Statewide Education News

Ohio taking EdChoice scholarship applications (Blade)

Applications for EdChoice scholarships are now being accepted by the Ohio Department of Education. EdChoice scholarships are state-funded vouchers that pay for student tuition at private schools. Students whose designated public schools have received a rating of "academic watch" or "academic emergency" in two of the past three years or whose test scores ranked in the bottom 10 percent in the state are eligible for the vouchers. Read More…

Funding challenges continue for schools (News-Herald)

While much of the nation’s economy seems to be slowly recovering from years of trouble, many area school districts are still dealing with budget problems. In the past month, Riverside school announced the elimination of 25 teacher positions and Willoughby-Eastlake schools had to cut almost 90 jobs, including 50 teachers. More could be on the way should a March school levy fail. Many districts have had to seek out new ways to raise revenue to try to make up their deficits. Read More…

Academic-recovery plan vote expected (Vindicator)

Youngstown - The city schools’ Academic Distress Commission expects to vote next week on an updated recovery plan for the district that includes extensive community engagement, increased student choice and frameworks for principal- and teacher-training. The commission’s next meeting is 2 p.m. Thursday at P. Ross Berry Eighth and Ninth Grade Academy, 940 Bryn Mawr Ave., on the city’s East Side. At a meeting Thursday at Choffin Career and Technical Center, commission members reviewed a draft plan but took no action. Read More…

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National Stories of the Day

New analysis makes case for higher ranking for U.S. schools (USA Today)

The idea that U.S. public schools are falling behind the rest of the world is widely accepted, but a new analysis of international data suggests that using rankings to sort global winners from losers is often misguided, exaggerating tiny differences between countries that may be producing nearly identical results. In other words, maybe U.S. schools are not as bad as you might think. "Sometimes rankings can make small gaps appear big and vice versa," says researcher Tom Loveless of the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution think tank. Read More…

'Value Added' Concept Proves Beneficial to Teacher Colleges (Education Week)

The use of “value added” information appears poised to expand into the nation’s teacher colleges, with more than a dozen states planning to use the technique to analyze how graduates of training programs fare in classrooms. Supporters say the data could help determine which teacher education pathways produce teachers who are at least as good as—or even better than—other novice teachers, spurring other providers to emulate their practices. Read More…

The Teaching Penalty (Economic Policy Institute)

Effective teachers are demonstrably the most important resource schools have for improving the academic success of their students (Hanushek and Rivkin 2006; Rice 2003). Yet for many school leaders, recruiting and retaining talented and effective classroom teachers remains an uphill battle. For decades, a small and declining fraction of the most cognitively skilled graduates have elected to enter the teaching profession (Corcoran, Evans, and Schwab 2004), while rigorous national standards and school-based accountability for student performance have pushed the demand for talented teachers to an all-time high. Read More…

Local Issues

Chardon Schools taking another look at open enrollment (News-Herald)

Chardon School District is taking a second look at open enrollment which could potentially deliver thousands of dollars to financially strained coffers. At a public meeting earlier this week Superintendent Joseph Bergant said the topic was discussed a few years ago but later shelved for several reasons including lack of support. Chardon and Kenston are the only two districts in Geauga County not offering open enrollment, which is the voluntary enrollment of a student in a public school other than the one assigned based on where they live. Read More…

North Canton board approves administrative changes (Beacon Journal)

NORTH CANTON - The Board of Education approved two administrative staff changes Wednesday night, in one case over the objections of two board members. Greentown Elementary Principal Bryan McKenzie will become instructional supervisor for the district. Hoover High Associate Principal Jeff Breit was named principal of Greentown. The moves take effect at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Read More…