Statewide Education News

Monroe school board sends treasurer complaint to state officials (Middletown Journal)

MONROE — The Monroe Board of Education submitted a letter of professional misconduct to the Ohio Department of Education’s office of professional conduct on Tuesday detailing the actions of former treasurer Kelley Thorpe. The 55-page document was filed by the district’s attorney, Bill Deters, and it stated that the reason why Thorpe was being reported was “the employee has engaged or may have engaged in conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession.” Read More…

Facebook video puts bullying in the spotlight (Journal-News)

ROSS TWP. — When the week began, Ross High School senior CourtneyLyn Bacher was on the brink of suicide for the years of bullying that she’s had to endure. But now, she’s a girl on a mission, determined to bring bullying to light, even if it means putting her own problems in the public light. The difference is a tearful six-minute video she made in the early hours of Tuesday and posted to her Facebook account. Read More…

Students learn with donated iPads (Beacon Journal)

GREEN - Teaching grade-schoolers to speak Mandarin might not be difficult in Asia, but in America, the challenge is daunting. But the students in J.T. Kuzior’s Green Primary School third-grade classroom are doing just that, using a computer application that helps them learn the language. Thanks to a local businessman, the nearly 1,000 students at the school in grades 1-3 are getting foreign language instructions and lessons in other subjects twice each week using the latest technology. Read More…

Local Issues

Clear Fork schools propose more than 100 budget fixes (News-Journal)

BELLVILLE - Clear Fork school board members are considering an array of proposals to bring the district's budget in line -- including cuts to programs, services and staff. Clear Fork Valley Local Schools Board of Education presented more than 100 possible ideas Thursday to raise revenues and reduce costs. The list was created with input from teachers and administrators. Board members asked the public to offer additional feedback. Read More…

Cleveland School Closing Due to Safety Concerns (WJW 8 FOX)

CLEVELAND—Almira at the Nathaniel Hawthorne School is shutting its doors because of safety concerns for students and staff, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced Thursday. "During a routine inspection of the Nathaniel Hawthorne building, the current swing-site location of Almira students and staff, a custodian noticed that two structural support beams were deteriorating. Read More…

Mock interviews prepare students for real world (Journal-News)

FAIRFIELD — Job interviews some local teens took Thursday may not have been the genuine article, but they gave the kids a taste of the “real world” regardless. Members of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce conducted mock job interviews with several students throughout the week to give Fairfield High School students an idea of what to look out for when they begin to pound the pavement looking for a real job. Read More…

Van Buren teachers issue second no confidence vote (Courier)

VAN BUREN - Teachers represented by the Van Buren Education Association told the school board Thursday that the association has adopted a vote of no confidence in Van Buren Superintendent Tim Myers. "Superintendent Myers has participated in enacting the implementation of the board of education's last, best and final offer upon members of the Van Buren Education Association, rather than negotiate a mutually agreed-upon contract," Jennifer Obenour, a Van Buren teacher, told the board. Read More…

Editorial

Don’t leave kids behind in ‘Race’ (Tribune Chronicle)

Kindergarten really isn't the beginning of a youngster's education. Children begin learning from birth, at home and through avenues other than formal education. That means some are better prepared than others to begin school. Those who enter kindergarten and first grade without adequate preparation too often fall behind classmates and never catch up. During the past decade or so, educators have come to understand their work needs to begin before kindergarten, sometimes as early as age 3 in pre-school programs. Ohio has a reasonably widespread network of such facilities, certified by the state Department of Education. Read More…

Schools of choice (Beacon Journal)

The Akron school district is making an aggressive effort to draw families back into the city school system. John Higgins, a Beacon Journal staff writer, described Thursday the recruiting campaign aimed at 6,000 homes where students have left or are likely to opt out of the district. Advocates of school choice would contend, with some justification, that the enrollment campaign in itself reflects a positive effect of competition in the school market, as the district is forced to fight harder to retain students and state funding. Read More…