Statewide Education News

State switching to new system of grading academic performance (Dispatch)

Ohio is about to lose nearly 95 percent of its “excellent” schools. Last year, 382 school districts and charter schools received an A, or excellent rating, on state-issued report cards. If a new evaluation system the state plans to start using this year had been in place, only 22 would have gotten an A — just one in central Ohio (Granville). In Franklin County, 11 of the 12 districts that earned A’s on last year’s report cards would drop to B’s, and one, South-Western City Schools, would fall to a C. Read More…

Schools from across Northeast Ohio, nation offer support to Chardon students (Plain Dealer)

CHARDON — Students at Chardon High School need only look to the hallways in their building to find encouragement. Banners, sympathy cards and private notes of well wishes from their peers at high schools and colleges throughout the region and across the country adorn the walls, offering support to help cope with the shootings Feb. 27 that left three students dead. The signs -- from schools like Aurora, Chagrin Falls, Mentor and Westlake -- carry messages like "We Support You," "We are all Hilltoppers," "Our hands hold you, Our hearts love you" and "One Heartbeat." Read More…

Ohio to toughen school, district rating system (Dayton Daily News)

There will be far fewer As on this year’s state-issued report cards under a new, more rigorous school rating system the state plans to start using. Only three of the 28 school districts in Montgomery, Greene, Miami and Warren counties that received Excellent or Excellent with Distinction ratings on last year’s report cards would get an A under the new system — Oakwood, Miami East and Mason. Last year, 382 school districts and charter schools in Ohio received the equivalent of an A, or excellent rating, but only 22 would have gotten that top grade if the new evaluation system had been in place. Read More…

Local Issues

Cleveland Mayor Jackson brings schools to forefront in 'State of the City' speech (Cleveland Business)

As he has in recent years, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson closed his annual State of the City address today by bringing to the forefront his effort to improve Cleveland's schools. He spoke in the address of plans for the lakefront and Public Square, and he ticked off a long list of accomplishments, including the financial stability of the city. But Mayor Jackson found his voice, one businessperson in attendance said, when he spoke about education. Read More…

Hathorn’s first report card: Good but not yet excellent (Vindicator)

Judging by the report card issued by the Youngstown Board of Education to Superintendent Connie Hathorn last week, one would not accuse the city school district’s policymakers of grade inflation. In their evaluation of Hathorn’s first year at the helm of the troubled city school district, board members rated the top administrator a 7 out of a possible 9 points across six categories, or roughly a B grade for “commendable” good work. Read More…

Special-needs restraint called means to safety (Dispatch)

To keep everyone safe, schools need to be able to restrain and isolate special-needs students when they become violent or disruptive, a national educators group says. And using “seclusion rooms” — sometimes called timeout rooms or quiet rooms — has allowed students whose disabilities once kept them from attending public schools to do so, the American Association of School Administrators said in a report released yesterday. The report was, in part, a response to a bill introduced in Congress in December that would limit the restraint or seclusion of students. Read More…

Lunch becomes a moneymaker for Springfield City Schools (News-Sun)

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield City Schools are figuring out ways to make more lunch money while saving taxpayer dollars. The district makes about 8,500 meals for its own students. Now, it’s also making 800 meals for other programs, including Springfield Head Start, Springfield Catholic Central, Clark County Educational Service Center and OIC of Clark County, said Chris Ashley, supervisor of food and nutrition for the district. Read More…