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Education News for 11-27-2012

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State Education News

  • Kasich offers Coleman help with school reform (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Gov. John Kasich pledged to assist Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman with efforts to reform the city’s school system, much like the support he gave this year to Cleveland…Read more...

  • New buildings may doom school levies in elections (Dayton Daily News)

    • Voters who approved bond issues in recent years to build new schools rejected requests for new operating levies in those same districts earlier this month…Read more...

  • Title IX 40th anniversary: High school, college athletes, coaches see benefits and challenges (Willoughby News Herald)

    • As an All-Ohio volleyball player at Lake Catholic High School as well as a University of Florida recruit, Abby Detering has felt the effects of Title IX. And she likes what the future holds…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Bomb threat holds up Dublin classes (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Dublin school officials took the unusual step of delaying the start of school throughout the district yesterday after emails said there were bombs in several buildings…Read more...

  • Free school lunch numbers continue to rise (Hamilton Journal-News)

    • During the past decade, the percentage of students participating in the Free and Reduced Lunch program has nearly doubled in some Butler County school districts…Read more...

  • Reynoldsburg Police Pull Dare Officer Out Of Schools (WBNS)

    • The new administration at the Reynoldsburg Police Department has decided to implement term limits for its school resource officer…Read more...

  • Teens steal iPads, laptops (WEWS)

    • Eleven iPads were stolen from an Akron middle school…Read more...

Education News for 06-14-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Tougher reading standards passed (Dispatch)

    • A sweeping education bill proposed by Gov. John Kasich that imposes a new reading requirement for third-graders and a stricter evaluation of teachers passed the General Assembly yesterday, largely along party lines. The bill says districts must assess the reading skills of all children in grades K-3 starting this fall. Those who are struggling must be given services including “intensive, explicit and systematic instruction.” The additional help cannot be general; it must be targeted at a child’s specific reading problem. Read more...

  • Legislature OKs education reforms (Vindicator)

    • COLUMBUS - State lawmakers have signed off on legislation increasing reading requirements for third-graders and providing increased intervention for younger students who are not keeping pace with their grade level. Senate Bill 316 calls for increased testing requirements in coming years, eventually blocking students who are not proficient from moving on to fourth grade. The bill also calls for reading assessments of students starting in kindergarten and increased identification, parental notification and targeted teaching intervention for students struggling with reading. Read more...

  • Bill Targets Third-Graders For Reading Help (WBNS 10 CBS)

    • COLUMBUS - Ohio third-graders lagging in reading skills face the possibility of being held back for up to two school years under a sweeping overhaul of state education policy that has cleared the state legislature on Wednesday. The so-called third grade reading guarantee is modeled after a Florida program that's shown positive results in improving reading scores. It's one of dozens of elements in the education bill that cleared the Ohio House on Wednesday, and the Senate agreed to the changes. Read more...

  • Report pushes shared services for schools, local governments (Dispatch)

    • Shrinking budgets have left Ohio schools and local governments with a choice: raise taxes or cut services. A state report being released today focuses on a third option: sharing services to save money. A state report being released today focuses on a third option: sharing services to save money. It’s not a new idea. In fact, the report, Beyond Boundaries: A Shared Services Action Plan for Ohio Schools and Governments, identifies nearly $1 billion in savings already being realized by 51 collaborative efforts involving schools and governments across the state. Read more...

Local Issues

  • USV audit shows potential saving measures (Lima News)

    • McGUFFEY — Upper Scioto Valley schools has already reduced more than a recent state audit said it should, but officials continue to look for more ways to save the struggling district. “We will get control of this. We are trying to salvage and save the district,” said Superintendent Dennis Recker, who also said he faces constant surprise expenses that “bites the district.” A state performance audit suggests adjustments to staff levels and bus routes to address forecasted future deficits. The office believes the recommendations can save $686,900. Read more...

  • Springfield seeks free lunch for all students (News-Sun)

    • SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield City School District plans to apply to a federal program that provides free lunch and breakfast for all students in the district. The board will vote Thursday night on a resolution to apply for the Community Eligibility Option for the National School Lunch and Breakfast program. The USDA-funded program allows high-poverty districts like Springfield to serve free lunch and breakfast to all students at all schools, regardless of family incomes, and pays schools back for the cost of the meals. Read more...

  • Pay hike for Wolf Creek teachers (Marietta Times)

    • Teachers in the Wolf Creek Local school district will receive pay increases in exchange for insurance concessions. The district's board of education unanimously approved a new three-year contract with members of the Wolf Creek Local Education Association during an early morning meeting on May 31. The agreement creates a two-tiered insurance system. Workers who choose the first option, a traditional plan which includes prescription drug coverage, will receive a half-percent increase to their base salary. Read more...

  • Cleveland Schools CEO Hopes to Stay With District (WJW 8 FOX)

    • CLEVELAND — The man in charge of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is giving himself a passing grade for the school year, and hopes to be rehired by the school board. On Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon spoke to FOX 8 News about the future of the district. “We’ve got a long way to go,” said Gordon. “We knew that going into it, but we can’t discount how much great goes on within the CMSD every day just because we haven’t gotten to the end goal, so I think we’ve had a great year!” Read more...

Editorial

  • A new chapter (Dispatch)

    • When state lawmakers gave the green light Tuesday for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to go forward with a groundbreaking reform plan, they gave that troubled district its best chance yet to break out of decades of dysfunction and failure. And if it brings meaningful improvement, it could provide a model for other districts. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, a Democrat, deserves credit for risking the ire of his traditional political supporters by pushing for changes that the Cleveland Teachers Union and other unions dislike. Read more...

  • The Jackson plan finally wins out (Plain Dealer)

    • The battle for the Cleveland schools is far from over, but Tuesday's overwhelming Ohio House and Senate votes to approve Mayor Frank Jackson's school reform plan show what can happen when politicians look beyond partisan self-interest. The mayor, who often works behind the scenes, deserves tremendous credit for staying out front and for acting without regard to his Democratic Party affiliation or his own political future. Read more...

Education News for 05-22-2012

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Statewide Stories of the Day

  • Ohio's Dropout Numbers Jump At Higher Rate; Columbus Sees Decrease (WBNS 10 CBS)

    • CINCINNATI - Ohio's dropout rate increased between 2002 and 2009 at a higher rate than all other states except Illinois. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Ohio's dropout rate jumped from 3.1 percent to 4.2 percent in 2008-09. Columbus City Schools saw a decrease between the 2006-07 school year and the 2008-09 school year, 10TV News reported. The dropout rate was 7.4 percent in 2006-07, 5.8 in 2007-08 and 2.2 in 2008-09. Ohio's dropout numbers for 2009 are just slightly higher than the national average. Read More…

  • Northeast Ohio public high schools among nation's best, Newsweek says (Plain Dealer)

    • Twelve Northeast Ohio high schools are on Newsweek magazine's list of the nation's top 1,000 public high schools. Chagrin Falls High School led the region at 93rd in the country and fourth among the 35 Ohio schools on the list, which was released this week. Wyoming High School, near Cincinnati, topped the Ohio list. Other Northeast Ohio high schools singled out by Newsweek for national ranking were: Orange (151), Solon (152). Read More…

  • Fewer students missing graduation because of OGT (Beacon Journal)

    • Only 10 high school seniors in Akron Public Schools out of more than 1,300 have come up short on the Ohio Graduation Test this year and will not graduate with their classes, even though they’ve earned the required academic credits. In 2007, the first year the OGT became a requirement for a diploma, 95 seniors missed graduation, prompting many frantic and angry phone calls to board members. “It’s extremely gratifying to see that number drop the way it has,” said board President Jason Haas. Read More…

  • Academic commission owes city taxpayers an explanation (Vindicator)

    • “In order to ensure a seamless transition, the new treasurer must have the same level of expertise and the same insight and foresight as the man who is leaving.” When we expressed that opinion last month about Youngstown City School District Treasurer William Johnson’s impending departure, we had every reason to believe he had performed his difficult job with a high level of professionalism. After all, there were no complaints about Johnson’s tenure from members of the board of education or from the state-mandated Academic Distress Commission. Read More…

Local Issues

  • Westerville schools to stay in black until ’17 (Dispatch)

    • Westerville schools will be able to stay off the ballot two years longer than expected, district officials announced last night, largely because of an unusually high number of teacher retirements. Administrators said this year that a five-year levy voters approved in March would keep the district’s budget in the black through fiscal year 2015. But the district now will be solvent through fiscal year 2017, Treasurer Bart Griffith said. The announcement was based on a five-year forecast that the Westerville Board of Education approved 3-0 last night. Read More…

  • Doubling up bus routes returns to budget talks at Zane Trace (Chillicothe Gazette)

    • KINGSTON - A plan to cut the number of Zane Trace bus drivers in half is back on the table. The plan initially was suggested as the district's board of education looks for ways to reduce its budget by $1.3 million over the next two years. This past week, a motion to approve staggered school hours for the upper and lower grades -- which would have allowed the district to double up on bus routes and use fewer drivers -- failed to reach a vote. Read More…

  • Boardman students to pay more for meals (Vindicator)

    • BOARDMAN - Boardman Local School District students will pay more for a school lunch in the fall. The board of education, at a meeting Monday, approved raising the price of a school lunch by 25 cents. Currently, the price of a lunch is $1.75 for elementary students, $2 for middle-school students and $2.25 for those in high school. The raise is a result of the federal government’s Equity in School Lunch Price Act. Read More…

  • School board OKs five-year forecast (Courier)

    • FOSTORIA - Fostoria school board approved a five-year financial forecast Monday which predicts declining revenues and increasing expenses. The district's projected cash balance declines from more than $4.1 million June 30 to a negative balance of more than $2.8 million by June 30, 2016. However, that figure does not include potential revenue from three replacement or renewal levies which are scheduled to expire during the five-year time period but could be put before voters for renewal. Read More…

  • Four fired Granville teachers reinstated (Newark Advocate)

    • GRANVILLE - Four of 21 staff positions cut through a Reduction In Force action in March were reinstated Monday by the Granville Board of Education. Thanks to the retirement of seven teachers, a bus driver, a librarian and the school nurse in addition to two resignations, the reinstatements became possible, Superintendent Jeff Brown said. "When we enacted this Reduction in Force in March, I said that it would change probably the next day. I was right," Brown said. Six of the retirements were approved at the April board meeting. Read More…

Editorial

  • Despite initial misgivings, charter school alliance supports the Cleveland Plan (Plain Dealer)

    • The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) supports the Cleveland Plan. We have long advocated for portfolio plans, like Cleveland's, that focus on improving low-performing schools and that provide parents with a range of choices that include district and charter schools. The only part of the plan that troubled us was the Transformation Alliance. As originally proposed, the Alliance would be comprised of a group of people selected by the mayor who would have veto authority on all new charter schools opening in Cleveland. Read More…

Next Season on Survivor

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This came to us via our mail box and we thought we would share.

Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor” show?

Governor John Kasich (OH), Governor Walker (Wis) and Governor Christie (NJ) will be dropped in an elementary school classroom for 1 school year.

Each of them will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum, and a class of 20-25 students.

Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.

Each of them must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways.

In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and [Code Red] drills for shooting attacks each month.

They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, and attend curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the SOLS tests. If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show.

Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times. If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible.

These people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day.

They will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class.

If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before, or after, school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. They must also continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time.

The winner of this Season of Survivor will be allowed to return to their job.

Pass this to your friends who think teaching is easy, and to the ones that know it is hard.