Ed News

Education News for 03-21-2013

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Local Education News

  • Jefferson Area School District employees may face layoffs (Ashtabula Star-Beacon)

    • Educators and staff of the Jefferson Area School District could be facing layoffs as board members unanimously approved the intent for a reduction in force for the 2013-2014 school year…Read more...

  • Academic measures may be altered (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Elementary school report cards could have more detail, the grading scale could change and more classes could help boost a student’s GPA…Read more...

  • T.J. Lane's 'Killer' T-shirt stirs debate over defendants' statements in court (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz said Wednesday that he was shocked when T.J. Lane showed off his "Killer" T-shirt at his sentencing, but he didn't point it out during the proceeding because he believed the judge would take care of it…Read more...

  • Huber schools could restore $1.6M in instructional programs (Dayton Daily News)

    • Officials with Huber Heights City Schools are considering restoring $1.6 million in instructional programs if the district is able to generate additional revenue by passing a levy in August and receives an increase in state funding…Read more...

  • Impacts of Heights tax levy success, failure outlined (Newark Advocate)

    • Licking Heights schools superintendent Philip Wagner laid out the good news and bad news Tuesday surrounding the success or failure of the district’s proposed new 8.9-mill tax levy…Read more...

  • Strike spills into Beachwood, Parma as Strongsville teachers picket at board members' employers (Sun Newspapers)

    • Picketers for the Strongsville Education Association took their message to the Western Campus of Cuyahoga Community College March 20, where David Frazee, president of the Strongsville School Board…Read more...

  • Superintendent Hathorn wants to meet with charter school parents (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • City schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn wants to meet with parents of students attending charter schools to tout what the city district has to offer…Read more...

  • Student fees hot topic at Austintown BOE (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • School board members spoke out Tuesday about fees that are charged yearly to all students, saying that some parents and teachers have been vocal in their opposition to them…Read more...

Editorial

  • School aid do-over (Toledo Blade)

    • When Gov. John Kasich first outlined his plan to reform Ohio public school funding, there was hope it would lead to a more equitable, more adequate system. As details of the proposal have emerged, that hope largely has been dashed…Read more...

Education News for 03-19-2013

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State Education News

  • State tests require computers some schools can't afford (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Ohio public schools appear to be far short of having enough computers to have all their students take new state-mandated tests within a four-week period beginning in the 2014- 15 school year…Read more…

  • Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane faces sentencing in 3 student murders (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The teenager who killed three students at a Northeast Ohio high school in a shooting rampage just over a year ago could face life in prison at his sentencing....Read more…

    


  • Longtime Johnstown bus driver receiving award in England (Newark Advocate)

    • Larry Warner will be getting a ride Tuesday instead of giving one to the Johnstown-Monroe students he usually drives to school....Read more…

    


Local Education News

  • Some third-graders won’t be promoted (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Clark, Champaign schools handle reading guarantee differently this year. Next year, students who don’t pass portion of state test cannot move to fourth grade....Read more…

    


  • Teachers approve tentative contract (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • The teaching union for Austintown School District approved a tentative contract Monday after nearly a year of negotiations....Read more…

    


  • Strongsville teachers' strike hits week 3 with high school trips canceled (WEWS)

    • As the Strongsville teachers' strike entered its third week Monday, the school district canceled two student trips due to a lack of chaperones....Read more…

    


  • Applicants for Akron School Board announced (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Round one of interviews for the Akron School Board is complete after the board met with potential candidates Monday night....Read more…

    


  • Deputies plan daily visits to Butler schools (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Butler County sheriff’s deputies will be stopping by county schools every day beginning today through a new initiative being launched this week to help make schools safer....Read more…

    


  • District energy makeover on schedule (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • The Northwest Local School District has been able to save energy and taxpayer dollars thanks to a law that lets districts pay for capital improvements with the energy savings they generate....Read more…

  • State agency plans review of schools (Findlay Courier)

    • As part of Fostoria School District's improvement plan, state Department of Education personnel will spend four days in the district next month to talk with staff and observe classroom activities…...Read more…

  • Bluffton opposes voucher expansion (Findlay Courier)

    • The Bluffton school board sent a strong message to Gov. John Kasich opposing his proposed expansions of the Education Choice Scholarship Program during its meeting Monday night....Read more…

    


  • Beaver students walk out, briefly (Lisbon Morning Journal)

    • A group of students at Beaver Local High School staged a walkout Monday morning in support of their teachers, whose union has reached an impasse in contract negotiations with the school board....Read more…

  • Fenwick teacher, coach firing ‘in the best interest of the students’ (Middletown Journal)

    • A Bishop Fenwick High School teacher, who once was recognized for fostering self esteem in students, was terminated by the school Friday, said Principal Trevor Block....Read more…

    


  • Radio station carries on tradition in Struthers (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • By spinning records every Saturday, Dennis Spisak is keeping a local tradition from fading away....Read more…

    


Education News for 03-18-2013

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State Education News

  • Fund manager bonuses questioned (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Fund managers at Ohio’s state teacher pension system took in nearly $4 million in bonuses last year – with many of the bonuses alone more than the governor’s salary…Read more...

  • New superintendents getting smaller salaries (Columbus Dispatch)

    • So far, all of the new superintendents in Franklin County will start their jobs at a lower salary than their predecessors…Read more...

  • Acting state superintendent takes New Albany job (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Days after being passed over for Ohio schools chief, Michael Sawyers, who has been acting superintendent for seven months, announced yesterday he is leaving the Department of Education for a job in New Albany-Plain schools…Read more...

  • When is it bullying? (Mansfield News Journal)

    • Bullying has drawn increased attention, as some of the nation’s deadliest school shootings have been linked to it…Read more...

  • School board president reported neighboring district (Middletown Journal)

    • Kelly Kohls, president of the Springboro school board, was the first person to ask whether aletter critical of the governor that was posted on the Franklin schools web site and sent to families violated Ohio law…Read more...

  • Pecko defends district action on ‘scrubbing’ (Toledo Blade)

    • Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Jerome Pecko defended how his district handled truancy reports and other data in a written response sent to the Ohio Department of Education over a state investigation involving TPS reporting practices…Read more...

  • Area school districts prepare for state tests taken online (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Tenth-graders across the state spent much of last week huddled over test booklets, pencils in hand, but in 2014-15 they’ll sit in front of computers instead…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Canton City Schools expands focus on early learning (Canton Repository)

    • When Alicia Paulette first heard about City Schools’ “A Brighter Tomorrow” plan last month, she was excited…Read more...

  • Jackson school district moves Jesus portrait (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A Jesus portrait that has embroiled a southeastern Ohio school district in a federal lawsuit has been moved from the middle school to a high school at the preference of a Christian- based student club that the district views as the picture’s owner…Read more...

  • Panel asks: Columbus school board due for change? (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A mayoral takeover is not the only option for those who want to overhaul Columbus City Schools. Maybe not even a realistic one…Read more...

  • Xenia school board censures member (Dayton Daily News)

    • A Xenia Community Board of Education member said a resolution censuring him that was recently passed by his fellow board members was “wrongful, unfair, and grossly illegal."…Read more...

  • Conotton Valley Local considers layoffs amid funding woes (New Philadelphia Times-Reporter)

    • A month after voting to close one of its elementary schools, the Conotton Valley Board of Education will consider a proposal Monday to lay off or reduce the hours of more than a dozen employees…Read more...

  • Demand for at-risk group's services higher than ever (Newark Advocate)

    • Skylar Tharp has felt the sting of words such as “weird” and “freak."Read more...

  • District plans to improve security (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Mechanicsburg school board members are considering a plan to improve security in the district by installing new cameras and requiring visitors to buzz in at additional entrances to school facilities…Read more...

  • Toledo Public Schools system boosts communication (Toledo Blade)

    • When bad weather hit in years past and Toledo Public Schools canceled or delayed classes, parents and kids had to wait for media reports to cycle through Toledo to learn if there was school that day…Read more...

Editorial

  • Charter diversion (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • Ohio’s charter school program has made remarkable strides as an alternative to the traditional public school system. But from the beginning, the mechanism for funding the rapidly expanding system was — and remains — contentious…Read more...

  • Lake Local faces tough decisions (Canton Repository)

    • The Lake Local Board of Education is facing what every other school district has in the last few years: More cuts to its budget — to the tune of $1.5 million in the upcoming school year — and an attempt to raise more money…Read more...

  • New leader, big issues (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Taking the helm of the Ohio Department of Education now presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities, and The Dispatch extends best wishes to Richard Ross in the top job…Read more...

  • School system restructuring deserves state financial help (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • For the second time in two years, the troubled Youngstown City School District is undergoing a major transformation in an effort to not only stop the exodus of students…Read more...

  • ODE's rating system muddies perception (Zanesville Times-Recorder)

    • The problem with labels is they rarely tell the whole story. In the case of the Ohio Department of Education’s newest label, the story of school performance has become completely muddled…Read more...

Education News for 03-13-2013

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State Education News

  • Kasich adviser selected as new Ohio schools chief (Education Week)

    • Ohio's state school board picked Republican Gov. John Kasich's top education adviser Tuesday as the new superintendent of public instruction. Richard Ross was selected over acting Superintendent Michael Sawyers by a 10-6 vote…Read more...

  • Ohio to get $20.2M to help low-performing schools (Canton Repository)

    • The U.S. education secretary says Ohio will receive $20.2 million to continue its efforts to help persistently lowest-performing schools raise their students’ achievement.…Read more...

    


  • Gov. John Kasich's school funding formula would increase charter school aid by 4.5 percent (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Charter schools would receive about $35 million more from the state -- a 4.5 percent increase -- under Gov. John Kasich's proposed school funding formula than they have over the last two years…Read more...

  • Rural school districts call on state to share wealth (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Superintendents and treasurers from low-income, rural school districts across the state gathered at the Statehouse yesterday to push for significant changes to a funding formula they say punishes their students.…Read more...

  • State reinstates license of ex-Columbus teacher (Columbus Dispatch)

    • After a court battle, the State Board of Education yesterday reinstated the teaching license of a former Columbus teacher whom board members previously had banned from teaching for using poor judgment with an out-of-control child.…Read more...

  • Students, teachers cope (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

    • City schools Superintendent Michael Notar said that when he heard about the Sunday morning crash in which several of his students were killed, his initial thought was to close school on Monday - longer if needed.…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Loveland 'won' with Marschhausen tenure (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • The Loveland School District is beginning its process of replacing John Marschhausen, but instead of hard feelings, the hope is more of the same. It might have only lasted three years, but Marschhausen’s tenure built the foundation…Read more...

  • 4 Fairfield schools to tighten security (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Visitors will no longer be able to enter four Fairfield schools without being buzzed in. It is the latest local school district to beef up security in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings…Read more...

  • Candidate out of race for Columbus school board; no primary (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Paperwork filed by a college intern for the county Republican Party led elections officials to boot a Democratic candidate from the Columbus school-board race yesterday, ending the need for a primary vote.…Read more...

  • Grove changing school administrative structure (Lima News)

    • Facing cuts in state funding and a long list of new state mandates, Columbus Grove schools will change its administrative structure to try to address both.…Read more...

    


  • TV’s Murphy joins school funding pleas in Columbus (New Philadelphia Times Reporter)

    • Local superintendents joined school representatives from the Appalachian region to speak against Gov. John Kasich’s two-year budget Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse.…Read more...

    


  • School subcontractor denies claims (The Findlay Courier)

    • The president of a subcontracting company on Tuesday disputed claims that it has refused to pay painters who worked on the new Glenwood Middle School.…Read more...

    


  • Rossford IDs school chief pick (Toledo Blade)

    • The Rossford Board of Education will vote next week on its next superintendent, but the board appears to have already made its decision. Daniel Creps, principal of Perrysburg’s Woodland Elementary…Read more...

  • Willoughby-Eastlake teacher resigns after prostitution sting (Willoughby News Herald)

    • The Willoughby-Eastlake School Board accepted the resignation of social studies teacher Ryan Tyna at its most recent board meeting. Tyna was placed on administrative leave Feb. 25 after police arrested him in a prostitution sting involving 11 others.…Read more...

  • Willoughby-Eastlake School Board OKs bond issue, other projects (Willoughby News Herald)

    • The Willoughby-Eastlake School Board covered a lot of ground at its most recent meeting, including approving a $130 million bond issue. The board will now take the issue to the Lake County Auditor's Office for certification…Read more...

  • Youngstown school board approves Hathorn's restructuring plan (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • City school board members gave their blessing to a restructuring plan that will close three buildings and reconfigure and re-purpose others. The board voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve Superintendent Connie Hathorn’s plan…Read more...

Education News for 03-12-2013

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Local Education News

  • Columbus schools' cuts won't be so deep (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The Columbus school board will have to cut $15 million -- not the $25 million it thought it needed to reduce -- from its budget, the district announced this afternoon…Read more...

  • Dublin schools’ new leader gets less pay, benefits (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The Dublin school district will spend less on its new superintendent than on his predecessor, even with a benefits package that equals about half of the new superintendent’s salary…Read more...

  • Columbus schools cancel big cuts as $25 million error found (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A week ago, Columbus schools Superintendent Gene Harris warned that the budget ax might chop the length of the school day, eliminate bus rides…Read more...

  • Board gets high school busing update (Newark Advocate)

    • High school busing has been more popular with students then previous estimates, Transportation Supervisor Jason Kee told the Newark Board of Education…Read more...

  • Wauseon schools to eliminate 4 teachers (Toledo Blade)

    • Wauseon Exempted Village Schools Board of Education members on Monday approved almost $400,000 in budget cuts, which includes the elimination…Read more...

Education News for 03-11-2013

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State Education News

  • Race to Top grants not worth costs, officials say (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Requirements tied to federal Race to the Top education grants have become more work than the money is worth, some Ohio school districts say…Read more...

  • In some classrooms, social media welcome (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Jordan Shapiro’s class last week delved into a weighty discussion of Plato’s allegory of the cave and shifting perceptions of reality…Read more...

  • Ohio first to target K-3 in voucher program (Dayton Daily News)

    • Ohio may become the first state in the nation to offer publicly funded vouchers to K-3 students whose schools fail to hit the bar in reading…Read more...

  • Emails show data scrubbing analyzed in ’08 (Toledo Blade)

    • It is well-documented that the Ohio Department of Education long knew — or should have known — about extensive data scrubbing at urban Ohio school districts…Read more...

  • Superintendents to testify about state funding (Zanesville Times-Recorder)

    • After losing $500,000 from state funding budget cuts in the past two years, Morgan Local Schools Superintendent Lori Snyder-Lowe fears what’s to come from other budget modifications…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Schools receive their report cards (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Excellent is the rating for the Oak Hills Local School District. The Ohio Department of Education recently released its Ohio Report Card ratings…Read more...

  • Dublin chooses new superintendent from suburban Cleveland (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Dublin schools announced today that Todd Hoadley will be the district’s next superintendent…Read more...

  • Amherst schools up security; $250,000 system to include panic button, telephones in every classroom (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Amherst schools will upgrade its security system for the next school year to include a panic button in every building and telephones in every classroom…Read more...

  • Monroe mulls $740K in savings (Middletown Journal)

    • Monroe schools could save $740,000 over the next two years by reducing teacher positions, negotiating salary freezes, raising employee health care contributions and eliminating two active buses, according to the results of a year-long performance…Read more...

  • Community backs new city schools plan (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Many in the community support city schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn’s plan to restructure schools in an effort to boost student choice, cut costs and bolster achievement — although some questions remain…Read more...

Editorial

  • School districts to state - We need stable funding (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Last month, Gov. John Kasich made waves with his school-funding proposal. The waves have not ceased ... and local districts are still bobbing up and down in rather deep troughs…Read more...

  • How about an Ohio school funding formula do-over (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Any proposal to change the inequitable way Ohio funds its public schools is sure to sow confusion and dissension. Funding formulas are complicated things…Read more...

  • Youngstown school board gets warning from oversight panel (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • Youngstown schools Superinten- dent Connie Hathorn is seeking a renewal of his contract that expires in July 2014. The chairwoman of the state-appointed Academic Distress Commission…Read more...