewing academic progress across the state.…Read more…

Local Education News

  • Third straight day of contract negotiations between Strongsville teachers, district end with no deal (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Negotiations to end the ongoing teachers strike ended April 5 after 9 hours with no deal again, for the third straight day, and will reconvene Monday morning at 9 a.m.…Read more…

    


  • Academic distress commission takes over Lorain city school (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Newly appointed state superintendent Richard Ross will officially form Lorain’s Academic Distress Commission Monday afternoon.…Read more…

    


  • Trying to contact the school board? Good luck (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • An Enquirer analysis shows these elected officials keep basic contact info private.…Read more…

    


  • Medina school board's bonuses and perks for Superintendent Randy Stepp anger residents (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Randy Stepp was a success story in the Medina school district. The former high school principal was regarded highly enough to be promoted to superintendent of the more than 7,000-student district…Read more…

    


  • School bans student from class because of haircut (Springfield News-Sun)

    • A kindergartner with a new, spiked Mohawk haircut was sent home from a local elementary school this week for violating the district’s dress code.…Read more…

    


  • TPS union leaders blast report (Toledo Blade)

    • The presidents of two Toledo Public Schools employee unions blasted a performance audit of the district, saying a first draft released Wednesday was riddled with errors and used inaccurate data.…Read more…

  • Citizens meet with officials to discuss plans for new elementary schools (Canton Repository)

    • MASSILLON — City school district officials invited local residents to weigh in on the possibility of building one or more elementary schools in the district…Read more…

    


  • Akron students excel in tough transition to college while in high school (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • They’re not the average exceptional students. And that’s not an oxymoron.…Read more…

    


  • 2 magnet schools given reprieve (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Two Westerville magnet schools that had been set to close after this school year will stay open for at least one more year.…Read more…

    


  • Panel likely to advise pre-K for all (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The mayor-appointed panel that has been debating ways to improve Columbus schools is likely to recommend offering all Columbus children affordable pre-kindergarten…Read more…

    


  • Fairborn school district at crossroads (Dayton Daily News)

    • Fairborn City School officials said they will have to borrow money from the state in the fall regardless of whether voters pass a proposed 11.7-mill emergency levy in May.…Read more…

    


  • Superintendent: Keep 8th graders at middle school (Dayton Daily News)

    • As Vandalia-Butler School District officials deal with the June closing of an elementary school, outgoing superintendent Christy Donnelly advised the Board of Education to go with an option that keeps eighth graders out of Butler High School.…Read more…

  • Agencies develop educational summer camps (Hamilton Journal-News)

    • A new series of summer camps will allow students the chance to design aquatic robots and build their own electric guitars. Junior high and high school students in Butler and Warren counties can now enroll in…Read more…

  • Putnam County placing radios in all school buildings (Lima News)

    • Beginning early next month Putnam County schools will have new communication radios in each building… The radios are part of MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System), a statewide system that allows communication between different departments.…Read more…

  • City, schools in Lima seek safe route grant (Lima News)

    • City Council will vote Monday on applying for a Safe Routes to School grant application with the Ohio Department of Transportation.…Read more…

    


  • Free college credits at virtual high school (Middletown Journal)

    • A new partnership is offering local high school students the chance at free college courses.…Read more…

    


  • Carrollton schools seek 'short-term' levy (New Philadelphia Times-Reporter)

    • With the oil and natural-gas exploration occurring in Carroll County, the economic impact appears promising for the not-too-distant future.…Read more…

    


  • Four districts seek May levies (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Four local school districts will ask voters to approve operating issues on the May 7 ballot, including two requesting a total of $6 million in new tax money.…Read more…

    


  • Richmond Heights students working with art, theater students in Canada (Willoughby News Herald)

    • Students at Richmond Heights High School are working with art and theater students in Canada without leaving the comfort of their classroom. The partnership between the two schools serves to expose students to other corners of the world through art…Read more…

  • Youngstown Foundation helps city school students (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • City high school students have the opportunity to get help paying for college through a new $3 million Youngstown Foundation program.…Read more…

    


Editorial

  • Food needs more thought (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Getting America’s kids to eat more healthfully should be high on the public agenda, given the toll increasing childhood obesity is taking on the nation and its future.…Read more…

    


  • Funding the future (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Follow Statehouse discussions on John Kasich’s two-year budget proposals, and it is clear the prospects remain dim for an adequate and equitable system of financing elementary and secondary education in Ohio.…Read more…