State school board Democrats vow that their "voice will be heard" on testing, school funding and charter schools

Democrats on the state school board have banded together to push for better state funding of schools, better controls over charter schools and a reduction in the amount of standardized tests kids have to take.

The coalition of seven members will be a minority on the mostly-Republican board of 19. But leaders of the coalition said in a press conference this morning that they hope that by speaking together, they can have a voice in support of education.

"That voice will be heard," said new board member Bob Hagan, a former state representative from Youngstown. "I don't think you've seen or heard of a coalition like this at the state school board in the past."

In the hour-long discussion with media from across the state, six of the seven members raised multiple objections with changes that have occurred in public education in Ohio the last several years: more state money going to charter schools and away from traditional districts; a reduction in state support for public schools; a lack of accountability in both finances and performance of charter schools; increased testing of students; and creation of new evaluation systems for teachers and principals they say may need adjustments.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

Now lawmakers should overhaul Ohio’s charter-school law

It shouldn’t be a surprise that stricter up-front standards lead to healthier charter schools, but it’s worth pointing out, nonetheless: This school year, after the Ohio Department of Education finally made clear that it won’t tolerate shoddy charter-school startups, it got a better crop of new schools.

This is a significant step, but just one of many that Ohio must make to turn its charter-school program from more than a decade of mediocrity and failure to a future of greater promise.

Only 11 new charter schools opened in Ohio for the current school year — a big drop from the 2013-14 year, when more than 50 started. More important is that halfway through the school year, all of the new ones remain open.

By this time last year, Columbus alone had seen 17 charters close. Nine of them had just opened the previous August and operated only until October or November, spending a total of $1.6 million in public money. The failures made clear that, despite numerous attempts to improve the weak oversight of charter schools in Ohio, the Wild West character of the program persisted.

The weakest link in the Ohio system has been the sponsors, sometimes called authorizers, of charter schools. The bar has been too low to be approved as an authorizer, and the law allows obvious conflicts of interest that work against the best interests of students.

(Read more at the Dispatch)

As a result, sponsors — who are supposed to vet proposed schools, hold them accountable and close them if they fail— have sometimes simply used charter schools, regardless of their quality, as a way to make money by selling them services.

The great charter school rip-off

Last week when former President Bill Clinton meandered onto the topic of charter schools, he mentioned something about an “original bargain” that charters were, according to the reporter for The Huffington Post, “supposed to do a better job of educating students.”

A writer at Salon called the remark “stunning” because it brought to light the fact that the overwhelming majority of charter schools do no better than traditional public schools. Yet, as the Huffington reporter reminded us, charter schools are rarely shuttered for low academic performance.

But what’s most remarkable about what Clinton said is how little his statement resembles the truth about how charters have become a reality in so many American communities.

In a real “bargaining process,” those who bear the consequences of the deal have some say-so on the terms, the deal-makers have to represent themselves honestly (or the deal is off and the negotiating ends), and there are measures in place to ensure everyone involved is held accountable after the deal has been struck.

But that’s not what’s happening in the great charter industry rollout transpiring across the country. Rather than a negotiation over terms, charters are being imposed on communities – either by legislative fiat or well-engineered public policy campaigns. Many charter school operators keep their practices hidden or have been found to be blatantly corrupt. And no one seems to be doing anything to ensure real accountability for these rapidly expanding school operations.

Instead of the “bargain” political leaders may have thought they struck with seemingly well-intentioned charter entrepreneurs, what has transpired instead looks more like a raw deal for millions of students, their families, and their communities. And what political leaders ought to be doing – rather than spouting unfounded platitudes, as Clinton did, about “what works” – is putting the brakes on a deal gone bad, ensuring those most affected by charter school rollouts are brought to the bargaining table, and completely renegotiating the terms for governing these schools.

(Continue reading at Salon.com)

Ohio schools earn a C in nationwide review

Ohio’s education system still outperforms that of most other states, but it has fallen to 18th on a national report card released today.

Ohio earned a C, receiving 75.8 points out of a possible 100, in the annual Quality Counts report by Education Week, an education trade newspaper. That was slightly higher than the national average of 74.3, also a C.

Five years ago, Ohio got a B- and ranked fifth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“We know we have a literacy problem, and we’ve been addressing that for a few years,” said John Charlton, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.

“We feel like we’re moving in the right direction and have put some things into motion that we hope will have long-tem positive effects, like the third-grade reading guarantee, but it will take time.”

Most states — 31, including Ohio — were in the C+ to C- range.

(Read more at the Dispatch)

State school board to have leadership battle next week

Democrats are still a minority on the state school board, but several are banding together to try to make one of them president or vice president of the board.

That's the first step in a planned push by Democrats, who gained two seats on the 19-member board in November, to take a more active role in support of "public education," meaning, traditional public schools instead of charter schools.

The members will explain their new agenda to the public Friday morning in a conference call with media.

The board will select new leadership at its first meeting of the new year on Monday, with last-year's vice president, Tom Gunlock, the clear favorite for the position.

Gunlock, an appointee of Gov. John Kasich who did much of the work to redesign the state's report cards for schools and districts, had been wavering on whether to seek the spot. He told The Plain Dealer this week that he is interested, but will not actively campaign for it.

Board members pointed to Ron Rudduck, a Wilmington Republican, as a likely nominee for vice president.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

The Testing Camera

This video by author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds is a both current reality and cautionary tale about what testing does or can do to our children.

The fascinating story about the testing camera raises questions about education in general and about testing in particular.