Ed News

Survey of Akron teachers shows testing, student discipline top concerns

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About half of Akron’s teachers say they work 16 hours more than they clock in for each week.

Nearly all say administrators should not tinker with a long-standing policy that automatically transfers problem students.

About four in five say high-stakes tests have hijacked their ability to teach.

And while a majority praise their building principals, even more say they have no voice in the direction of their school district.

These are among the key results of a survey the Akron Education Association culled from more than 2,000 members. About 900 responded to the survey before winter break. After tallying the responses, union leadership found the exercise to be both encouraging and concerning.

“When the majority of educators feel they do not have the freedom to organize their classroom and instruction as they think best, when 84.4 percent of educators feel they do not have a voice in the direction of the district and 72.7 percent do not feel valued as an educator ... well then, Houston, we have a problem,” the union said in a January newsletter to its members.

The survey underscores the frustrations teachers express toward central administrators but also the shared frustrations that stem from state-mandated student testing and laws dictating they be used to influence hiring decisions.

(Read more at the Akron Beacon Journal)

State Superintendent says 20 hours of standardized tests is too many for Ohio kids, suggests reductions

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Ohio students spend close to 20 hours a year taking standardized tests, state Superintendent Richard Ross reported today, as he suggested several ways to trim that time by about four hours per grade.

In a report to the legislature and Gov. John Kasich on testing in Ohio, Ross outlined ways he believes the state can reduce testing by about 20 percent, while also preserving the state's ability to evaluate the academic progress of students and measure the performance of schools and teachers.

Whether his recommendations satisfy critics of ever-increasing testing remains to be seen. He does not recommend any changes to the new state tests that ramped up testing time this year and that sparked some of the criticism of a "test mania": new Common Core tests in English and math and new tests created by the state in social studies, science and American history and government.

Ross instead proposes limiting standardized testing - not including tests created by teachers - to two percent of the school year for every student, and limiting districts to preparing students for tests only one percent of the time.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

Kasich’s student-mentoring program drops religious requirement

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The Ohio Department of Education will no longer require schools to partner with religious organizations in seeking funding from Gov. John Kasich’s new $10 million student-mentorship program.

Department officials said yesterday that the definition of a “faith-based organization has been expanded” to include nonreligious groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, which argued that the requirement was unconstitutional, said the new definition was baffling and failed to resolve the issue.

“It’s clear that this was always intended to be a religious experience. This confusing language does not let them off the hook,” said Chris Link, executive director of ACLU Ohio.

Education Department spokesman John Charlton said the change was made in response to inquiries from the ACLU and grant applicants.

(Read more at the Dispatch)

State may drop the religious requirement from Gov. Kasich's student mentoring grants

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The state may stop requiring schools to partner with religious groups to receive any money from Gov. John Kasich's new $10 million fund to promote student mentoring programs.

State Superintendent Richard Ross told the state school board Tuesday that he could drop the requirement that a church or other faith-based organization partner with schools if lawyers determine it could open the state up to a strong legal challenge.

Ross said he hopes to make a decision about the requirement "soon."

Any non-religious group would have only have until Feb. 20 to apply for the grants, if Ross changes the rule. The application period, which started in December, is already half over.

The requirement - one not spelled out in the state law that creates the new "community connectors" program - has been called unconstitutional by individuals and organizations concerned that it would promote religion with state tax money and through schools.

(Read more at Cleveland.com)

Ohio ed chair open to Common Core debate

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The Ohio House's new education chairman believes his chamber will again debate Common Core repeal, and unlike his predecessor will not try to use his influence to curtail it.

Rep. Bill Hayes, R-Pataskala, on Monday was announced as the new education committee chair, a position the former school board member said was his ultimate goal when he first ran for the Legislature.

"I'm quite excited," he said.

He said he expects to once again debate whether Ohio should repeal the Common Core learning standards. Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, has pledged to introduce another repeal bill after his last effort stalled in the lame duck session.

That bill was placed in the House rules committee because previous education chairman Gerry Stebelton, R-Lancaster, was such an ardent proponent of Common Core. Stebelton could not seek re-election last year because of term limits.

Hayes said he would not use his personal feelings to dictate how the issue was handled, but admitted to being a supporter of local control for school districts. Common Core opponents have long argued the standards take away some control from local school boards.

(Read more that the Bucyrus Telegraph)