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Education News for 05-14-2013

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State Education News

  • Schools, city look for millions in BWC rebates (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The city of Columbus could get at least $5.4 million and Columbus City Schools about $1.9 million under Gov. John Kasich’s proposal…Read more...

  • Plan would return $113M to Ohio schools, cities (Marion Star)

    • Ohio communities and schools would share almost $113 million in rebates from the state’s workers’ compensation fund should a proposal from Gov. John Kasich be approved…Read more...

  • Schools fared "better than normal" in special election, even though many had losses (Ohio Public Radio)

    • Voters across the state headed to the polls yesterday to make decisions about all kinds of levies – including almost 140 school issues…Read more...

Local Education News

    

  • No interim chief on the horizon for Columbus schools (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The Columbus Board of Education has no idea who will take over the $1.3 billion-a-year…Read more...

  • Fifth-graders have a blast while learning (Mansfield News Journal)

    • Fifth-graders at Hannah Crawford Elementary are learning math, language arts, science and social studies skills in a unique way…Read more...

Editorial

  • Yet another tale of a looted charter school shows that better fiscal safeguards (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The Cuyahoga County prosecutor has it right, for the last six years, an in-house den of thieves has stolen nearly $2 million from a Cleveland charter school for teen dropouts…Read more...

Education News for 05-06-2013

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State Education News

  • Transportation costs squeezing school districts (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Mogadore, Cuyahoga Falls, Akron and Barberton schools have more in common than interconnecting county highways…Read more...

  • Auditor’s focus in records seizure was mostly grade changes (Columbus Dispatch)

    • State Auditor Dave Yost seized records of grade and attendance changes for more than 870 students for his data-tampering…Read more...

  • Ohio's education standards debated (Columbus Dispatch)

    • New math and English standards known as the Common Core are already in Ohio classrooms, even as opposition mounts from groups that include those affiliated…Read more...

  • School funding plan improving (Findlay Courier)

    • Legislators don't often change their minds on important policy issues, but state Rep. Robert Sprague said he did when he learned the details of Gov. John Kasich's school funding plan…Read more...

  • Early start, better finish? (Newark Advocate)

    • As a single mother working full-time, Jessica Dyer doesn’t have much time to work with her 2-year-old daughter, Annabelle…Read more...

  • Health department, school monitor MRSA (Springfield News-Sun)

    • The Ohio Department of Health and the Clark County Combined Health District are working with Springfield school officials to address recent cases of the staph infection…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Transportation disparities put many students walking to school on dangerous path (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Anise Moore had mixed feelings about safety in the rough neighborhood where her kids walk to school…Read more...

  • School levies asking for new money on rise (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • All but two of the 15 school districts in the five-county Akron-Canton area with an issue on the May 7 ballot are proposing tax hikes for homeowners — a request that’s increasingly frequent…Read more...

  • Gay Catholic-school teacher’s firing raises questions (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The firing of a gay Catholic-school teacher by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus raises competing constitutional questions about religious freedoms and civil liberties…Read more...

  • BYOD lets NHS students to bring their own technology to school (Newark Advocate)

    • For the past few years, Brian Stepanic had a sign in his classroom instructing students not to use wireless devices such as cellphones and tablets during school…Read more...

  • State calls East Portsmouth Elementary a “School of Honor” (Portsmouth Daily Times)

    • The Portsmouth City School Board rewarded faculty and staff of East Portsmouth Elementary School with a special luncheon…Read more...

  • Campbell schools receives grant from state (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The Ohio Department of Education has awarded the Campbell school district almost $120,000 for a 2013-14 elementary school reading program…Read more...

Editorial

  • Cleveland schools leaders lay out broad transformation ideas (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • It's taken a while to get here, but there's a lot to like in the first draft of the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools, which aims to turn around 13 failing schools…Read more...

  • Is minimum OK with Elida voters? (Lima News)

    • Administrators at Elida Local Schools are running out of tricks when it comes to offering a quality educational experience on minimal funding…Read more...

Lawsuit filed over unfair teacher evaluations

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The Washington Post is reporting on a lawsuit being filed by Florida teachers, that cold shake the foundations of a lot of teacher evaluation systems both in Florida, but across the country, including here in Ohio

A group of teachers and their unions filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Florida officials that challenges the state’s educator evaluation system, under which many teachers are evaluated on the standardized test scores of students they do not teach.

The seven teachers who filed the lawsuit include Kim Cook, who, as this post explains, was evaluated at Irby Elementary, a K-2 school where she works and was named Teacher of the Year last December. But 40 percent of that evaluation was based on test scores of students at Alachua Elementary, a school into which Irby feeds, whom she never taught.

Kim Cook's story is very unneverving

Here’s the crazy story of Kim Cook, a teacher at Irby Elementary, a K-2 school which feeds into Alachua Elementary, for grades 3-5, just down the road in Alachua, Fla. She was recently chosen by the teachers at her school as their Teacher of the Year.

Her plight stems back to last spring when the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 736, which mandates that 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation must be based on student scores on the state’s standardized tests, a method known as the value-added model, or VAM. It is essentially a formula that supposedly tells how much “value” a teacher has added to a student’s test score. Assessment experts say it is a terrible way to evaluate teachers but it has still been adopted by many states with the support of the Obama administration.

Since Cook’s school only goes through second grade, her school district is using the FCAT scores from the third graders at Alachua Elementary School to determine the VAM score for every teacher at her school.

Alachua Elementary School did not do well in 2011-12 evaluations that just came out; it received a D. Under the VAM model, the state awarded that school — and Cook’s school, by default — 10 points out of 100 for their D.

In this school district, there are three components to teacher evaluations:
1. A lesson study worth 20 percent. In the lesson study, small groups of teachers work together to create an exemplary lesson, observe one of the teachers implement it, critique the teacher’s performance and discuss improvement.
2. Principal appraisal worth 40 percent of overall score.
3. VAM data (scores from the standardized Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores for elementary schools) worth 40 percent of the overall score.

Cook received full points on her lesson study: 100 x .20 (20%) = 20 points
Cook received an 88/100 from her former principal: 88/100 x .40 (40%) = 35.2 points
On VAM data — points awarded by the state for the FCAT scores at Alachua Elementary School: 10/100 x .40 (40%) = 4 points
Total points that she received: 59.2 (Unsatisfactory)

Here's a video of Kim speaking on this issue

We imaging this to be the first, not the last legal action against many of the provisions corporate education reformers are trying to cram into teacher evaluations.

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…

Education News for 01-17-2013

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State Education News

  • Retiring Columbus schools official fears he’s data-rigging scapegoat (Columbus Dispatch)

    • No Columbus school-district worker is thought to have altered more student records over the past few years than Michael L. Dodds…Read more...

  • Westerville superintendent search down to 6 candidates (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Six candidates have been called back for second interviews in the search for the next superintendent of Westerville schools…Read more...

  • School reformer backs Kasich’s efforts (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A national education leader who has the ears of Gov. John Kasich and other Ohio GOP leaders says the state’s education system has improved, and she hopes this year to help push additional reforms through the General Assembly…Read more...

  • Ohio Police Department Offers To Add Armed Officers At Schools (WBNS)

    • A month after the deadly shootings at Sandy Hook elementary, President Obama is making recommendations to increase safety. Some Ohio school districts are taking action of their own…Read more...

Local Education News

  • No plan to arm teachers in North Canton schools (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The carnage from the Newtown, Conn., shootings has added a new dimension to school safety and security…Read more...

  • Principal moved to district office after failing to report assault (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A Reynoldsburg elementary-school principal who did not immediately report a sexual assault involving two students to district officials or the police has resigned…Read more...

  • Coleman critical of school board (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman scolded the Columbus Board of Education yesterday for being reluctant to cooperate unconditionally…Read more...

  • Three elementary schools getting new security entrances (Findlay Courier)

    • By springtime, at least three of Findlay's elementary schools will have new security entrances, Findlay Superintendent Dean Wittwer said Wednesday…Read more...

  • Arm teachers? Sheriff: response time critical (New Philadelphia Times)

    • Tuscarawas County Sheriff Walt Wilson believes that schools need both a police presence and armed employees to prevent the mass shootings that have occurred in recent years across the country…Read more...

  • Westlake teachers, district reach agreement on 18-month contract (Sun News)

    • School board members voted Wednesday to approve an agreement with the Westlake Teachers Association on an 18-month contract for teachers…Read more...

  • Hilliard Property Taxes Decrease Due To School Refinancing (WBNS)

    • Hilliard City Schools has taken steps to refinance some of its debt which will decrease property taxes in the district. A district spokesperson said school board members voted on two separate resolutions that will reduce the projected bond millage…Read more...

  • Orrville City Schools votes to arm science teacher (WEWS)

    • When it came to a vote for a school board resolution…Read more...

  • Geauga County school leaders discuss consolidating 4 smallest districts (Willoughby News Herald)

    • After a meeting Wednesday night, it's fair to say there are still more questions than answers about the possibility of consolidating Geauga County's four smallest school districts…Read more...

Editorial

  • Code of conduct (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Public schools have a tough job when it comes to student discipline. As centers of learning, they are required to maintain an environment conducive to learning…Read more...

Education News for 01-02-2013

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State Education News

  • OHSAA convenes athletics task force (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The association that oversees high-school athletics in Ohio has formed a task force to work with school-district treasurers in the wake of questionable use of more than $100,000…Read more...

  • Scores of school workers want gun training (Columbus Dispatch)

    • More than 450 teachers and other school employees from across Ohio have applied for 24 spots in a free firearms-training program being offered by the Buckeye Firearms Association…Read more...

  • Recess is key element in children’s well-being (Columbus Dispatch)

    • If childhood memories of pushing your best friend on the swings, sharing secrets and playing Red Rover are strong, there’s good reason…Read more...

  • More schools add online courses (Dayton Daily News)

    • More Miami Valley school districts are offering blended learning, a combination of traditional classes and online learning…Read more...

  • Challenges ahead for public schools (Marion Star)

    • As area schools enter 2013, educators can expect another year of change…Read more...

Local Education News

    A waiting list? Catholic schools shout hallelujah (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    The revelation struck Sister Anne Schulz last year on a day she had to turn away 90 students who wanted to attend Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School…Read more...

    Area split on school security methods (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., earlier this month has prompted school districts around the country to cast a critical eye at their security measures…Read more...

  • Local schools outperform state on report cards (Dayton Daily News)

    • Students in traditional public schools across the Miami Valley outperformed their counterparts across the state in both performance index and ratings…Read more...

  • School says movie lunch project raises test scores (Dayton Daily News)

    • Officials at a Dayton area charter school say state test scores in reading and math went up after students began participating in a mandatory project that requires them to watch a movie…Read more...

  • ESC keeps track of grads (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • A grant earned last year by the Columbiana County Educational Service Center (ESC) has gone toward tracking how many county high school graduates are pursuing higher education, where they enroll…Read more...

  • Judge denies motion to suppress statements made by family of accused Chardon shooter (Willoughby News Herald)

    • The motion to suppress statements made by the family of Thomas Lane III on the day of the Chardon High School shooting has been denied…Read more...

  • 2 Mahoning school superintendents to retire-rehire in new year (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Two Mahoning County superintendents will retire, and be rehired, in the new year…Read more...

Editorial

  • Tragic uptick (Columbus Dispatch)

    • One tragic fact linked the short lives of nine otherwise-unrelated Franklin County youths this year: All of them died by suicide…Read more...

  • The New Year (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Today dawns a New Year, and with it, our annual opportunity for a fresh start…Read more...

  • Train teachers to see student warning signs (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • A new Ohio law requiring that both public and private school teachers be trained in recognizing students who may be considering suicide, and in doing something about it…Read more...